Ranch near Yellowstone
 

Dear Fodorites:

I'm considering staying at a Ranch and travelling to Yellowstone for day trips on my upcoming trip (late August). I'm new to this concept.

Would love to hear your thoughts on the benefits/detriments on staying at a Ranch.

Also, would like higher end accomodations. Recommendations??

Thanks in advance!

Debbie

Have you researched guest ranches? There is a large network of them, and they are easy to find. Maybe pick out four or five of them, then create another post asking specifically about the ones you are interested in.

There are great guest ranches, sometimes called dude ranches, too.

Many years ago, my DH and I stayed at K Bar Z ranch near Red Lodge, Montana:
http://www.agonline.com/kbarz/default.htm

But you can tell it is not "Higher End" by a long stretch! And it is quite remote, so not good for your day trips at all. We were there to ride horses and fly fish, and wanted its isolated location. I only mention it to give you a frame of reference.

Good luck searching. There are great ones to be found!

Do some research. I think when you pay for a week at a dude ranch you are paying an all-inclusive rate that can make it a bit pricey if you aren't going to be there during the day but in the park.

We used to stay at cabins outside of West Yellowstone while some went fishing and some went into the park. Would something like that work?

Last August, we had a lovely dinner at Bar N Ranch just outside West Yellowstone. It looked like a great place to stay and it wouldn't be a long drive at all to the west entrance of Yellowstone. Check out their website: http://www.bar-n-ranch.com/

www.ranchweb.com is a great site for finding ranches. Their descriptions are very accurate. We used the book long before there was a web site!

Thanks friends. I have researched a bit. Thinking of going with Parade Ranch. Would love to hear everyone's thoughts on that ranch.

Also, what are the benefits/detriments of doing the Ranch scene?

I really appreciate the help!

We stayed at a ranch near RMNP and did our own day trips into RMNP a couple times during our week stay. We enjoyed the ranch's organized activities and dining but we also enjoyed doing our own thing. Our ranch didn't care that some days we weren't there or doing its activities.

dr,

The main thing to remember is that Yellowstone is huge. To make the most of your time, it's best to stay in multiple lodge locations inside the park if at all possible to avoid as much backtracking as possible. Yellowstone really isn't a "day trip" type of place.

Next best is to stay in town as near to the entrances as possible.

Guest ranches are great, but you need to decide which is your main objective? How many days do you have?

I am travelling with my SO and his 8 year old daughter. We will have about three full days. I figured we could do the one full day at yellowstone (see old faithful, etc) and ranch stuff or rafting on the other two. That is why I would like to find a ranch near the main hits at Yellowstone.

Back to my initial request, does anyone have a recommendation for a higher end ranch near the main attractions??

Thanks all!

Many ranches require a one week stay. With only 3 days, it will probably be easiest for you to schedule rafting and perhaps horseback riding with independent operators in one of the towns surrounding Yellowstone. You can search for ranches at www.ranchweb.com, perhaps you will find a ranch that will take you for only 3 days.