It’s Never Been a Better Time Than Now to Stay at a Dude Ranch

Originally marketed to Easterners looking for a break from modern living, the dude ranch just might be the most powerful and appealing Western getaway we can think of right now. In the 1880s, two brothers from Pittsburgh opened a ranch in North Dakota that catered to “dudes” (a variation on duds, it was slang for the Eastern urban dandies who played cowboy at these resorts). In the early 20th century, hundreds of dude ranches dotted the West. As Sunset wrote in a guide to the category in 1955: “Everything you do at a dude ranch can be considered an excuse for being there, to appreciate the richness of a country that is slow paced and quiet—so still you notice the thud of an ax, the call of quail, the screen door slam that carries across the valley and back again, the occasional stamp and whinny from the corral.” That blissfully bucolic feeling remains, but now in addition to the standard formula of horses, hearty food, and wide-open spaces, you can practice yoga, eat Michelin-level food, and stay in luxurious rooms equal to those of a five-star resort, albeit with some knotty pine and a wool throw.

Scott T. Baxter

This year marks the Dude Ranchers’ Association’s 100th anniversary, and to commemorate it, the association has published 100 Years of Dude Ranching, a beautifully photographed book that chronicles the evolution of this wonderful corner of Western hospitality. The association is also one of the best ways to find a ranch to match your region and taste, with a booking tool that allows you to browse some 90 ranches from Arizona to Wyoming and beyond.

Scott T. Baxter

---

Lodge Life

Whether you’re leaning toward luxe lodging or outdoor adventure, here are eight of our favorite dude ranches.

Alisal Ranch

Courtesy of Alisal Ranch

In Santa Barbara wine country, Alisal is the polished and recently refreshed California classic—10,500 oak-studded acres, 50 miles of riding trails, and just enough resort comfort to make cowboy life feel civilized. 

Lone Mountain Ranch

Lone Mountain Ranch

Near Big Sky, Lone Mountain Ranch pairs Montana log-cabin charm with horseback rides, fly-fishing, Nordic trails, and easy access to Yellowstone. 

Rancho de los Caballeros

Rancho de los Caballeros

The newly updated Wickenburg, Arizona, grande dame delivers the full desert-ranch fantasy: saddle time, wide-open Sonoran views, golf, and old-school Western hospitality.

Tumbling River Ranch

Todd Winslow Pierce

High in Colorado’s Pike National Forest, Tumbling River Ranch keeps things intimate, alpine, and family-forward, with cabins, horses, fishing, and mountain air just about an hour from Denver.

Brush Creek Ranch

Brush Creek Ranch

This 30,000-acre working cattle ranch near Saratoga, Wyoming, combines wellness offerings—including yoga in a historic log schoolhouse and luxe spa treatments—with world-class horseback riding and genuine land stewardship. In the warmer months, try your hand at barrel racing and cattle driving or in the winter book the private Green Mountain ski area for a truly bucket-list-worthy trip.

Green O

Paws Up Montana

The founders of Paws Up Montana created something entirely different on their 37,000 acres: treehouses and contemporary wood cabins paired with a full-service restaurant, all set deep in untouched wilderness. It’s an adults-only retreat where luxury and landscape merge completely, a place to disappear and unwind under the big skies Montana is known for.

Reid Creek Lodge

Thomas J. Story

This isn’t a dude ranch playing dress-up. The horses you ride are the same ones cowboys use to move 5,000 head of cattle across 300,000 acres of working land outside Douglas, Wyoming. Art Nicholas’s museum-quality Western art collection anchors the main lodge, where refined meals welcome you and the family back from a day of hiking, fishing on the private lake, or skeet shooting.

Turpin Meadow Ranch

Thomas J. Story

Nestled on the banks of the Buffalo Fork River, this heritage ranch delivers stunning Tetons views while hosting activities year-round, from Nordic skiing, skijoring and snowshoe expeditions in winter to fishing and horseback riding in warmer months. It’s a place where ranching traditions and community gatherings keep the West alive in its most authentic form. 

---

Sunset

Sunset and Dude Ranches

Saddling up for over a century. 

Sunset

Sunset

From the cover to longstanding ads extolling the virtues of the cowboy life, for over a century Sunset has celebrated the ranch vacation.