Family Lodge/Ranch

We are a family of four, kids 7 %26amp; 10, looking for an all-inclusive lodge/ranch in the mountains for a week in August. We are pretty active, and enjoy fishing, hiking, horseback riding, water sports, etc. Rooms have to be clean and comfortable, and the food has to be good. Our budget is around $4K for the week, for everything.

Any recommendations?

Family Lodge/Ranch

Have you seen the Montana dude Ranch Association website, with side-by-side comparisons?

www.montanadra.com/choosing_a_ranch.aspx

Family Lodge/Ranch

Wow, those all look really nice. But $10K for a week is just not in our budget. Any idea whether any of these places offer any kind of family discounts? Any suggestions on guest ranches which are just a tad less expensive?

You might check in to renting a condo or small house in Big Sky. You%26#39;d have to self cater (ie. cook, or eat out) but there are better quality restaurants and resort amenities. There is horseback riding and river rafting nearby, and you can day trip down to Yellowstone Park. There are pools for the kids to swim in as well. Great hiking and fishing all over the place, too, like riding the ski lift up to the top and hiking around up there.

Less luxurious but cheaper would be renting an RV, or the Montana family standard vacation of just tenting it!

Other areas with resort-style vacation amenities would include Whitefish up near Glacier Park. There are vacation rentals in the Paradise Valley south of Livingston, which has world class fishing and access to Yellowstone as well.

I realize you%26#39;re probably looking at Montana dude ranches (so are we), but it might be worth it to look out of state.

Drowsy Water Ranch in Granby, Co is a place we%26#39;re considering for this summer. It seems to be one of the more affordable dude ranches out there and might be what you%26#39;re looking for.

Here%26#39;s their rate page:

http://drowsywater.com/rates.html

Looks like a ten percent discount if you go in late August. We%26#39;re going to go earlier in the season to get the 20% discount. Loving these stimulus deals.

Still a little above 4k, but they include a raft trip which is nice.

Also seem to be very family oriented.

The reviews are also very positive.

Good luck in your search.

It%26#39;s between Rich Ranch in Montana and Drowsy Water in Colorado for us.

Hi we stayed at this ranch last summer and had a fantastic time, do check out their website and give them a call.

http://www.coveredwagonranch.com/

Slodream, can I ask how you narrowed it down to those two? Affordability obviously but there are others out there that are similarly priced.

Sure. Location (views), children%26#39;s programs, and reviews. Not necessarily in that order.

The ranches seem to have a lot in common. Both of the ranches have great prices, and don%26#39;t seem to have hidden costs. The pictures on the website all portray the type of scenery we want to experience: green, woodsy...although Drowsy Water Ranch seems to be in the mountains while Rich Ranch is in a meadow. Both claim to be family oriented, though Drowsy Water had a little more information on the kid%26#39;s program.

However, lots of ranches have those things and are similarly priced. The choice seems to be coming down to the testimonials and reviews we%26#39;ve recieved. Nothing beats word of mouth. Drowsy Water Ranch seems to be a trip advisor favorite and we haven%26#39;t read a bad review yet. But we have neighbors with young teens (13 and 15 I think?) that had a great time at Rich Ranch.

We%26#39;re still undecided though leaning toward Drowsy Water Ranch. Hope to make a decision after spring break.

Good luck making yours!

Noticed you were looking for a possible dude ranch to visit this summer. We vacationed last summer and going this summer again to Drowsy Water Ranch in Colorado. Probably the best vacation we have ever been on. So much that we find ourselves recommending a ranch vacation to people all over Trip Advisor despite our family also vacationing 3-4 times every year to places all over the world with some fun and unique vacations.

We have visited Montana a few times and loved the state. Keep in mind Montana is huge! This said the only thing we didn%26#39;t really like about Montana was the price of flights to get to most of the spots. You might find okay deals to Bozeman and Billings but even then you have already stopped at Salt Lake City or Denver for a flight transfer. It was costing close to $1200 more for our family two years ago to fly into Helena than Denver, CO.

Let us know what ranch you pick and have a great vacation being cowboys and cowgirls!

The Youngs