Hi hope someone can help
We are going to Denver from the UK on 24th October for 2 weeks and staying the downtown Sheraton. We would like to see some country like lead, cheyenne or laramie (we like the cowboy route sad we don't want to drive and i was looking for 3 or 4 nights somewhere, don't mind flying or bus or train or organised tour can anyone help please

Thanks in advance

Jess and Kev

Going to Cheyenne or Laramie from Denver would bypass great Colorado scenery, so I would not advise it. It is not a scenic drive to Wyoming.

I recommend you focus on 'cowboy' areas of Colorado. There is a very upscale place near Winter Park, which is called Devils Thumb Ranch. It is done in authentic old west style and furnishings. They have horses and a spa and two great restaurants. It is a very nice place which we have visited several times.

You could take Amtrak train from downtown Denver to Fraser, and ask Devils Thumb Ranch if they provide pick up service. They probably do, especially when their shuttles are not occupied with skiers.

If you wanted to continue by train, you could continue on Amtrak from Fraser to Glenwood Springs, and visit Aspen from there. It, too, has some cowboy history and is gorgeous.

Unfortunately it is difficult to get around this area without a private vehicle. The suggestion for an overnight or two to Glenwood Springs. You would take Amtrack to Glenwood, and walk to hotel from the station. Hotel Denver is just across from that station. If you ride bicycles, you could rent bikes and ride the Glenwood Canyon. One of the most scenic spots in Colorado. There is bus service from Glenwood to Aspen. Leadville would be interesting for you but don't know how to get there from Denver via public transit.

I love Devil's Thumb Ranch and Aspen, but they are upscale and cowboys don't usually do upscale. If it's an authentic cowboy focus you want, then Cheyenne would be your best bet, but flights there are expensive. I have no idea about bus possibilities or tours.

There are places in Colorado generally smaller and less tourist targeted with a cowboy/authentic western scene. It may, however, be difficult to get to any without a car. Let me give it some thought.

I know you've said that you don't want to drive, but the driving really is quite easy in this part of the world and to do "cowboy" things a car really would be your best bet.

Actually, in Colorado, cowboys do upscale.

Thanks to all, we thought about going to Cheyenne by plane but the train sounds good idea. I thought there would be organised tours but can't find anything and realise that everything is by car

I usually find upscale cowboys as more of a wannabe type than the real thing although, as always in life, there may be an exception. Have family that are cattle ranchers ( you don't get much more cowboy than that) and know for the most part they would feel about as comfortable at Devil's Thumb and in Aspen as I would at a nudist camp.

Having spent a week at a working ranch (but also taking in "dudes") in the Grand Tetons, just go for the "upscale" OR find a "dude ranch" in Colorado and spend time there. The scenery will be lovely and it will be fun.
If you think about it, if these folks found a tour in Cheyenne or Laramie, it would be just the same as what they would find "upscale" in Colorado.
From spending a week on a ranch in the Tetons long ago--and it was a working ranch as well as us "dudes", the cowboys lived out on the range in a trailer where the beans and the coffee sat on the stove and when they were finished, they came into the main house.

If OP wants a real working cowboy experience, it can be found in Colorado. No need to travel to Wyoming.

Just google for guest ranches. We went to one a long time ago, where we rode horses and actually helped 'push' cattle. It was real work. A very simple place called Focus Ranch. We still receive letters from the owners, Terry and Maureen Reedy, giving updates on their ranch.

Correction: Terry and Maureen Reidy. Focus Ranch is very near the Wyoming border, 52 miles from Steamboat. You could fly to Steamboat, and pay the Ranch to get picked up there. A good portion of the road to the ranch will be dirt. You would definitely be in the company of real working cowboys!

As I said, it is a homespun place, not upscale by any means. But the owners are very hospitable and hard working folks.

http://www.focusranch.com/

"USA TODAY … "10 Great Places to be a cowboy"
Focus Ranch, Slater, Colorado….Terry and Maureen (Ripple)Reidy run the operation , which is busier than most ranches from May to October: Hard -to-handle yearling cattle are moved cross-country from pasture to pasture- some in Medicine bow national Forest-every few days…"

I just realized the OP is in Colorado late October, which can be iffy weather, of course. And most ranches require a one-week stay, not 3 or 4 nights. But it is worth asking them, because October is probably low season for guest visits.

The Focus Ranch site says they will pick up guests at Steamboat Springs airport for $50 per trip.

Focus Ranch sounds great if one is looking for a cowboy experience. And, yes, late October may be "iffy" in regard to weather but may also allow for a shorter stay. All one can do is ask.

I agree that there are a number of possibilities to experience the cowboy in Colorado, and it certainly needn't be upscale unless OP wants it to be.

For the OP, unfortunately our train system is not nearly as extensive ( indeed, barely exists at all) in comparison to the UK. Buses seem to be few and far between also.

Devil's Thumb Ranch is awesome! My son's fiance works there and loves it. Steamboat is fun too. Try to see the 14er's. (Mountains above 14k ft.)

Also, in WP, there is a pass called Corona pass that is gorgeous, it's at 11k feet up a dirt road. Up there are old train trestles, lakes that the Army Corps of Engineers drop fish in by helicopter. You may see some snow!

Really, you need to drive. If you can drive the M25, driving out West is a piece of cake! My husband and I are doing a loop by car starting and ending in Denver as follows:
Denver (2 nights, we arrive 6 PM the first night)
Drive from Denver-Boulder-Estes Park to Rocky Mountain National Park. Drive through park to Sol Vista Basin condo in Granby Ranch and spend 2 nights.
Drive to Grand Junction, CO (1 night) This is about half way to our real destination - Moab, Utah to visit Arches NP. Spend 2 nights in Moab. After visiting Arches NP, drive to Canyonands NP - Island in the Sky and then on to Green River, Utah for the night. Next day go to Capitol Reef NP and on to Richfield, Utah for the night. The next day drive to Salt Lake City, spend the night, and drive the next day (long day!) to Cheyenne, WY. Spend 2 nights in Cheyenne, and drive back to Denver the next day for our flight out. However, if you have never been to The Grand Canyon, AZ, Yosemite NP, CA or Yellowstone NP,WY I'd say they are the 3 most popular parks (for good reason) to visit in the USA. Have a wonderful time - whatever you decide! We are taking 12 nights to do this road trip.