Taking the Kids: Calling all cowboys and cowgirls

Dude ranches certainly are having a moment this summer with many already full as families continue to seek outdoor-oriented experiences within the United States. “Dude ranches are looking to have the best year to date for some properties,” said Bryce Albright, a spokesman for the national Dude Ranchers Association.

Ranches aren’t inexpensive — in prime season upwards of $400 a night per person, less for kids, though they typically are all-inclusive and offer what families crave — the chance to go somewhere different and share a new experience. (There are some summer specials at White Stallion, starting at $1,668 for a family of four for three nights; $2,503 for five nights.)

You might still be able to find a ranch for your family if you are flexible and book soon, suggests ranch expert Colleen Hodson, who oversees BestDudeRanches.com, which include White Stallion and Flathead Lake Lodge in Montana where we visited last summer. There are also options during shoulder season — July and August at White Stallion, for example or winter when we’ve visited Vista Verde in Colorado for a different kind of snowy escape — and my son’s engagement just before the pandemic shut everything down.

Dude ranches first became popular at the end of the 19th century when wealthy Easterners came West for a month or longer, many for the healthy air, some young women for the handsome cowboys. At one time, there were 137 ranches just in Tucson, now there are two, with perhaps 200 others across the country.

True notes that ranches are “cushier,” than in the past. White Stallion, like others, has a spa, for example, and activities have expanded beyond horseback riding. White Stallion boasts the biggest private rock-climbing operation in the country, he said, with E-Biking also proving popular, as well as shooting with replica guns from the 19th century, watercolor classes, a big pool, and evening activities ranging from cowboy music to sessions on desert critters. Flathead Lake Lodge has had great success with their mountain-biking program. There’s fly fishing, hiking, cooking demonstrations and more.

“There is a lot to do, and I don’t ride at all,” said Denise Gray, here with her family from Philadelphia to celebrate daughter Alexis finishing graduate school at the University of Arizona. “I don’t even like guns, but the shooting was great,” she added.

The three Knight kids, aged 11, 9, 4, were game to try everything, starting with feeding the miniature horses, goats and sheep in the petting zoo and just about every activity offered, including steep mountain rides and flat rides through the Sonoran Desert. “I’m excited about everything,” said Liam Knight, 11.

“Even though we were supposed to be in Europe, we’re not sad to be here,” said Crystal Knight, whose family had come from Montana. She and her husband were trading activities with the older two and watching their youngest, who wasn’t yet old enough for riding ( beyond pony rides.)

While other ranches have organized kids’ programs, White Stallion doesn’t — on purpose.

“Kids can be independent here like they can’t be in their normal lives,” True said. “What works here for families works very, very well.”

As for the Mattsons, they were already talking about another ranch vacation.

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(For more Taking the Kids, visit www.takingthekids.com and also follow TakingTheKids on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram where Eileen Ogintz welcomes your questions and comments. The Kid’s Guide to Philadelphia, the 13th in the kid’s guide series, was published in 2020, with The Kid’s Guide to Camping coming in 2021.)