A stay at this lovely guest ranch, on 5,000 acres below the Continental Divide and about 20 minutes from the ski area, can be a vacation in and of itself. The upscale-rustic lodge rooms, many with fireplaces, are convenient to everything at the ranch. For privacy, room to spread out, and a beautifully rendered version of Western luxe style, book one of the 16 cabins a half-mile from the lodge (dogs are welcome in some, too). Two restaurants are on site: the romantic Ranch House, in the ranch’s original handhewn-log homestead (from 1937), and the family-oriented Heck’s Tavern, housed in a hexagonal room built to resemble Oregon’s Timberline Lodge.
Activities are numerous: In winter, the ranch grooms more than 100 kilometers of trails for cross-country skiing and snowshoeing, and also offers sleigh rides, horseback riding, ice skating, and sledding. Summer brings fly-fishing ponds, hiking, mountain biking, an extensive menu of horse-related options, and the opening of the indoor/outdoor pool.
The ranch also has a wealth of family-friendly activities; some of the more notable ones include Old McDonald (a guided meet-the-farm-animals experience), pony rides through the woods, family horseback rides, kids’ barn BBQs, movie nights, and a good old-fashioned game room (no video). Kids 5 to 12 can sign up for a half- or full day of Cowpoke Camp on summer weekends (giving you a chance to duck into the incredibly soothing spa for a treatment or a yoga class) and 10- to 14-year-olds can attend one of three monthly Junior Wrangler Daycamps — the three-day sessions devote mornings to horseback riding and care and afternoons to other outdoor activities and games.
