For any kid that ever dreamed of being a cowboy or cowgirl, a dude ranch vacation is the perfect place to try on your spurs and see what your little cowpokes are made of.
Some dude ranches can be a working ranch, rounding up cattle by horseback during the day and sitting ‘round a campfire at night. However, many dude ranches cater to families with a resort atmosphere focusing more on outdoor summer activities such as canoeing, swimming, fishing, hiking and of course horseback riding and a campfire round up each evening. A dude ranch vacation is ideal for families looking for an all-inclusive vacation as most include three square meals a day plus your activities.
Resort4Kids picked our 7 Top Dude Ranches to take the kids.
The Resort at Paws Up
Where: Greenbough, Montana
Open: Year-Round, Tents available May to early October
Why it’s great: Paws Up is an all-inclusive resort that has a number of options. Combine a resort, a ranch and even an American “safari” vacation plus a full selection of outdoor activities and you have the Resort at Paws Up. What makes Paws Up fun is the oversized tent accommodations or “glamping” in the wilderness, along with wagon rides, cattle drives and wilderness workshops for kids.
Ideal for: Families with kids who want an outdoor experience without sacrificing luxury, kids programs for ages 5-12
Drowsy Water Ranch
Where: Granby, Colorado
Open: June to Mid-September
Why it’s great: Family owned and operated, Drowsy Water has won a number of awards making it a top all-inclusive resort in the world. Drowsy Water is also one of the few that have programs for ages 5 and under, allowing parents and older children to participate in ranch activities.
Ideal for: Families with infants and older.
Triangle C Dude Ranch
Where: Dubois, Wyoming
Open: Year-Round
Why it’s great: Triangle C Dude Ranch is great for the entire family and offers horseback trips to Yellowstone and Teton National Park. There’s also hayrides, square dancing, archery, knife throwing and even sleeping out in a tipi.
Ideal for: All ages, the ranch has children’s programs from 2-19
Vista Verde Guest Ranch
Where: Steamboat Springs, Colorado
Open: June through September, December through March
Why it’s great: Vista Verde Guest Ranch is a stunning luxury resort where you can still learn how to herd cattle, learn about horses and participate in a rodeo. In the evenings you can relax in your private villa.
Ideal for: Families who like a mix of togetherness and adult & kid only time.
C Lazy U
Where: Granby, Colorado
Open: Year-Round
Why it’s great: Think summer camp meets Dude Ranch with an all-inclusive package that meets the entire families need. With a fully supervised children’s program and plenty for mom and dad to do on their own, C Lazy U, open year-round is another balanced ranch of adventure and family time.
Ideal for: Kids ages 3+
Black Mountain Ranch
Where: McCoy, Colorado
Open: June to September
Why it’s great: Black Mountain Ranch is a smaller capacity ranch offering a longhorn cattle and overnight pack trips. Their 40 person capacity means lots of individual attention. There’s also rafting, trap shooting and fishing available.
Ideal for: Families with older children and teens.
Tarryall River Ranch
Where: Lake George, Colorado
Open: June through August
Why it’s great: Combine an exciting adventure with a Dude Ranch vacation. Tarryall offers rock climbing, fly-fishing and white water rafting excursions in addition to the typical dude ranch experience. Tarryall does have programs for the youngsters, but we think older children and teens will get the most out of the ranch.
Ideal for: 6 and up
More Resources for Horseback Riding
Many ranches are open in the winter too. Consider the perfect winter-y scene of sleigh rides, cross-country skiing and tubing down a snowy hill. Then kick back next to a crackling fire with hot cocoa and fresh baked food. Rates and crowds are often lower in the winter season as well.
Not seeing the perfect ranch here? Check out the Dude Rancher’s association and search by area, amenity or kids program.
Have you done a dude ranch with your kids?
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Have you ever actually traveled with kids? It doesn’t seem like it by the tone of this article.
Hello Dr Ramesh,
If both legal guardians or birth parents of the child are traveling with the child, you will not need any other documentation, except everyone’s visas and passports. Check with your employer about medical insurance. If they will not provide medical coverage overseas, you can inquire with your U.S. based insurance company about what they provide. Some travel insurance companies sell one-year policies to cover students studying overseas and that might be another option. Safe Travels!
Sir, we both are going Europe with work visa on base of permit. Taking our 3year old child with us. Any letter or medical form/ paper we need to carry with us?
A Great Family Activity and one that will bring the family back together in the future when they all grow up!!
Take a look at our adventures. https://www.youtube.com/user/00Shaddow00 . We just started doing this to bring the family together and stop wasting our time setting in front of the television. We are filming our trips to document our adventures to remember and to share with family and friends. Maybe to motivate others to get out there with there family.
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Dubai is such a nice place to stay and famous for its wonderful sightseeing’s attractions. The best trip is Dubai sightseeing’s tour and desert safari in Dubai. We had great time couple of years ago.
Everything is very open with a precise clarification of the challenges. It was really informative. Your site is extremely helpful. Many thanks for sharing
Let me add http://www.babyquip.com to the list.
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YAY THAT’S MY TWIN! So proud of you Tali!
Your blog helped me to plan my family trip to Bangkok and Pattaya. Just made a video blog out if it, https://youtu.be/tok17yOR1W8 please watch ang give feedback.
Ranch Vacation with family is a real fun. Here we spent quality time with each other. Truly said, we eat a lot and on-time as well. Riding is also a fun in ranch vacation, Created a perfect picture.
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We have actually done the ATV tour in Cozumel Mexico, and had an amazing time. We booked with Cozumel Cruise Excursions. Net which is a family business and we had an amazing time. Theres nothing better than going to another country and getting great customer service and amazing people as guides. I would highly recommend checking them out next time your in Cozumel http://cozumelcruiseexcursions.net
This sounds like so much fun! From the haunted houses to the different drinks offered. I didn’t know HHN was such a major part for Universal Orlando. Good to know! Thanks for the article!
Hello Annetta,
Yes, one Permission to Travel or Consent Letter can list more than one child on it, if the contact information for the legal guardians/birth parents is the same.
Safe travels!
Can I use one concept form to apply for two sibling from the same father
Hey, very nice site. I came across this on Google, and I am stoked that I did. I will definitely be coming back here more often. Wish I could add to the conversation and bring a bit more to the table,but am just taking in as much info as I can at the moment. Thanks for sharing.
Thanks for all of these suggestions.
Chicago is a wonderful place to visit.
Excellent very nice! No doubt Dubai is very famous for more activities but desert safari is very unique activity.i love this one…
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Thanks, recommendation cheap hotels is very useful for the preparation of our vacation that will not be soon. Really nice!
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Our family of 3 adults booked a tour with Kalka Travels in April 2018. Our tour included transportation and accommodation in Delhi, Pushkar, Udaipur, Bundi, Jaipur and Agra. We then caught an overnight train to Varanasi where we met up with a third party contracted by Kalka Travel. Overall we were very happy with the tour company as they delivered on what we had pre-arranged with them. We upgraded our vehicle to a SUV rather than just a sedan, and added an elephant ride to Agra Fort, tickets to traditional dance show in Udaipur, a movie at the Raj Mandir theatre in Jaipur as well as water was supplied each day to us. All breakfasts were included. Our driver Ravinder was exceptional in that he was always on time and patient with us sometimes being late; the vehicle was always cleaned that morning and comfortable. He was highly attentive to our needs, very reliable, polite, and humorous, and told us what to expect at each stop. We always felt very safe with him as he was an excellent driver. His English was good in that we were able to ask many questions of him. Kalka Travels was flexible with our itinerary and our driver stopped at a few places that were not on our list of stops, unlike the other company we had considered booking who told us the drivers could not be flexible.Our wonderful driver, Ravinder, made our trip very special. Kalka Travels also only asked for a $100 deposit in advance and the remainder when we arrived in India, which put us at ease. Bobby Thakur was very quick to respond to any concerns we had. All in all, a wonderful vacation and experience with Kalka Travels.
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Great vacation ideas and post too..!!!
There are many famous forts and palaces along with wildlife sanctuaries and other monuments which has attracted thousands of visitors and some of them have become a part of UNESCO World Heritage Site as well.
We are completely in accord with these ‘not to miss 5 experiences in Dubai.’ We experienced them on a family trip last year. The one thing we missed out was the charter yacht. Now we have taken it as a priority for our next trip after reading your post.
Look like you had a great adventure trip. The ship looks awesome.
Dubai is amazing. I really enjoyed reading your article! 🙂
I just found a website that lists apple festivals all over the country! So you can find something in your area. They all seem a little bit different, which is fun. http://pickyourown.org/applefestivals.php
St john is more quite than other Caribbean islands. St John accessible only by ferry from the other U.S. Virgin Islands, St. John is a true gem in the Caribbean with crystal clear waters, lush green mountains and gorgeous white sand beaches. Though it is the smallest of the three U.S. Virgin Islands, St. John’s unspoiled beauty is perhaps the greatest found anywhere in the Caribbean.
Rajasthan is one of the most vibrant and colorful states in India with its rich culture and traditions since ancient times. It is known as the land of warriors and beautiful princess who even chose to die for saving their chastity and had a great affinity with their motherland. Whether it is the cuisine or the dress sense everything is unique about Rajasthan’s culture. There are many famous forts and palaces along with wildlife sanctuaries and other monuments which has attracted thousands of visitors and some of them have become a part of UNESCO World Heritage Site as well. The famous sites are described in this blog which is good for the history lovers and for those people who want to explore more about the diversity of Rajasthan.
Being in the city of Royal Tents in Jaisalmer of moving sand ridges, you can’t get away from the seat travel. A rough ride on a camel in the Thar Desert is one of the energizing things to do in Jaisalmer Royal Camps. It enables you to investigate the remote and segregated spots tucked amidst the abandon. Absolutely, the additional time you give on your safari, the more remote spots you are probably going to see and the more you may acclimate to and appreciate the abandon serenity.
I am going to Dubai next month thanks for sharing this information will come in handy
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A rough ride on a camel in the Thar Desert is one of the energizing things to do in Jaisalmer Royal Camps. It enables you to investigate the remote and segregated spots tucked amidst the abandon.
I think that is a wonderful experience at Dubai. I’ve been to Dubai and it’s pretty