Dude ranches hold a ton of appeal for people longing for expanses of blue sky by day, a blanket of stars at night, hearty meals, lots of fresh air and outdoor activities. Of course, a comfortable place to rest your head for a well-deserved night of sleep is important too. Our Health, Fitness & Spa Editor, Carole Jacobs, has provided a roundup of places to do all of that at dude ranches in, fittingly, the American west. They are ideal for your summer travel planning.

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12 Summertime Dude Ranches in the American West

Unlike many young girls, I never went through the National Velvet stage. The first time I got on a horse, he was stung in the butt by a bee and we were off! In different directions!

And while I’ve yet to become what anyone would call an equestrian, that hasn’t dampened my unbridled passion for visiting dude ranches. And as it turns out, I’m not alone.

Last year was dubbed the “Year of the Yeehaw,” mirroring the national obsession with all things cowboy reflected in music (Beyoncé’s Grammy-winning Cowboy Carter), fashion (all those cowboy hats and bolo ties at the Oscars), TV (the never-ending Yellowstone saga) and, yes, even travel.

According to Skyscanner, interest in horseback riding and dude ranch vacations have gone that-a-way, skyrocketing in popularity and positioning dude ranches as the new rock stars of active vacations.  In the past year, interest in trail riding rose by 94 percent and interest in U.S. guest ranches by 42 percent, reports Tripaneer.

If you look at recent travel trends, it all makes perfect horse sense. Now that rampant over-tourism has ravaged some of the world’s most bucolic locales, off-the-beaten-track travel has become the new MO.

And dude ranches, for many reasons, represent the ultimate in slow travel. Secluded in under-the-radar locales you can call your own home on the range, at least for a week or two, they combine don’t-fence-me-in scenery and purple mountains majesty with mile-high fresh air.

While many ranches have hundreds of horses on thousands of acres, plus certified ranchers, and wranglers, most offer far more than riding into the wild blue yonder.

Along with wrangler-led trail rides, rodeos, and cowboy classes ranging from lassoing steer to channeling your inner Annie Oakley, the 21st century dude ranch has a menu of A-to-Z outdoor activities — from archery, ATVing, and canoeing to climbing, mountain e-biking, and fly-fishing; kayaking, swimming, and tennis/pickleball to wine-tasting, white-water rafting, and zip-lining.

The swankest dude ranches even have state-of-the-art fitness centers and spas serving up a slew of mind-body classes — from sunrise meditation to sound bathing under the stars. (See Spa Spotlight for three more dude ranches with world-class spas and wellness programs.)

Did we mention dude ranches are also good for your health — better, in fact, than working out at the gym? According to the American Psychological Association, spending time in nature acts as a balm for our busy brains and is linked to both cognitive benefits and improvements in moods, mental health and emotional well-being.

Dude ranches let you commune with nature minus the grunt and grind of pitching a tent or surviving on campfire grub.

You can combine high adventure in the Great Outdoors with classy digs (hot showers included!), chef-prepared cuisine and fine wines; unwinding in hot tubs, pools and fitness centers; and out-the-back-door access to a plethora of recreational activities, complete with seasoned guides to show you the ropes and ensure you don’t get lost in the wilds doing them.

Visit a ranch with a spa, and you leave your sore muscles behind, or (at some ranches) even take them to a different dimension.

In addition, dude ranches are family-friendly, offering plenty of activities for kids, teens, and adults. Some ranches, where noted, also have supervised children’s programs so parents can actually chill.

Finally, dude ranches are all-inclusive vacations that eliminate the hassle of pay-as-you-go. One price covers meals, lodging, activities, and use of facilities, with private classes, off-site activities, spa treatments and alcoholic beverages typically extra.

Even if the only horse you’ve ever ridden was on a carousel, the following dude ranches can take you to a place you’ve never been before (or even to a place no one has ever been before). As someone whose riding prowess remains a far cry from “Hi Ho Silver! Away!” you can trust me on this.

Saddle Up to the Best Summertime Dude Ranches in the American West

1. VISTA VERDE RANCH, Clark, Colorado

Located about 25 miles north of Steamboat Springs in 540 pine-scented acres in the Elk River Valley, Vista Verde pairs Four Star amenities with rustic splendor, from lodging in handcrafted log cabins with handmade lodgepole pine furnishings, crackling fireplaces, hot tubs and porches overlooking sweeping mountain views to gourmet cuisine, an award-winning wine list, soothing in-room massages, plus dedicated programs for kids and teens.

If you can tear yourself away, bond with one of the ranch’s 100 horses (your personality is matched with the perfect “horse-onality” to get you off on the right hoof) for wrangler-lead rides through groves of shimmering aspen. Or enjoy guided hikes along trails to wildflower meadows and craggy peaks.

Other activities include mountain biking, fly-fishing in dancing streams or looking-glass lakes, photography sessions, yoga with mountain views, and paddleboarding on high alpine lakes. Or hang out in a hammock by the pond and take in the “green vistas.”

Vista Verde’s award-winning gourmet cuisine redefines typical “cowboy cuisine” – think hearty with a little bit of fancy thrown in. Meals revolve around organic vegetables, hormone and antibiotic-free beef, pork, and chicken, and sustainably caught fish, with dinner ranging from casual BBQ cookouts under the stars to 3-course candlelit dinners with wine pairings. The ranch’s 150-plus wine list has received Wine Spectator’s Award of Excellence.  The ranch also has cooking classes—learn the art of making naturally leavened artisan bread.

When the sun sets in the West, enjoy evening campfires, live music or line dancing before heading back to your room for a soothing hot tub soak. With no phones or internet access in guest rooms (although the main lodge has internet and a computer) you may finally get the digital detox you deserve.

Vista Verde offers adventure of all kinds including culinary. Photos courtesy of Vista Verde Ranch.

2. RANCHO de la OSA, Sasabe, Arizona

If you’re looking for a ranch where the deer and the antelope play (as well as the coyotes, quail, hawks, golden eagles, and white egrets), you’re home. Set on nearly 600 acres of sweeping high desert grasslands about 90 minutes and 1,200 feet above Tucson, Rancho de la Osa overlooks 120,000-acre Buenos Aires Wildlife Refuge, a vast expanse of seasonal marshlands, meadows, and cottonwood and mesquite groves that overlook awesome mountain views.

A member of the True Ranch Collection, a select group of ranches delivering an authentic Western experience, the ranch is just a stone’s throw from Sasabe, a pint-sized hamlet that could have dropped in from Gunsmoke. With a lone general store with vintage gas pumps and a tiny bar open only on Saturday afternoons.

The ranch is the real deal, too, with original adobe buildings dating to 1722 and a Spanish-style Hacienda built when Rancho operated as a cattle ranch through the 1800s.

For decades, Arizona’s most historic ranch has been a desert escape hatch for U.S. presidents, movie stars, and dignitaries, including 36th President Lyndon B. Johnson, both Roosevelts, Adlai Stevenson, and William Clayton, who drafted the Marshall Plan in a house behind the Hacienda.

Some 23 Hollywood movies were filmed here, and today’s guests lodge in the same territorial-style guest rooms with antiques, vintage furniture and fireplaces occupied by actors John Wayne and Joan Crawford.

Horseback riding for all levels is front-and- center at the ranch. Wranglers will match you with an appropriate horse for scenic rides through waist-high grass, sandy washes, and marshy ponds where Pancho Villa once roamed. Or ride to Native American reservations with ghost town ruins and ancient petroglyphs.

You can also explore the desert and grasslands on guided hiking, off-road UTV or electric fat tire tours, enjoy sport shooting, archery, birding for the endangered Masked Bobwhite Quail and 300 other species, and hands-on classes — from trail riding, roping, and caring for Rancho’s small herd of Criollo cattle to tortilla making, tequila tasting and field trips to the U.S.-Mexico Border.

Back at the ranch, unwind with a cool drink in the Cantina, the oldest continually occupied building in Arizona. Or take a dip in the pool or play a round of croquet on the historic court.

The clang of the historic dinner bell is your sign to head to the dining room, steal a seat at one of the rustic wooden tables (a 30-footer was fashioned from a single tree) and savor hearty Southwestern cuisine by ranch chefs.

End your day with a bonfire and s’mores under the stars, or head to the Cantina for drinks, guitar music and cowboy poetry.

The salon of a hacienda at Rancho de la Osa. Photo courtesy of Rancho de la Osa.

3. THE RANCH AT ROCK CREEK, Philipsburg, Montana

Set in a pristine valley in Montana’s classic Big Sky Country amid soaring mountains, pine forests and rolling meadows about 90 minutes from Missoula, this 19th-century dude ranch and working horse and cattle ranch spans 6,600 acres of untamed wilds. There’s even four miles of a Montana Blue Ribbon River running through it.

It’s easy to see why this luxury ranch earns top accolades from Travel & Leisure.  The ranch’s Granite Lodge, built and decorated in the style of a national park lodge, has luxury suites with custom-made furniture, leather upholstery, woven textiles, wood interiors, and frontier antiques that evoke the Wild West, while its remodeled 19th-century Historic Barn captures the storied splendor of a Montana ranch vacation. You can also opt for rustic-chic glamping in canvas cabins along Rock Creek, complete with glamping-style dining at the Blue Canteen.

With 40-plus adventures, including a curated children’s program, it may be hard to decide what to do first. There’s guided horseback riding for all levels, hiking on 50 miles of trails, climbs to the ranch’s five peaks (summit all five for a spot on the ranch’s “brag board’); mountain biking, fly fishing on the ranch’s premier trout stream, a rope course, mapping/orienteering, and tours of the ranch’s 70-horse herd and cattle program. Or explore historic Philipsburg, a restored mining town with artisan shops, restaurants, and breweries.

Back at the ranch, unwind in the heated outdoor pool and hot tub, work out in the well-appointed fitness center, or relax in the 2,000-square foot spa, with luxury treatments like sapphire hydration wraps, hot springs soaks, and sound bath meditation.

The ranch is renowned for its elegant cuisine, which is locally sourced from growers’ co-ops, with chanterelles and ramps coming from foragers, and heirloom pork, elk, bison, and grass-fed beef from local ranches. Meals run the gamut from breakfast rides to Piney Pond for Dutch oven frittatas and biscuits and gravy to “chef’s grill” dinners made in the ranch’s wood-fired outdoor kitchen.

After dinner, thrill to a rodeo with real cowboys, then head to the Silver Dollar Saloon for bourbon, whiskey, beer, cider, and American wines.

Enjoy luxurious massages creekside and horseback riding experiences at The Ranch at Rock Creek. Photos courtesy of The Ranch at Rock Creek.

4. ALISAL RANCH, Santa Ynez Valley, California

You won’t be roughing it at this luxurious historic (1804) dude ranch in the Santa Barbara Wine Country outside storybook Solvang, a slice of Copenhagen paved with Danish bakeries, eclectic shops, and 25-plus tasting rooms.

Even so, ranch activities like gathering your own eggs for breakfast and taking sunset hay wagon rides will remind you you’re at a real dude ranch –even if the old cattlemen’s quarters is now a 5-star restaurant.

But then as now, the horses and cattle still roam grass-covered hills that have changed little since the days of the Spanish vaquero, and deer can still be seen grazing — although usually on Alisal’s two 18-hole golf courses.

Settle into plush lodging in cottages, suites, condominiums or customs home with wood beams and stone fireplaces.

Then consider your options. With 10,500 acres, Alisal has plenty of elbow room for its huge menu of offerings, which harried parents will be happy to learn includes a dedicated Kid’s Club with arts and crafts, barnyard visits, a petting farm, and lead-around rides.

There’s fishing, paddleboarding, canoeing and kayaking on its 100-acre spring-fed lake; horseback riding on 50 miles of trails; hiking in Deer Park Canyon; tennis and pickleball courts, golf on two championship courses; e-biking and mountain biking; a ropes course; UVT ranch tours; creative classes like horseshoe painting, jewelry, leather working, barnyard crafts and tie-dying classes; and activities that reflect Alisal’s ranching heritage– from air rifle and axe-throwing to barrel racing and equine connection.

The locally sourced food is what you’d expect from a ranch nestled in California food and wine country a half hour from the crashing waves of the Pacific. Culled from local farms, ranches, dairies, fisheries, and wineries, the cuisine is the creation of Chef Erik Sandven, formerly with Ritz Carlton. With fare like duck pate and striped bass with blistered cherry tomatoes, Alisal’s “ranch fare” often reads more like 5-star, although there’s also plenty of campfire fare on breakfast rides and Western BBQs served in the arena after ranch rodeos.

Alisal also offers many cooking classes, from juicing to craft cocktails; plus 2-day BBQ bootcamps, and a 3-day Barbecue University (Sept. 2-5 this year) that was named the #1 cooking experience in America by the Food Network.

You can work it all off California-style in the ranch’s state-of-the-art fitness center, equipped with ellipticals to Pelotons and the latest and greatest fitness classes – from HIIT and Flow Yoga to Mat Pilates and sound bathing. Or head to the elegant spa for an organic facial or an herbal massage scented with extracts from local aromatics like sage, rose, and fresh grass.

Evening activities include family outdoor movies, dance and bingo nights, rodeos, wine-tasting, and star gazing through telescopes.

Relax in cozy lodging at Alisal Ranch. Photo by Teal Thompson.

5. WHITE STALLION RANCH, Tucson, Arizona

The ultimate blend of the Old and new West, this historic (1900) Spanish Colonial adobe cattle ranch located 17 miles from Tucson in the Sonoran Desert is totally powered by solar.

One of the largest privately-owned cattle and guest ranches in Arizona at 3,000 acres, the ranch is also an Historic Hotel of America and a member of the True Ranch collection.

If the place rings a bell, it’s probably because 30 Westerns and movies were filmed here — from The Lone Ranger to How the West Was Won, and 200-plus TV shows and music videos.

The ranch is also a longtime fave of dignitaries and celebs, and everyone from 40th President Ronald Reagan and actress Joanne Woodward to Silver, the Lone Ranger’s loyal stallion, has slept here.

In total luxury, too. White Stallion’s Southwestern-style casitas, some with fireplaces and whirlpool tubs, have private patios overlooking gardens, mountains, and endless desert, while the 4-bedroom Hacienda makes for a comfortable family home on the range.

As the name implies, White Stallion is famous for its 125-horse herd and wrangler-led horseback riding – from breakfast trots and trail rides to galloping into the wild blue yonder. Or explore the desert on nature hikes. Or climb to mesa vistas via mountain bike or fat tire E-bike. Other activities include classes in roping, cattle work, or fire away with a replica Winchester 73 rifle.

At the end of the day, soothe sore derrieres in the heated pool, sauna, or redwood hot tub. Or hit the spa for deep tissue to hot stone massages, detox facials, and herbal body wraps and scrubs.

Ranch chefs churn out hearty, elevated locally sourced ranch cuisine that’s served buffet style or made-to-order in the rustic dining room or on the outdoor patio, and fire up the outdoor grills for evening cookouts under the stars.

A long day is likely to wrap with a rodeo, moonlight bonfire with cowboy singers, star gazing through big telescopes, line dancing, and movies in the pint-sized theater. Or have a cold one atop a saddle bar stool at the Saloon. Like everything else at White Stallion, the watering hole could be on loan from The Last Outpost, which was also filmed here.

Scenes from the White Stallion Ranch. Photo courtesy of the White Stallion Ranch.

6. ARAPAHO VALLEY RANCH, Granby, Colorado

This historic, family-owned ranch set amid forested peaks and glinting lakes on the edge of Rocky Mountain National Park with a river (The South Fork of the Colorado) running through it, is a real steal, although the sky-high setting at 8,333 feet is literally priceless.

Originally a homestead (an early rancher put in an air strip so his piloting instructor and buddy Charles Lindbergh could fly in over the Continental Divide for visits), the ranch evolved over the years into the popular kid-and-pet-friendly fishing and outdoor haven it is today.

The ranch is anchored by a historic lodge with a stone fireplace, living room, bar, billiards room, trading post, outside decks, and patios with firepits, plus the storied Red Dog Saloon, Colorado’s smallest watering hole with four stools.

There’s year-round lodging in nine historic, modern, and tiny home cabins sleeping 4 to 18, with grills, fire pits, and kitchens; and warm weather lodging in glamping tents, tipis, and yurts that sleep eight, and furnished with beds, couches, and camp kitchen boxes. Book a glamping tent for two nights or more between May 23-June 14 and get 20% off your entire visit. In addition, the ranch has 22 tent sites, most overlooking the Colorado River, and 12 RV sites, some with hookups.

The ranch has no on-site restaurants, but there’s plenty of wining/dining ops and grocery stores for making your own fixins’ in quaint downtown Granby about 14 miles from the ranch, and in Winter Park, a year-round recreational haven located 36 miles away. The ranch welcomes children—and even your furry friends. Don’t miss its Western Weekend June 20-21 and its Bluegrass Festival July 18-19.

Get up early to watch the ranch’s new family of duck waddles from their wildlife-proof overnight accommodations to the ranch’s on-site pond. Arapaho is also raising chickens and offering free eggs to guests.

Then take a hike! The ranch trail pushes through hushed forests to a “kissing swing” overlooking the headwaters of the Colorado River Valley (watch for moose, elk, coyote, fox, and yellow-bellied marmots) while the Monarch Lake Loop winds past waterfalls and mirror lakes to the ghostly remains of Monarch, an 1880s boom-to-bust mining camp that roared on Saturday nights before withering away to slag heaps and broken bottles.  Today, the town RIPs under Lake Granby, Colorado’s largest man-made lake.

For more summer fun, head to Winter Park Resort, with guided hiking, mountain e-biking, climbing, fishing, gondola rides, a ropes course, golf, alpine slide, ATV tours, white-water rafting. Or drive 25 miles to witness the scenic grandeur of Rocky Mountain National Park.

For all these reasons and more, this ranch in the middle of nowhere will be going prime time in an upcoming episode of PBS Hometowns, so stay tuned!

A cabin suite at Arapaho Valley Ranch. Photo courtesy of Arapaho Valley Ranch.

7. BLACKWATER CREEK LODGE AND GUEST RANCH, Cody, Wyoming

Originally a hunting and fishing camp, this historic ranch (1915) along the Shoshone River and its namesake creek is surrounded by what 26th President Theodore Roosevelt once called “the most scenic 50 miles in the U.S.

Then as now, the ranch, located in Shoshone National Forest 15 miles from Yellowstone National Park, surrounds you with history. You’ll lodge in historic log cabins (from 1915 to the 1950s) nestled in tall trees near the river and creek, or in a 2-bedroom log Ranch House with a living room, full kitchen, and laundry.

Wyoming-inspired fare revolving around traditional ranch recipes is served in Blackwater Creek’s rustic log-beamed lodge, furnished with wood tables, log chairs, and a floor-to-ceiling stone fireplace.

Blackwater, like its sister True Ranches, is a horseback riding paradise. You’ll be matched with a horse that suits your ability level, then follow a wrangle into classic Yellowstone Country, riding from open meadows and across creeks to forested hillsides and mountainous terrain. Or take a hike around the ranch’s remote splendor or along trails in Shoshone National Forest.

The river and stream are so close you can practically cast a line from your cabin. Fish for trout (Yellowstone cutthroat, rainbows, cut bow, Brook and brown) with your own equipment or the ranch’s, and get a required state fishing license online.

Other included activities include archery, and white-water rafting on the Shoshone River through forests and the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem.

Guided day trips to Yellowstone are included for guests staying six nights. Guests staying six nights or 3 nights between Wednesday-Sunday can also enjoy guided visits to the cowboy town of Cody about 37 miles away for the Cody Nite Rodeo June-August or for shopping in May and September.

Nature is calling at Blackwater, but with no cell phone service, it’s the only call you’re likely to get unless you set up Wi-Fi calling on your phone prior to arrival. Or skip the Wi-Fi and devote the week to connecting with the natural world.

Evenings are quiet around the ranch. After a long day in the saddle, you can unwind in the outdoor pool, play card and board games in the rumpus room, have a cold one in the bar, or catch a falling star in the dark night sky.

Guests of the Blackwater Creek Lodge and Guest Ranch take in varied scenery on horseback. Photo courtesy of Blackwater Creek Lodge and Guest Ranch.

8. RANCHO de los CABALLEROS, Wickenburg, Arizona

Set on 20,000 acres of sweeping Sonoran Desert about 70 miles from Phoenix near the cowboy town of Wickenburg, this classy ranch has a staggering array of activities, plus a Kid’s Club, making it the ideal ranch for families with diverse interests.

Rancho offers all things horses, including wrangler-led rides for all levels; a variety of classes (private riding, roping, team penning, corralling, barrel racing) and special rides ranging from lunch cookouts, picnics, and wine and cheese rides, plus a ride for prospective pardners, who head to Proposal Point, where flowers, wine/champagne, and strawberries await. (The wrangler vamooses with the horses long enough for the proposer to pop the question.)

The ranch also has a championship caliber 18-hole golf course and golf shop, plus a fitness and wellness center with a pool and countless fitness classes: Sun salutations to candlelight yoga, Pilates, breathwork, boxing and ashtanga in the bunkhouse, meditation in the labyrinth, and sound bath star gazing. Other activities include tennis, pickleball, archery, trap, and skeet.

Or unwind after a long day in the sun at the ranch spa, with an infrared sauna, sunroom clawfoot tubs, and restorative treatments like massages, facials, salt scrubs, yoga, and an outdoor stone labyrinth.

Regardless of their differing interests, everyone in the family will swoon over the ranch’s lodging in swank guest casitas, with Santa Fe furnishings, fireplaces and patios that look out on gardens and desert solitaire.

You’ll want to put your diet on hold at this ranch. The hearty, chef-prepared fare ranges from hearty breakfast buffets and BBQ cookouts to formal dining on gourmet cuisine and fine wines in the main dining room or on the outdoor patio at Los Caballeros Club Grill. Or you can enjoy more fine dining at “19,” a new restaurant at the clubhouse. The farm-to-tale cuisine (spinach ravioli, Australian lamb saddle), paired with craft cocktails and wines from a 2,000-bottle cellar, is sure to satisfy the most discerning foodie in the family.

After dinner, kick back in the authentic Western saloon with cocktails, an extensive wine list, bar bites and cowboy sing-alongs. Or check out historic Wickenburg, with a visitor center in the old Santa Fe train depot, a self-guided historic walking tour and unique shops, restaurants, and museums.

Find good food, activities and serenity at Ranchos de los Caballeros, including through their labyrinth and yoga classes.

Hungry for more? Picnic Menu Ideas for 7 U.S. Hikes.

9. CIRCLE BAR RANCH, Utica, Montana

Circle Bar almost looks like a Charlie Russell painting come to life, which makes sense considering the famous painter moved here in 1880 at the age of 16 to learn to wrangle and paint.

The art lessons stuck, of course, and today, Russell’s world-famous landscapes capture the region’s lonely prairies and rugged cowboy-country grandeur. Russell even painted the little cowboy town of Utica into history in his famous landscape, “A Quiet Day in Utica”.

Another historic (1800s) True Ranch, Circle Bar occupies 520 acres at the headwaters of the Judith River where the forks meet and spill out of the Little Belt Mountains, which are part of the Rockies.

Surrounded by 2.8 million acres of national forest that’s home to moose, antelope, elk and mountain lions, the ranch is located about 90 minutes from Great Falls, and three hours from both Billings and Bozeman.

Perched at 5,000 feet, the ranch also gets some of the best of Montana’s summer weather, with highs in the 70s-80s and lows in the 40s- 50s.

It’s an ideal clime for riding or hiking into the surrounding mountains, 3-D archery, shooting, guided UTV tours into the national forest, and fishing for trout in the cascading streams, including the first mile of the Judith River, which flows through the ranch. BYO gear or borrow the ranch’s and get a required state fishing license online.

After a stick-to-your-ribs ranch breakfast (homemade pancakes and waffles, biscuits and gravy, yogurt and berries), head out to experience Circle Bar’s renowned horseback riding program. There’s a horse for every level as well as private lessons for guests who want to up their game. Wrangler-led rides traverse sweeping prairies and follow along and through the Judith River, while more experienced riders can lope across pasturelands, climb into the vast mountainous expanse of Helena Lewis & Clark National Forest, and even participate in cattle drives.

Or hang on for a guided UTV tour to the historic Yoga Mine and Hoover Cabin. Russell lived here for a few years with his lifelong friend Jake Hoover, a prospector who discovered the Yogo Sapphires in the late 1800s. During the tour, you can also hike to nearby caves and visit Sapphire Village, where lot owners still hold the right in perpetuity to dig for local gemstones.

After a long day exploring the rough-and-tumble terrain, wash off the dust in the ranch’s comfortable lodging: there are historic cabins with fireplaces, wet bars, or kitchenette; well-appointed guest suites and rooms in the main lodge; or the 4-bedroom Ranch House, a perfect hide-out for families.

Mingle over cocktails in the rustic lodge before hunkering down for an authentic ranch dinner featuring steak, pork chops or fresh trout, plus pasta, salads, and beer and wine for purchase.

For more about Circle Bar, check out this episode of Today’s Wild West with Mark Bedor.

Guests can try their hand at Sport Shooting at Circle Bar Ranch. Photo courtesy of Circle Bar Ranch.

10. KAY EL BAR GUEST RANCH, Wickenburg, Arizona

More than a century old, this intimate, 100-acre ranch, locate in the Sonoran desert in the shadow of the Hassayampa River Canyon Wilderness near Wickenburg, is the real McCoy.

Homesteaded in 1909, the ranch’s original adobe brick buildings still stand, along with the 1914 Homestead House and 1926 large adobe lodge, all of which landed the ranch on the Arizona Registers of Historic Places and prestigious National Register of Historic Places. The ranch is authentic down to the beams that run across the top of the lodge, hauled here by horses from the old El Dorado gold mine 16 miles away.

Like other True Ranches, Kay El Bar is known for its wrangler-led horseback riding program. Before breakfast, you can meet and groom your horse in the corral before heading out on miles of trails through federal lands adjoining the ranch. Some wind through the wash of the intermittent Hassayampa River beneath sheer canyon walls; others ascend rocky ridges past abandoned gold mines and onto stunning mountain views. En route, you may spy desert tortoise, jackrabbit, banded gecko, coyotes, and the alien-looking but friendly Gila monster.

Or enjoy desert hikes or guided UTV tours through the riparian Hassayampa River landscape and up to dramatic vistas overlooking area mountains and iconic Vulture Peak, a 600-foot pinnacle with a skull-and-crossbones warning about loose rock that’s revered by intrepid climbers. Other ranch activities include 3-D archery, sport shooting, and cattle work.

Kay El Bar offers a variety of plush, historic lodging, including guests rooms in the main lodge furnished with hand-painted Monterey furniture and Western art;  the 1900s Homestead House (the former ranch headquarters), a 2-bedroom casita with a living room and fireplace with thick-wall adobe architecture; and Casa Grande,  a spacious casita with a sitting room and fireplace set beneath towering salt cedar and eucalyptus trees.

After a day exploring the desert, cool off in the pool, soak in the hot tub, or sack out in a hammock beneath the century-old trees and listen to the wind. Or head to the lounge for the afternoon social hour.

Hearty ranch meals prepared by professional chefs and served family-style in the rustic dining room, outside on the porch or on the trails revolve locally sourced fresh fruits, garden vegetables, salads, and choice meats, fish, and poultry. With fresh-baked cookies and pastries hot from the oven after every lunch and dinner, no one will blame your cheatin’ heart for indulging in a little dessert.

For more on the ranch, watch this episode of this episode of Today’s Wild West with Mark Bedor.

Stay in a casita at Kay El Bar Guest Ranch. Photo courtesy of Kay El Bar.

11. LAZY L&B RANCH, Dubois, Wyoming

Looking for a place to get lost in nature? Surrounded by hundreds of thousands of acres of wildlife habitat, Shoshone National Forest, and the Wind River Indian Reservation, this historic family guest ranch is actually less populated now than when it was first homesteaded in the 1900s.  Perched at 7,200 feet in the Wind River’s East Fork Valley two hours from Jackson Hole, the ranch is also an easy drive (90 minutes) from both Grand Teton National Park and Yellowstone National Park.

Guest log cabins tucked among cottonwoods and furnished with a casual western flair range from an historic old one-room schoolhouse to large family cabins, all with refrigerators, private baths, outdoor sitting areas, ands Wi-Fi.

The hearty, locally sourced fare includes cowboy breakfast buffets, BBQ lunches served off the back porch or on the trail, and dinners that range from campfire steak cookouts to 3-course adult sit-down dinners. The ranch also hosts a few happy hours each week with complimentary wine and homemade sangria.

The ranch specializes in wrangler-led horseback riding for all levels through the region’s wildly diverse terrain: Wander red rock canyons to lofty plateaus where wild horses hang out; explore colorful windswept badland country, or climb to alpine meadows and forests, the domain of deer, elk, moose, pronghorn, and golden eagles.

Trails from the ranch wind up to blazing sunrises and sunsets or take a guided half- or full-day hike to petroglyphs, teepee rings, and sheep traps with the Dubois Museum.

Lazy L&B is just a hoot and a holler from great fishing: The East Fork of the Wind River meanders right through the ranch while just down the road, Bear Creek, popular with small stream aficionados, is lined with cottonwood trees and bordered by hay pastures. Or cast a line in rivers and streams running with rainbow, cutthroat and brown trout, including the Wind River, a Wyoming Blue Ribbon Trout Stream, or in mountain lakes dotting the Wind River and Absaroka ranges.

Other ranch activities include birding, shooting, roping, swimming in the heated pool or the East Fork River, and white- water rafting on the Wind River past ancient petroglyphs on rising rock walls to Upper Dinwoody Lake for a picnic lunch.

Evening fun includes campfires with s’mores, relaxing by the fireplace in the lodge or library, and Tuesday night square dancing with the locals in DuBois.

Horseback riding takes place in dramatic scenery at Lazy L&B Ranch. Photo courtesy of Lazy L&B. 

12. TOMBSTONE MONUMENT RANCH & CATTLE COMPANY, Tombstone, Arizona

Finally, in a league of its own (or perhaps in a world of its own) is Tombstone Monument Ranch, an 1880s working cattle and guest ranch built in the image of a Wild West town. Whether you wake up in its Grand Hotel, Marshall’s Office, Blacksmith’s Shop, or in Jail, you’ll feel like an extra in a Hollywood Western.

Tucked in the Tombstone hills near “The Town Too Tough to Die” about 1 ¼ hours south of Tucson, the ranch, like its fellow True Ranches, has a popular horseback riding program for all levels. After a Chuckwagon Breakfast served by the campfire, riders can saddle up for wrangler-led journeys through a dramatic landscape that was — and in many ways still is — the real Wild West. You’ll wander past ancient Native American petroglyphs, abandoned railroad grades and trestles, forgotten mines, and old prospector’s monuments.

Slow riders can meander through sandy desert washes and along old jeep trails, while more experienced riders can lope through the sweeping desert, take challenging half-day rides to the cattle’s closest water source, and trot to Tombstone for a cold one at Big Nose Kate’s Saloon, named after the gambler/gunfighter Doc Holliday’s common-law wife. Other specialty rides feature beer and Cheetos, tequila-tasting rides, local history, and helping the wranglers move cattle.

Back at the ranch, kick back in the outdoor pool and hot tub before enjoying a hearty home-cooked Western style- dinner at the ranch’s Schieffelin’s Restaurant. After dinner, you can burst through the doors of the Old Trappman Saloon, slide a whiskey down the bar, and play a game of Texas Hold ‘Em, or dance to live music.

If you’re new around these parts, save an afternoon for exploring lively Tombstone. Wet your whistle at one of the town’s many watering holes (down from 110 in 1881), walk the same streets as Wyatt Earp, and watch local sharp shooters reenact the infamous 1881 gunfight at the O.K Corral, the 30-second showdown that put Tombstone on the map — and three cowboys in the ground.

A stay at Tombstone Monument Ranch is like being on a movie set. Photo courtesy of Tombstone Monument Ranch & Cattle Company.

-Story by Carole Jacobs, Real Food Traveler Health, Fitness & Spa Editor

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