The Rise and Resilience of Dude Ranches

Dude ranches have been a popular American vacation spot for more than one hundred years.

Dudes out for a morning ride at Quarter Circle 'U' Ranch, Montana, 1939 (Arthur Rothstein, Library of Congress)

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The first time I visited a dude ranch, I felt transported, not to the Old West but away from the world. Life contracted, and I could focus on what mattered: reconnecting with my husband and two horse-crazy daughters, 8 and 10 at the time. To this day, it’s my favorite family vacation.

Dude ranches have always offered an escape from life’s hustle and bustle, even in the late 19th century when Howard Eaton welcomed his first guests — family and friends — to the cattle ranch he owned with his brothers. These first guests told their friends, who then traveled to the North Dakota ranch to see the West and sometimes help with ranch chores.

The Eaton brothers in 1890 with their families at the Custer Trail Ranch, Dakota Territory (Wyoming Historical Society)

Initially, the Eatons didn’t charge their guests, but when one offered to pay for room and board, Eaton decided to charge guests $10 per week to offset expenses. Other ranchers took note and followed Eaton’s lead. Before long, a steady supply of “dudes” (a term used by cattle ranchers to describe city slickers) came from cities like New York and Chicago to spend the summer months at cattle ranches riding horses, hiking, fishing, and hunting.

Early dude ranches were usually located in the Rocky Mountain states of Montana, Wyoming, and Colorado. (Eventually, the Eaton brothers sold their North Dakota ranch in 1904 and bought another in Wolf, Wyoming, where the family still runs Eatons’ Ranch today.) You’ll also find guest ranches in Arizona, Texas, California, Idaho, Oregon, Washington, and British Columbia.

Poster for Eaton’s Ranch in Wolf, Wyoming, ca. 1915 (Library of Congress) / Photo of Mary Roberts Rinehart from her book, Through Glacier Park: Seeing America First with Howard Eaton, Houghton Mifflin Company, 1916 (Penn Libraries)

At first, most guests were young, single men, but Lynn Downey, author of American Dude Ranch, says following World War I, women like novelist and Saturday Evening Post journalist Mary Roberts Rinehart began to join them. Invited on a pack trip, Rinehart found the experience so empowering and healing that she wrote articles encouraging women to vacation at dude ranches.

Wealthy families followed. According to Downey, even though these families were used to staying in fine hotels, they loved being away from the formality of society. Most stayed for entire seasons, and many returned year after year. “They wanted unique experiences and to slow their lives down,” she explains.

The Quarter Circle U Ranch ca. late 1930s (Marion Post Wolcott, Library of Congress)

No matter who came, the railroad played an integral role in getting them there before automobiles. Guests took trains to the city nearest the dude ranch, then someone from the ranch met them at the station to bring them the rest of the way. As dude ranches became more popular, railroads began promoting them as destinations.

People around the swimming pool at the Dude Desert Ranch in Coolidge, Arizona, 1940 (Russell Lee, Library of Congress)

The new national park system drew visitors, too. Laura Long, who owns the Crossed Sabres Ranch near Yellowstone National Park with her husband, says their ranch was once a way stop Tex Holm used when he transported visitors from the Cody train station into the park. Today, Crossed Sabres Ranch still takes guests on day tours of Yellowstone National Park.

Postcard featuring “Tex Holm ready for a Dude Party, Cody, Wyo.” ca. 1910 (geyserbob.com)

In Colorado, ranch manager Tammy Yurich notes the connection between the Bar Lazy J Guest Ranch, where she works, and Rocky Mountain National Park, 45 minutes away. Although the ranch doesn’t offer programs in the park, she suggests guests visit before or after their stay. “I always recommend coming to the ranch through the park and maybe having lunch in Grand Lake,” Yurich says.

A campfire and sing-along at the Bar Lazy J Guest Ranch in Parshall, Colorado, ca. late 1940s (Photo courtesy of the Bar Lazy J Guest Ranch)

Dude ranching saw a peak during the Roaring ’20s, according to Bryce Albright, the executive director of the Dude Ranchers’ Association, which was formed in 1926. But then, the Great Depression hit. Albright says most ranches survived because they remained primarily cattle ranches and didn’t rely on guests.

Star Valley Ranch, Wyoming, 1955 (Library of Congress)

Women kept dude ranching alive through World War II by running the ranches and vacationing there as a patriotic duty to support the economy. Following the war, dude ranches boomed again. Automobiles allowed middle-class families to travel to more remote destinations, and prosperity gave them the money for week-long vacations.

Additionally, television shows like Hopalong Cassidy, The Roy Rogers Show, and Bonanza, as well as a long list of movies, spurred an interest in the West. It’s a pattern that continues today, according to Downey. Dude ranching sees an uptick in demand any time the Old West or Western culture becomes popular. It happened in 1980 with the release of Urban Cowboy, in 1991 with City Slickers, and 2018 with Yellowstone.

For the TV series Yellowstone, John Dutton’s “log mansion” is filmed at the main house of the Chief Joseph Ranch in Darby, Montana (Mel Pervais via the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 2.0 Generic license, Wikimedia Commons)

Long says “the Yellowstone effect” definitely impacted Crossed Sabres Ranch’s bookings. “It certainly put Yellowstone (the national park) on the map.”

Covid also drove guests to dude ranches. When people couldn’t travel internationally, when they wanted to be outdoors and avoid crowds, dude ranches became the ideal vacation.

“Our phones were literally ringing off the hook,” Yurich says of Bar Lazy J Guest Ranch, which opened in 1912. “I could have booked the ranch out seven times.”

Post pandemic, demand dipped a bit, but Albright expects it will pick up again in 2026 when the Dude Ranchers’ Association promotes its 100th anniversary. Dude ranching isn’t going anywhere, she says, because people still crave the “home-like, nature-based, away-from-the-world, step-back-in-time experience” that it offers.

Downey agrees. Dude ranching offers people a relaxing environment where they can slow down and have whatever type of vacation they want, whether it’s doing ranch chores or having a destination wedding. They can go horseback riding or, depending on the ranch, rafting. They can eat hearty Western comfort foods or enjoy a four-course, wine-paired meal.

At Bar Lazy J Guest Ranch, Yurich points to several reasons why guests return year after year. First, dude ranches help people disconnect from the world and reconnect with family and friends, as I did. Second, they offer a level of hospitality you don’t get anywhere else because the ranchers welcome you into where they live and work.

Wranglers at the A Bar A Ranch in Riverside, Wyoming, heading out for the daily horse roundup (Carol Highsmith, Library of Congress)

Finally, she has seen guests’ lives changed. “I hear from parents all the time that when they got back, their kids went out for a new sport or tried something new because of the confidence they gained from riding and other activities.”

While dude ranches have changed lives since their inception more than 100 years ago, it’s the way they have changed relationships that ensures they will be around for years to come, according to Long. “It’s really fun to see families come together,” she says.

Dude ranches like the Crossed Sabres Ranch offer guests a chance to be present with each other, something they might not get in their day-to-day lives.

“Dude ranching is an opportunity to experience what matters,” she adds.

And I do every time I visit one.

Guest Ranches Mentioned in This Article

A Bar A Ranch
820 A Bar A Ranch Road, Encampment, Wyoming 82325
307-327-5454

Bar Lazy J Guest Ranch
447 County Road 3, Parshall, Colorado 80468
970-725-3437

Chief Joseph Ranch
125 Appaloosa Trail, Darby, Montana 59829
406-821-0894

Crossed Sabres Ranch
829 North Fork Hwy, Cody, Wyoming 82414
307-587-3750

Eatons’ Ranch
270 Eaton Ranch Rd, Wolf, Wyoming 82844
307-655-9285

Quarter Circle U Ranch
14 U Ranch Lane Birney, Montana 59012
406-984-6233

Star Valley Ranch Resort
3522 Muddy String Road, Thayne, Wyoming 83127
307-883-2425

For more information, contact the Dude Ranchers’ Association.

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