America's Best Dude Ranches

Founded in the 1920s, A Bar A is one of the country’s oldest and largest dude ranches, with 140,000 acres of hills, valleys, pastures, and woods. Thanks to an ancient insurance policy, it’s also one of the few places where you aren’t required to ride with a wrangler—as long as you know what you’re doing. It’s a cross between a serious horseman’s paradise and a secluded, luxe resort with golf, tennis, and “Western elegant” cuisine from a Cordon Bleu–trained chef.

Riding: You’re matched with a horse according to your size, temperament, and riding ability, and can ride twice a day, with or without your kids. Longer treks take you into the Savage Run Wilderness.

Capacity: 100 guests; 130 horses.

A secluded go-to spot for Hollywood royalty since opening in 1946, Alisal is a resort as much as a ranch, with two 18-hole golf courses, a spa, a private pond for fishing, boating, and tennis courts (and no TVs in the rooms to distract you). More than 50 miles of trails make for gorgeous horseback rides up through the surrounding hills and sycamore groves. Traditions run strong here: adults and kids alike are expected to dress up for dinner.

Riding: Unlike at most ranches, rides are à la carte, including one to a cowboy breakfast, trail rides, and sunset rides for prime wildlife viewing.

Capacity: 230 guests; 100 horses.

Its owners were so inspired by their sons’ work as wranglers out west that they felt compelled to start a dude ranch of their own. Luckily for those on the right coast, they put down roots in the Smoky Mountains. Pisgah National Forest is right next door for trail rides, and Western staples like evening hootenannies, rodeos, and steak cookouts could make you forget you’re east of the Mississippi.

Riding: You’ll never go out with more than seven other guests at a time. Trail rides are offered twice daily, and riding is available for kids ages five and up.

Capacity: 68 guests; 70 horses.

The intimate Hideout, set on 150,000 breathtaking acres, is unusual for a number of reasons: it embraces families, yet offers no children’s program; it’s a bona fide cattle ranch whose work, in summer, is done largely by guests; and despite the cowboy bent, it doesn’t spare creature comforts like top-notch dining and spa services.

Riding: Rides vary in length, traversing anything from quasi-desert to alpine forest and craggy canyons. Those with decent riding skills can choose to do a day (or more) of cattle work, which may include moving cattle into summer pastureland or branding.

Capacity: 25 guests; 80 horses.

Latigo is known for its fine riding program, individualized attention, and “nouveau ranch” menu. The Arapaho National Forest surrounds it on three sides, and trails take you through an array of aspen groves, pine forest, sagebrush, and open meadows. It strikes a thought-out balance between family time (breakfast, dinner, and family rides) and those times when kids and their parents part company (lunch, adults-only pack trips, separate orientations, and kids’ outings).

Riding: The program emphasizes instruction, encourages independence, and has a stated goal that every rider will be able to (but not, of course, forced to) lope by week’s end.

Capacity: 35 guests; 70–90 horses.

Cowboy bravado is this ranch’s hallmark. Intended soley for beginners, the ranch is ideal for the family that knows it wants to do some horseback riding, yes, but plenty of other things as well, like fishing, swimming, tubing, taking in a hootenanny, and…lots of Lone Star–style eating.

Riding: Two rides are offered daily, and they’re set up for beginners, lasting just 50 minutes apiece, about half that of most other ranches. They’re also single-file only, and you could find yourself on a trail ride with up to 25 other people at a time.

Capacity: 130 guests; 40 horses.

This brand-new spot is a luxury resort that looks a lot like a dude ranch. Situated on 6,600 acres in a gorgeous Montana valley, it offers great riding, to be sure, but its forté is “glamping” (glamorous camping)—getting away from it all, but without leaving creature comforts like spa treatments and featherbeds behind.

Riding: Rides are scheduled according to the wishes of its guests, and trail rides traverse anything from riverbeds to rolling meadows and wooded foothills. Mini cattle drives are an option for those with considerable riding skills.

Capacity: 60 guests; 72 horses.

Following in the tradition of the country’s first dude ranches, Rocking Z started out as a cattle ranch, then switched over completely to a guest ranch—only it did so in 2000. A family-run, ultra-green operation (it uses biofuel only in summer), Rocking Z trains all its horses in natural horsemanship, the no-coercion, communication-centered technique elaborated in The Horse Whisperer. The owners believe it’s important to “get people off the clock,” explaining the relative lack of structure here—and the freedom to be spontaneous.

Riding: Rides through open high hills and long valleys are custom-tailored to families and/or individuals.

Capacity: 20 guests; 60 horses.

Open year-round, this ranch is for families who don’t need the cowboy shtick to enjoy horseback riding. Situated amid rolling hills, it’s one of the few that lets capable riders go out on their own, without a wrangler. Its exclusive focus on horses (it breeds and trains its own, either quarter or paint) fosters bonding.

Riding: The hands-on program offers two two-hour trail rides daily, with a maximum of six people per group. The option to separate from the group is available to more accomplished riders after an hour with their guide.

Capacity: 40 guests; 150 horses.

An upscale, 60,000-acre resort near Tucson, Tanque Verde is best visited in spring or fall, when temperatures are cooler and the desert more lush. The surrounding Sonoran Desert landscape, strewn with saguaro and prickly pear cacti, is a world away from that of the typical Rocky Mountain ranch, but horseback riding reigns equally supreme.

Riding: Guests have the choice of three 90-minute rides daily through the countryside, a six-hour all-day ride, or the combination of rides and a group arena lesson to hone techniques (sunset rides and private lessons cost extra).

Capacity: 200 guests; 180 horses.

The greatest assets of JJJ are its dramatic and highly diverse terrain and its proximity to both the 1.5 million–acre Bob Marshall Wilderness, an untrammeled land tract that’s accessible only on foot or horseback, and Sun River. Riding is the main draw, but trout fishing, nature hikes, and cookouts could keep you outdoors all day long.

Riding: You’re matched with a horse for the week and have your choice of morning, afternoon, or all-day rides of various levels. One of the ranch’s specialties is overnight pack trips.

Capacity: 24 guests; 70 horses and mules.