The posters in the travel agency look great: $349 for a sunny weekend in Cancun, $250 for a whirlwind trip to San Francisco, $599 for a romantic rendezvous in Paris.
But the price on the poster is just the beginning. Food, entertainment, tips and unplanned expenses can turn your economical getaway into a trip to the poorhouse.
If that’s happened to you, maybe it’s time to strap on your spurs and grab your 10-gallon hat and head for a vacation where the advertised cost will be pretty close to the final one: a dude ranch.
“When you go there, you check in and essentially know exactly what you’re paying,” says Jim Manning, a Chicago resident who travels five times a year to Woodside Ranch in Mauston, Wis., which is about four hours from Chicago.
A weekend at Woodside costs $165 per adult during the slow season, from early September until early June, and $185 during the summer. That price includes two nights of lodging, all meals, horseback riding, downhill and cross-country skiing, tubing, hiking, horseshoe and shuffleboard games and a barn dance on Saturday night. The only things not included are liquor and transportation to the ranch.
Horseback riding is a part of nearly all dude ranches, and most offer lessons from the wranglers, who used to be cowboys who retired to dude ranches but now are just as likely to be college students who are experienced horseback riders.
There’s more than riding at a dude ranch, however.
“Other typical things to do at dude ranches are pack trips, river rafting, photography, hiking and fishing,” says Mark Grubbs, executive director of the Dude Ranchers’ Association and former owner of three dude ranches in Colorado. “Or you can just sit under a tree and read a book if you want.”
One of the finest benefits of dude ranches, advocates say, is something that can’t really be advertised.
“I think the greatest value to parents today is that ranches provide safe and happy experiences to kids,” says Gene Kilgore, author of the guidebook “Ranch Vacations.”
And Manning says of Woodside: “It’s ungodly safe up there.”
Dude ranches have a century-old tradition of bringing city folks in touch with nature. David Duncan, owner of Norwester Tours in Portland, Ore., says railroad companies promoted the ranches to fill their passenger cars with Easterners curious about the Old West.
Grubbs, who started his first dude ranch with his wife in 1953, says he remembers picking up guests in Denver who had ridden the train all the way from Chicago.
The Northern Pacific Railroad was a prime mover in the establishment of the LaPorte, Colo.-based Dude Ranchers’ Association (303-223-8440) in 1926, Duncan says. As it was back then, the association’s main purpose is to promote dude ranching.
The term “dude” refers to an outsider, someone new to the country. “It’s not a connotation that a person is a smart aleck or bad,” Grubbs explains.
There seems to be no clear consensus as to what exactly qualifies as a dude ranch. Grubbs says the word refers to a ranch that doesn’t take transient guests, meaning guests are expected to stay more than one night.
Others say a dude ranch is any ranch offering lodging and horseback riding, while the Dude Rancher magazine, published by the association, defines a dude ranch as a “Western experience in a setting that presents both a livestock-oriented way of life and a sincere concern for the visitor’s comfort and pleasure.”
To get the most value for your dude-ranching dollar, remember these tips:
– Dude ranches may be associated with the West, but there are dozens in the Midwest, too. The Double JJ Resort in Rothbury, Mich., about 3 1/2 hours from Chicago, even features a 100-member Double JJ Club in Chicago, which is “a bunch of people who want to keep the good times going all year ’round,” says club member Izzy Bush. Double JJ’s director of sales, Carol Wood, says 50 percent of the ranch’s guests come from Chicago.
Even if you elect to travel out West for a more mountainous dude ranch experience, the trip will still cost you less than if you visit San Francisco for a weekend. Rates run from just under $100 per day to more than $250.
– Though most ranches offer packages that include nearly everything, it pays to ask beforehand. State and local taxes are not included in the price, and liquor usually isn’t, either. Some ranches may expect gratuities, and some may charge for certain activities.
– Most dude ranches have minimum stays. Grubbs says members of the Dude Ranchers’ Association generally have a three-night minimum stay. “These ranches are family oriented, with a week’s program planned,” Grubbs explains. “They don’t like interference from outsiders.”
– Rates for children are generally less than for adults.
– Many ranches have different levels of accommodation. The Double JJ Resort, for example, charges $209 per adult for a weekend in a standard ranch room-a bedroom and a bathroom-and $279 for a weekend in a condo with a loft and a view of the lake.
– You save even more money at most ranches if you go during the off-season. Many ranches also offer other discounts, even during the off-season. Woodside, for example, offers discounts from 10 to 25 percent off its regular rates during certain weeks. Some ranches also offer corporate and group discounts.
– If you plan to go fishing, ask if you need to buy a fishing license. Also check whether you need to bring your own gear.
– Ask about children’s programs and child care. Many ranches give adults the option to drop the kids off and do their own thing all day, or spend the day as a family. A few ranches, including the Double JJ, are adults only.
– Before you visit a ranch for the first time, ask for references. “Calling for a reference allows you to get an objective feel for the property,” Kilgore says.
– If you’re traveling far, ask the ranch about local airports, train stations, etc. They may be able to pick you up there, or they may recommend that you rent a car.
Dude ranches are, in general, a tremendous value for a relaxing, no-frills vacation. Rooms are generally spartan, often with no TV or phone, and some guests say the best part of the vacation is that they can do nothing if they choose.
The ranches often focus on families, and pride themselves in seeing the same guests return year after year.
“Take children to the beach, ask them to name the beach 10 years later, and they won’t be able to,” Kilgore says. “But take them to a ranch, and they’ll remember it, the names of their horses, and maybe even the name of the wrangler who helped them.”
