A Week at a Colorado Dude Ranch

Back in August, Sloane and I escaped for our minimoon to Black Mountain Ranch, a working dude and cattle ranch in McCoy, Colorado, a perfect blend of what we were looking for: close enough to get there, far enough to get away.

I don’t think many people go to a dude ranch for their honeymoon, but it was an amazing experience. Why? Here’s my summary of a week on the dude ranch:

Amazing experience. Black Mountain Ranch is run by a friendly, caring family and staff, and do everything they can to make your time at the ranch a wonderful experience.
Beautiful setting for a range of adventures: horseback riding (on trails in the mountains or in the arena for barrel racing, etc.), trap shooting, lassoing calfs, cattle driving (on Saturdays), hiking, whitewater rafting, fishing, swimming, hot tubbing, and more. The setting is great, but it’s the people that make it a great experience.
When you arrive, you meet your wrangler for the week, meet your horse, and start to outline your week. Your schedule is up to you: while there are some activities scheduled throughout the week (whitewater rafting, camping out one night, dinner rides into the mountains, cattle driving), you have the opportunity to create your own schedule. Want to relax, nap, read, hot tub? Go ahead. Want to go ride your horse hours into the mountains? Your wrangler will help make it happen.
Every day starts with a great breakfast, and every day ends with a great dinner. And on most nights, dancing, drinking, and playing pool with the cowboys at the saloon on the ranch.
In short: go.

More photos on Flickr.