Dude ranches aren’t just about saddling up. They can also be about aaaaahmazingly restful and pampering experiences. Real Food Traveler’s Health, Fitness & Spa Editor, Carole Jacobs, offers up this list of offerings in her May Spa Spotlight. 

Save this article to Pinterest to help plan your relaxing time at one of our May Spa Spotlights. Graphic by RealFoodTraveler.com.

May Spa Spotlight: Dude ranches aren’t just about horses. These three also have 5-star spas, fitness & wellness

Far from the madding crowds (and sometimes internet and cell service, too) dude ranches are the ultimate wellness vacation, offering myriad ways to work out, unwind, and unplug from 21st century frenzy in fresh mountain air and mind-blowing scenery. And with their innate focus on the Great Outdoors, dude ranches deliver more overall health and stress-busting benefits than gyms, says Nature.

Some dude ranches have upped the ante by adding world-class spas to the mix — bastions of fitness, wellness, and pampering that are destinations in and of themselves. Whether you’re looking for ways to unwind after a long day in the saddle, or you want to skip the horses altogether, the following dude ranch spas fit the bill.

Paws Up Montana, Greenough, Montana

Located 25 miles east of Missoula, the caviar of dude ranches (named best dude ranch for two years running by Newsweek) more than earns its rep of being “at the crossroads of unspoiled wilderness and incomparable luxury.” The 37,000-acre luxury spread overlooks the densely timbered Bob Marshall Wilderness and the jagged peaks of the Swan and Garnet ranges and is a much-buzzed sanity-escape-in-the-wilds for the likes of Leonardo and Gwyneth.

From the lodging to the spa, activities, food, and even the rarefied air at 8,000 feet, everything at Paws Up Montana conforms to its back-to-nature-with-maximum-elegance vibe. This ranch is also for dogs, with pet-friendly lodging, fare, and even massages for pampered pooches.

Paws Up Montana’s version of “roughing it” (Gwyneth’s preferred mode) is in designer safari glamping tents equipped to the max with adjustable beds, heated floors, electricity, ensuite bathrooms with showers and towel heaters, and porches overlooking OMG views. The tents, clustered in small “camps” by rivers or creeks, or perched atop cliffs, bluffs, or Lookout Rock (where Lewis and Clark famously plotted their course) come with private dining pavilion/hangouts with Wi-Fi and a camp butler at your disposal.

Or settle into one of the ranch’s 12 uber-glam “haus” adult guest cabins for two. Set on a densely timbered hillside, the cabins are architectural gems (from a 2-story “Tree Haus” perched 23 feet in the trees, to a “Light Haus” with bump-out windows to let in the star shine) and furnished with decks, hot tubs, fireplaces, floor-to-ceiling windows, and skylights. Each haus comes with a Kia to drive around the ranch. Families and groups looking for larger quarters can snag one of the ranch’s 28 custom homes nestled amid pines, meadows, and streams, and which come with a Lexus SUV for ranch use.

The ranch’s Spa Town, set in white tents on a boardwalk overlooking a meadow of grazing horses, echoes the ranch’s back-to-nature ethos. Birdsong and whispering pines will lull you to relaxation during treatments that include facials, hydration therapies, “Altitude Adjustment,” “Chi Balancer,” and a “Wag the Tail” massage for your furry friend. Or work out in the 24/7 Huff-and-Puff Fitness Center, set in a Pooh Bear cabin with all the usual fitness equipment, plus classes that include forest bathing (of course), sound bathing, breathwork, private yoga, one-on-one hikes, and apothecary classes where you can make your own beauty products.

Ranch activities include horse-related trail rides, cattle drives and rodeos; hiking on 100 miles of trails; fly-fishing on 10 miles of private river; popping wheelies on the ranch’s manmade Bike Flow Trail; ATVing up to Lookout Rock; rafting and canoeing; rappelling and zipping along the Skyline aerial ropes course; geocaching; ghost town tours, plus “The Morning Jingle” (guests saddle up and ride with the wranglers to gather the herd); cow croquet; horse whispering; and excursions to Island Lodge on Salmon Lake for catch-and-release fishing, a floating trampoline, jet skiing, kayaking, paddleboarding, paddleboats, swimming, pontoon boat tours, wakeboarding, wake surfing, and waterskiing.

The locally sourced ranch cuisine, prepared by professional chefs and all you can eat, is served at the ranch’s eclectic clutch of rustic eateries. Wolf down homemade huckleberry pancakes at the “Trough” (and return after a morning on the trails for smoked wagyu tri-tip, fresh seasonal salads and black truffle fries); linger over a beer or craft cocktail (try the signature Huckleberry Hound) at the “Tank;” enjoy chuckwagon bison burger cookouts at the “Shed;” and cap the day with fine dining and wines at “Pomp,” where Executive Chef Bret Edlund creates an ever- shifting seasonal menu featuring delectables like Rocky Mountain elk tartare, sea scallop crudo, smoked Snake River beef picanha, and wild king salmon.

Paws Up Montana even has an official culinary s’mores program that trains its butlers and culinary staff how to create and help you make a perfect s’more. Guests who master the craft receive a coveted S’moreologist pin and a Paws Up Certificate of Advanced S’moreology.

The ranch also hosts year-round culinary events. If you’re a foodie, you might want to time your visit to coincide with upcoming summer events that include Independence Day; Bounty on the Blackfoot, a Farm to Table Dining Adventure; Wine & Bitch, a Dog-Friendly Dinner; and Montana Master Chefs, a Labor Day Event to Savor.

Spa treatments at Paws Up Montana Spa get glamping style. Photo courtesy of Paws Up Montana.

The Ranch at Emerald Valley and The Spa at The Broadmoor, Colorado Springs, Colorado

The Ranch at Emerald Valley is a sister property of the century-old Broadmoor, Colorado’s grand dame golf, tennis, and spa resort, with a setting like a grand hotel in the Alps. Stay at this ranch and you can enjoy its rustic elegance and extensive menu of elevated outdoor adventures, plus all the amenities of a world-class resort, including championship golf, tennis, fine dining, and the Forbes 5-star spa.

Set on 100,000 pine-studded acres in Pike National Forest at 8,200 feet just a short drive up the mountain from the Broadmoor, The Ranch at Emerald Valley has beautifully appointed cabins with Rocky Mountain touches like fireplaces, leather furnishings, and modern amenities.  (Due to limited parking in the national forest, guests are shuttled from the resort to the ranch and get unlimited transportation between the ranch and resort during their stay as well as complimentary valet parking in the Broadmoor garage.)

Come sunrise, gather around the firepit for cowboy coffee followed by a hearty buffet ranch breakfast. Then head out on wrangled-led horseback rides, guided hiking, or mountain biking. Or participate in a cattle drive at the historic (1888) Elk Glade Ranch, set in a 3,200-acre roadless valley. Saddle up to help wranglers move cattle to their summer pastures in East Beaver Valley on the south slope of 14,000-foot Pikes Peak.

Fuel up on an epicurean lunch back at the ranch. Other ranch activities include jeep tours, river rafting, kayaking, hot air ballooning, falconry, archery, fly fishing off property with a private guide, and day trips to Manitou Springs and the Pikes Peak Cog Railway. Or check out Cloud Camp, Broadmoor’s historic mountaintop hideaway. Perched at 9,000 feet, the 8,500-square-foot lodge has hand-hewn beams, stone fireplaces, and an expansive wraparound deck where you can look out on mountains, forests, and the Broadmoor 3,000 feet below.

After a long day in the wilds, hail the shuttle for a lift down to The Spa at The Broadmoor. Relax with treatments like bamboo massages, oxygen infusion, ice therapy, and jade stone facials; chill out in the Himalayan salt saunas, eucalyptus steam rooms, aromatherapy rooms, fireplace lounges or the coed Mountain View Room. If you have energy to spare, the fully equipped fitness center has a heated indoor pool and 100 weekly classes, from cardio and core to yoga and Pilates.

Return to the ranch for hors d’oeuvres on the porch or an aperitif in the Olde Swan Tavern overlooking the ponds and mountains before settling in for a 3-course dinner in the ranch’s grand lodge, prepared by on-site Broadmoor chefs who elevate the fare far beyond the altitude.

After dinner, join guests around the evening campfire for s’mores. Or head down to the Broadmoor for a magical night hike at Seven Falls, dubbed ”The Grandest Mile of Scenery in Colorado.” A 224-step staircase leads up through a 1,250-foot box canyon past a series of seven cascading waterfalls illuminated in shimmering rainbow hues. If you’re not up for the climb, you can take the in-mountain elevator 14 stories up to Eagles’ Nest Lookout.

The Ranch at Emerald Valley is a peaceful place to relax. Photo courtesy of The Broadmoor.

Hungry for more? Read our Editor’s Pick article about the Broadmoor.

Devil’s Thumb Ranch Resort & Spa, Tabernash, Colorado

Set on 6,500-plus acres of Rocky Mountain highs just 75 miles from Denver with the peaks of the Continental Divide less than 10 miles to the east, this-award winning ranch has a lot going for it besides one of spa-dom’s most adorable spas. The ranch has countless outdoor activities, award-winning food and wine, and deluxe lodging in elegant lodge rooms, private cabins, and guest houses with stone fireplaces, earthy dude ranch and bohemian furnishings.

The ranch’s hand-hewn-log spa nestles in a quiet corner of the meadow overlooking a lush valley. Crackling hearths, homemade tea, a geothermally heated salt-water pool, hot tub, and panoramic Colorado mountain views set the stage for ultra-pampering massages and skin treatments with all-natural products. Get a farm-to-facial that utilizes potent botanicals to brighten and even skin tone, a head-to-toe hydrating honey wrap or a hot river stone massage, or indulge in The Ultimate Zen, which includes a sugar scrub, shea butter wrap, and full body and scalp massage.

After being duly pampered, head outside to play hard the Devil’s Ranch way: Say om during paddleboard yoga on Upper Ridge Pond; enjoy wrangler-led riding and guided hiking through wildflower meadows and pine forests to Devil’s Thumb Pass for panoramas from the Continental Divide; soar over treetops at 40 miles per hour on the zipline (or zipline at sunset for a bird’s eye view of the alpenglow); enjoy mountain bike trails that wind through open meadows with vistas of surrounding peaks (the Ranch is part of 600 miles of mountain biking trails in the Fraser Valley named the “Mountain Biking Capital of the USA”).  You can also fly fish four miles of the ranch’s private waters or discover the stress-busting powers (honest!) of hatchet throwing.

Devil’s Ranch is also a dedicated foodie haven—some people come here just to savor cuisine that’s sourced right from the ranch pastures, rivers, gardens, hives, and cellar.

For a day of great eating at the ranch, wake up to a java jolt and fresh-baked pastries at Hallowed Grounds Coffee Shop. Then spend the morning touring Kendra’s Garden, where you can rendezvous with the bees and native flowers and harvest a few veggies for the chef. At happy hour, everyone heads to Heck’s Tavern for craft beer. The eco-friendly watering hole is a monument to the mountains, with giant posts and beams built from 800-year-old Douglas fir, a floor-to-ceiling fireplace made from a nearby rockslide, and a geothermally heated floor made from reclaimed spruce.

Renowned for its “pasture-to-fork” Western cuisine, Devil’s Thumb is among a handful of places in the U.S. offering 100% wagyu beef from its 230-head herd. Chefs at The Ranch House Restaurant and Saloon, a 1930s homestead, prepare it six ways for dinner: As steak tartar, tenderloin, ribeye, steak, flat irons, and tri-tip. The menu also features lamb shank, elk pot pie, pan seared halibut, and artichoke filled pasta, and for dessert (you’ve earned it!) poached pear crumble, blood orange Brulé, and chocolate banana cake.  Meals are paired with fine wines from the ranch wine cellar that routinely win Wine Spectator’s Best of Award Excellence.

You can also arrange to have a private dinner in the ranch’s John L’s Wine Cellar & Uncorking Room, built from 150-year-old cherry trees harvested from family land in the Adirondacks. Or head to the ranch Saloon for a casual dinner of French onion soup paired with wagyu burgers or short ribs, elk meat pies, or toasted ravioli.

No matter where you dine, end the day with s’mores served fireside by the stone hearth, the ranch’s classic recipe for sweet dreams.

Guests get to enjoy the hot tub with expansive views at the spa at Devil’s Thumb Ranch. Photo courtesy of Devil’s Thumb Ranch.

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

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