Dude Ranches Popular for Group Travel

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Colorado dude ranches are experiencing an increased demand for “togethering,” a term first coined by the travel marketing firm Yesawich, Pepperdine, Brown & Russell. The term describes a rapidly growing type of leisure travel that encompasses groups of people who vacation together.

A Colorado dude ranch is one of the few vacation venues where grandparents, parents, grandkids, neighborhood groups or close friends can all gather for a vacation experience with activities that each generation can enjoy.

“Colorado dude ranches are ideal for such small group vacations,” said Christine Prince, president of the Colorado Dude & Guest Ranch Association and owner of one of the association’s 32 member ranches.

“We are authentic western ranches, not large resorts or tight-quartered ships. Our guests enjoy thousands of acres of wide-open spaces, which means everyone has enough room to play and relax.”

Colorado dude ranches specialize in offering something for every age or ability. So everyone in a group or family gets the vacation they desire and plenty of individual pampering. Dude ranching is centered on horseback riding in spectacular mountain scenery for riders of all abilities. However, ranches also offer rafting, hiking, fishing, nature walks, biking and other fun activities for everyone from grandparents to the youngest children.

“The off-the-beaten path locations of our ranches create an almost exclusive environment where everyone soon knows each other. And yet each person has plenty of space and individual activities from which to choose,” Prince said.

Guests also may simply choose to curl up on the front porch with a good book or have a quiet conversation, knowing that the kids and other group members are having their own fun.

Dude Ranches Popular for Group Travel

Dude Ranches Offer Relaxation for City Slickers

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In the movie “City Slickers,” a group of vacationers has a series of adventures while working hard as ranch hands. But those who have been to a real Colorado dude ranch know it’s actually a relaxing way to spend a vacation.

Here are five reasons why a dude ranch is better than “City Slickers”:

1. All the activities without all the planning: At a dude ranch, you just wake up and go. Most of the activities are offered right at the ranch, so everyone can go their own direction without extensive planning or constantly pulling out their wallets.

2. “Away from it all”: Although some guests are nervous at first to find that their cell phones don’t work in the beautiful Colorado mountains, they are soon relieved. Guests can still check in at home from the ranch office.

3. True relaxation: Guests can truly relax from the first day, as they take that initial horseback ride and discover breathtaking scenery. They soon reconnect to each other as they converse over leisurely meals. And they discover the natural world around them again.

“Finding the rhythm of the ranch is what I call it,” says Charles Henry with the Colorado Dude & Guest Ranch Association.

4. Ownership: About the middle of a dude ranch week, guests begin to act like they own the place, which is just fine with ranch owners. They specialize in creating an atmosphere in which the ranch becomes a guest’s second home.

5. The staff: Most vacation spots don’t offer the opportunity to get to know the staff like a dude ranch. The people working at dude ranches eat meals with the guests, sit around the campfire together, and are not considered “the help.” A common comment written in dude ranch guest books is: “The staff was amazing!” Staff members often keep in touch with guests for years to come.

Dude Ranches Offer Relaxation for City Slickers