“You’re surrounded by thousands of acres of public lands, and that grounds people in a way that you can’t get in other environments.”

Sunflowers cascaded ahead of me, transforming the horizon into a golden carpet. As the horse beneath me transitioned from a gentle trot into a powerful run, I had one thought: Everybody should do this.

I’d ended up on the back of this palomino mare in an attempt to improve my writing. I left an evangelist for the adventure and education ranch vacations offer up. The United States’ vast interior presents endless opportunities for exploration and cultural exchange, with full-scale immersions in Western heritage that don’t even require a passport.

“For vacations, ranches offer a huge opportunity to disconnect and let go of your daily rhythms and reconnect to what’s important — nature, people, and yourself,” says Tess Leach, the second-generation proprietor of Ranchlands. “And the back of a horse is a really amazing vehicle to do it from.”

Unlike Disneyland-esque dude ranches, small, independently owned ranches offer trips that are simultaneously active yet relaxing. Overflowing with chances to participate in sustainability and conservation, the reasons to get in the saddle are myriad. Here are my top seven.

A Ranch Vacation Can Be Anything You Want

While most ranch vacations center on equestrian activities, an expansive range of itineraries exists to satisfy adventurers of all backgrounds, ages, and levels of excitement.

“Our guests are learning about a way of life through immersion, which can be anything from fixing a fence to checking grass and water to being a part of the grazing planning meeting,” explains Leach of Ranchlands, which operates the Paintrock Canyon Ranch in Wyoming.

Ranchlands operates first and foremost as a working cattle ranch, but their excursions range from cattle drives and pack trips — think backpacking on horseback — to art and wine workshops. “The whole experience is really aimed to put people as close to nature as possible,” says Leach of the ranch, where guests stay in fully furnished safari tents that open onto Paintrock Creek. she says.

“There’s nothing more false than folks thinking they don’t have the skills or abilities to experience this,” explains Christine Prince, the owner of Cherokee Park Ranch in Livermore, Colorado. And Prince knows from experience: She and her husband left careers in medicine and purchased their 300-acre ranch after embarking on a ranch vacation with their four children three decades ago. “It changed everything for us,” she says. “When you spend time outside with nature getting dirty, fishing, hiking, and riding, it changes you.”

Today, she and her team help children as young as two years-old ride ponies and collect eggs from the Cherokee Park flock of hens while older visitors head out on day-long rides into Roosevelt National Forest or experience white water rafting on the Cache La Poudre River.

Choosing a Ranch that Runs on Renewable Resources

In the remote wilderness outside of Jackson Hole, Wyoming, escapes are fueled by the sun in century-old cabins, while wood-fired saunas and hot tubs soothe saddle-sore muscles at Flat Creek Ranch.

“You won’t even see any vehicles once you get to the ranch. You’re surrounded by thousands of acres of public lands, and that grounds people in a way that you can’t get in other environments,” says General Manager Shelby Scharp, who initially used The Long Run to ensure Flat Creek’s overall sustainability practices were in line with global standards. “I think seeing and experiencing sustainable life off of the grid is so valuable.”

Ranchlands operates similarly, with wood and solar fueling gourmet meals and steamy showers along Paintrock Creek, plus a composting toilet system. “If we don’t have a sustainable ecosystem, then we don’t have a business.”

At Cherokee Park, a maximum of 40 guests share the landscape with 120 horses, and the Prince family repurposes beetle-kill lumber to remodel its cozy cabins and repair fence lines. “We’ve had to cull all of this wood for fire prevention, and we didn’t want to waste it—so we reused it across the ranch to improve everything we could.”

Ranch Experiences Display Conservation in Action

“We’re taking a more scientific approach to what nature has been doing forever, which gives our guests a real feeling of being part of something much bigger,” says Leach of Ranchlands, where rotational grazing protocols are used across Paintrock Canyon’s 80,000 acres. 

“The core of Ranchlands is conservation through ranching and grazing,” says Leach, noting her team measures the moisture and sunlight going into each pasture as they rotate the herds. These rotational techniques mimic the way wild ungulate species like Bison roamed the American plains for millennia, trampling and fertilizing sections of grassland before moving on to—literally—greener pastures. The practice regenerates natural grassland habitats, while significantly reducing vegetation that can fuel major wildfires.

“Diversifying into hospitality and e-commerce helps us amplify our business so that we can make choices in the best interest of the landscape and remain sustainable,” Leach adds. Ranchlands also launched its Ranchlands Collective in 2025, a 501(c)3 nonprofit dedicated to bridging providing educational opportunities and promoting conservation-minded solutions for agriculture and agri-business.

“Environmentalism is one of our highest priorities,” says Scharp, who maintains permits for Flat Creek guests to ride and hike into the Bridger-Teton National Forest where wild land management practices are on full display.

Ranch Menus are a Locavore’s Dream

While the phrase “dude ranch” might conjure images of canned baked beans, modern ranch cuisine is driven by local flavors and, often, meat from animals raised on the ranches themselves.

At Flat Creek, long days culminate with four-course dinners including centerpieces like osso buco from nearby Lockheart Beef and duck confit alongside vegetables from the on-site garden. “From Rocky Mountain elk to bison to trout, we’re always trying to keep things local,” says Scharp, who also sources Flat Creek’s bath products, beer, wine, and coffee from local purveyors.

Meals are more casual around the dining tables of Cherokee Park Ranch and the Ranchlands fire pit, but locally sourced nonetheless featuring dairy from nearby Fort Collins, Colorado and Wyoming farmers, respectively.

“Our business depends on the earth, so we always try to buy local,” says Prince, who’s currently working with her son and daughter-in-law to develop a cattle herd to sustain Cherokee Park guests. 

Ranch Excursions Combine Education with Relaxation

From riverside lounging to stargazing, there’s no shortage of relaxation on ranch trips, but it’s most often paired with hands-on lessons in agriculture, conservation, and Western history.

“Our guests want to learn on vacation, and learn something that can’t simply be gleaned from reading a book,” says Leach. “We believe that communication and engaging with people who live in cities is crucial to the future of ranching, and our goal is to bridge the gap between urban and rural communities.”

At Paintrock Canyon, lessons range from how to herd cattle and plan grazing, to indigenous history via visits to the Medicine Lodge Archaeological Site. 

“This is so much more than a beach detox, because we are going to feed your mind and let you engage physically and mentally in new ways, while sharing Western heritage and history,” says Scharp of the hiking, riding, and fly-fishing on offer at Flat Creek Ranch.  

“One of the most important parts of our business is educating people,” says Prince, noting conversations on the ranch can turn guests into walking advertisements for conservation. “The exchanges we have with guests are so valuable, whether we’re talking about how we treat our horses or the landscape.” 

Ranches Offer a True Digital Detox

Sometimes, it’s forced: located in remote areas, cell service simply doesn’t exist in these locales. Once off the grid, the focus shifts from a cacophony of digital alerts to the harmony of birds, insects, and hooves. 

“The entire idea is to unplug and disconnect in order to reconnect,” says Scharp, who has been helping guests move through this process for over 20 years at Flat Creek Ranch. A member of the National Register of Historic Places, Flat Creek operates under a permanent conservation easement, ensuring the ranch and its surrounding acreage will remain wild in perpetuity.

At Ranchlands, where power outlets don’t exist and texting requires a ten-minute hike, desolation inspires old-fashioned connections. “We have a lot of single travelers that stay with us, and they end up leaving with a dozen new best friends,” Leach says.

Prince has likewise witnessed the positive effects Cherokee Park’s digital detoxes on families. “We have one tiny spot with wi-fi, so you can keep track of your business or check in with the dog-sitter while you’re here,” she says. “But you’re not gonna be on the phone and your kids won’t be on theirs either – and you won’t miss it.” 

Ranch Vacations Let You Pack Light

The all-inclusive nature of most ranch experiences means you can rely on hosts with decades of experience to deliver comfort on every level — in addition to the specialty equipment that makes riding, fishing, and other activities a breeze.

“We’re feeding you. We’re housing you. We’re entertaining you. We find it is so freeing for our guests to take a break from being in charge,” says Prince.

Tied to their lands, ranchers are experts in the weather of their locations, which leads to smartly appointed accommodations — think wood-burning stoves for chilly nights at Flat Creek and stylish tents that can take in the Paintrock Creek’s breezes during a heatwave. At Cherokee Park, there’s a pool for perfectly timed post-ride cannonballs.

The level of hospitality and flexibility small ranches offer is unmatched at larger properties, making these trips not just enriching but ultimately sustainable and humane too. “Ranchers are caregivers of the planet,” says Prince. “We’re given this little plot of land and we are so careful with it. And then we just want to share it with other people.”