Live the Wild West At A
Durango Colorado Guest Ranch!

Why stay at a motel when you can be a real cowboy? Come stay at a Durango Colorado guest ranch and live the wild west!

You'll notice that these are more spread out - none right in Durango, because Durango is too settled to stick a ranch in it. But any Durango Colorado guest ranch is well worth the trip because of its out-of-the-way locations. A perfect way to unwind at the end of your day of adventure.

While we've never stayed at any of these yet, we drive past many of them when we're in Durango. They always look enticing. I intend to start checking them out on future visits. Check back on this page for personal recommendations on the Durango Colorado dude ranch listings.

Side note...of the Colorado guest ranches listed here, Colorado Trails Guest Ranch sounds like the perfect dude ranch experience, at least from the information I could gather easily. Not having been to any of them, I can't verify that, but it's the first one I think we'll check out when we try these.

Blue Lake Ranch Bed & Breakfast
16000 Highway 140
Hesperus CO 81326
Phone: 970-385-4537
Toll-free: 1-888-258-3525
Minimum 2 night stay

Highlights:

A nice-sounding Colorado guest ranch near Durango, this one's not a dude ranch. It's all about relaxation.

With sixteen separate options of where to stay here, you're sure to find one you like. Some of their choices are small cabins or cottages, some single rooms, or suites. All of them sound private and restful-just what you need to escape everyday stress!

The complimentary buffet style breakfast is modeled after the southwest. In addition to typical continental choices, they have a "regional" entrée each day. You can eat either in the dining room or on the garden patio, overlooking Blue Lake.

A newly completed event center now makes it possible to hold private events at Blue Lake Ranch, from weddings to reunions to corporate workshops.

Personally, there are times we prefer the peaceful getaway of one of the Colorado guest ranches like this. Definitely a great choice for a quiet vacation.

Cherry Creek Mountain Ranch Bunk & Breakfast
7053 County Road 105 (Cherry Creek Road)
Hesperus CO 81326
Phone: 970-588-3704
Fax: 970-588-2269

Highlights:

This Colorado guest ranch is definitely a dude ranch!

Cherry Creek Mountain Ranch offers a "custom vacation" (their words) for your family or group. You can stay in one of their cabins (most built in the 1920s), or camp onsite, too. All the cabins come with the option of "bunk and breakfast" or just "bunk".

They forewarn you, the cabins are rustic - no running water! Authentic outhouses are nearby, or a modern toilet and shower facilities in the Common House.

The activities they offer range from horseback riding (they give "get acquainted" lessons, too) to roping to buggy rides and sleigh rides to cattle drives! They also offer cowboy cookouts and dinner rides. And if you have your own horse, you can bring it to use. Or use one of theirs.

They have hunting on their property, as well, with a limited number of permits available. Plus they're right next to 4,000 acres of BLM land.

Come on out and check out a real cowboy's life at the most rustic of the Durango Colorado guest ranches.

Colorado Trails Guest Ranch
12161 Country Road 240
Durango CO 81301
Phone: 970-247-5055
Fax: 970-385-7372
Toll-free: 1-877-711-7843

Highlights:

One of the best Durango Colorado guest ranches is right here (at least it sounds like it to me!). If you like an activity-packed vacation with lots of options (and time to relax, too), this is the place for you. Colorado Trails Guest Ranch is a vacation destination.

With activities geared toward different age groups, your kids will have a ball meeting other kids their age, and doing a wide variety of things, from horseback riding to fishing to power tubing or skiing at nearby Lake Vallecito. Or they can enjoy swimming, nature hikes, the petting zoo, river rafting, archery, rifle shooting, arts and crafts, scavenger hunts, hayrides and western dancing. (That's still not all the activities available.)

The accommodations include cabins that have their own porches for relaxing on, and space enough for the whole family. Meals are included, dawn to dusk, and cooked by their expert chef, served at the main lodge.

Also at the lodge are the Opera House (for evening activities), the Ruckus Room (kids' gathering place with ping pong, pool and such), the Soda Fountain (offering old-fashioned milkshakes and malts), The Trading Post (for gifts and sundries), the fly fishing center (for fishing gear).

Evenings are full of hayrides, a Victorian Melodrama (in nearby Durango), western dancing, ice cream socials and relaxation under the pristine Colorado skies.

(You can see a lot more stars out there than in many places, due in part to the altitude and less atmosphere between you and space, and to less "light pollution" away from city lights. The Milky Way, just doesn't look very milky in the Twin Cities of Minnesota.)

Because their program runs from Sunday to Sunday, all the guests booked for a week get to know each other. You make new friends (and they say even your teens enjoy time with the family here), and refresh yourself in a way few vacations offer.

A getaway other Colorado guest ranches can only hope to match. So if you want a place that you'll remember for a lifetime, try Colorado Trails Guest Ranch. You're sure to go home grinning!

Echo Basin Dude Ranch
43747 County Road M
Mancos CO 81328
Phone: 970-533-7000
Toll-free: 1-800-426-1890
Please note: They are open May through September

Highlights:

Another Colorado guest ranch, Echo Basin Ranch offers a wide variety of things to do. With 23 cabins and 65 full-service RV sites, they have lots of space for celebrations, too. With a steakhouse that includes a dance, you're sure to be well-fed and entertained.

Onsite amenities include a heated outdoor pool and hot tub, basketball, volleyball and horsehoes, a 9-hole putting green (with a 9-hole golf course under construction). They also have a horse arena (you can bring your own horse and stable it there), and horseback riding, as well as team roping (I'm not sure if that means you try to rope the other team, or work as a team to rope cows... ;)

The Echo Basin Amphitheater has seen such famous performers as Randy Travis, STYX, Kansas, Dan Fogelberg, Lone Star, Sammy Kershaw and Tanya Tucker. Your evening entertainment might be quite a show!

Check them out as one of the "funnest" Durango Colorado guest ranches next time you come out.

Lake Mancos Ranch
42688 County Road N
Mancos CO 81328
Phone: 970-533-7900
Toll-free: 1-800-325-9462

Highlights:

The next Colorado guest ranch, Lake Mancos Ranch sounds like another "all-inclusive" vacation package. They have both cabins and rooms at the lodge to choose from, and serve buffet meals in their western-style dining room.

With a heated pool, hot tub and sauna, you can relax while the kids swim. They also offer areas for horseshoes, basketball, pingpong and volleyball.

Daily activity options include river rafting, 4x4 trips, a visit to Mesa Verde National Park, horseback rides, cookouts, and cowboy poetry. Not to mention hiking, mountain biking, fishing, gold panning and old fashioned hayrides.

This sounds like a good choice from among the Durango Colorado guest ranches. It'll make your vacation memorable.

Silver Mountain Guest Ranch
Located on Country Road 208
Durango CO 81301
Phone: 970-247-1919
Toll-free: 1-877-247-1919

Highlights:

A purely relaxing Durango Colorado guest ranch, Silver Mountain Guest Ranch (or Silver Mountain Ranch Resort on some of their ads) is located on the dry fork of Lightner Creek. A small portion of what used to be sheep pasture land for ranchers, it has four newly constructed, hand-peeled log cabins (named after western movies) to choose from.

Inside, they are beautifully decorated in modern-rustic style, with kitchens, fireplaces and custom furnishings. Other ranch amenities include a lovely gazebo (great for weddings), and a large lodge-pole event center for celebrations of any sort.

This place must be a part of the ranch I always dreamed of buying, when I was a kid running around on the ranch that surrounds my mom's place. If I hiked to just the right spot, I could see it-tucked away by itself in the midst of trees and the slopes of the La Plata Mountains.

A gorgeous setting for your next family reunion, or vacation!

Wilderness Trails Ranch
23486 County Road 501
Bayfield MN 81122
Phone: 970-247-0722
Toll-free: 1-800-527-2624
3-day or week-long packages; open June through September (into early October, too, I think)

Highlights:

The next Colorado guest ranch, Wilderness Trails Ranch, is located near Vallecito Lake. It is another option if you want somewhere to go that "packages" your vacation for you. From trail rides to cattle drives, there is plenty to do. And they'll book guided fly fishing tours, or train rides for you, too.

Kids' activities include horseback rides (monitored pony rides for the littlest ones), hikes, arts and crafts, picnics, swimming and hay rides. The older set can also go water skiing and fishing, or join in team games and challenges.

Lodging consists of log cabins with all the amenities you could want (not including a kitchen-they provide the meals). They do have coffee makers and refrigerators in all cabins (for those midnight snackers).

Their evening activities run from sing-alongs to hayrides to dancing to a live band. Enough to do right at the ranch, you may not want to leave. Another great one of the Durango Colorado guest ranches to investigate.

The Wit's End
254 County Road 500
Vallecito Lake CO 81122
Phone: 970-884-4113
Toll-free: 1-800-236-9483

Highlights:

Last, but certainly not least, as it's been around a long time, this is one of the Durango Colorado guest ranches I would recommend you check out.

The most interesting fact about this ranch is its history. Originally owned by the Decker family (big in sheep ranching, I believe), it is also rumored to have housed the Dalton gang at one point.

Many of the cabins are very old - one thought to have been built by French fur trappers in the 1720s. They can accommodate groups of up to 230 guests, so it would make an idyllic wedding location (the scenery's fantastic).

Located on the north end of Vallecito Lake, they obviously have lots to do right there. There's fishing at their trout ponds, plus a marina on Lake Vallecito. They also offer horseback riding, roping and rodeo event training (Gymkhana), with a competition at the end of the week.

You can book a specific package (horseback, fly fishing, hunting, etc.) or just join in the activities you want to do while you're there. Plenty of leeway to kick back and relax in a gorgeous mountain setting.

Definitely worth checking into!

So, now that I've read about each Durango Colorado guest ranch, I want to go stay at one!. A dude ranch vacation has always appealed to me - and to my family. So beware, you may find us at your next vacation at a Durango Colorado dude ranch!

If you do choose one of these great-sounding places to stay, please let us know what you thought. It'll make this site better for you, too! Use our Rate your stay in Durango survey for your own review of the Durango Colorado guest ranch you chose. We love to hear from you!

If you'd like to check out any other Durango Colorado vacation lodging options, click on any of the links below:

Bed and Breakfasts In Durango Colorado
Durango Cabin
Durango Colorado Camping
Durango Colorado Condos and Townhomes
Durango Colorado Hotels
Durango Resort
Durango Colorado Vacation Rental Homes
Durango Motels


Return from the Colorado Guest Ranch page to Durango Colorado Vacation Lodging

Return to Homepage