Activities at Rawah Ranch

In early September, my husband and I visited Rawah Ranch and feel head over heels in love with this little ranch.

Several people asked after our return what there is to do at a dude ranch, several people mistaking a dude ranch vacation for a vacation where they put you to work.

While I am sure that Tim would let you lend a hand with the chores around the ranch, a working vacation is the last thing that you will experience.

Your own vacation experience.

My husband and I remarked that one of the things that we liked the most about Rawah was the fact that each person traveling with you could have their own vacation experience. If I had wanted to sit in the cozy lodge and read a book by the fire all day long while my husband tried his hand at fly fishing, that would be perfectly acceptable.

We both got to take part in activities that we might not have had a chance to try anywhere else, and ended up really enjoying them as well!

Each evening sheets were set out so that guests could sign up for the activities that interested them the most.

Fly Fishing at Rawah Guest Ranch

I must admit, I was skeptical about my enjoyment of fly fishing, but I ended up really excited about the experience. I loved the almost constant movement of my hands and the technique that was involved. What made the fly fishing expedition even better was the fantastic guides we had helping us and the fact that I caught a fish and my husband came up empty handed. I felt like a pro!

Come to think of it, my husband lost several flies in the bushes…we should send them some replacements.

Horse riding at Rawah Guest Ranch

As an equestrian in a former life, I was quite possibly the most excited about the horseback riding option. I have always said that once horses get into your blood they never leave but kids and life get in the way of me riding as much as I would want.  We did two rides while we were there, one to see the countryside (we saw 2 moose!), at every turn I kept exclaiming how beautiful everything was. The aspen trees were just starting to change and they were breathtaking.

The second ride we trailered the horses to a spot just a little way down the road, and we road up to a ghost town, where workers once lived while building trenches for the drain off resulting from the melt after the winter snow.

Here is where I was a bit of a chicken, while I am an experienced equestrian, I was experienced in an arena with high strung horses that were scared of different colored pavement. That by itself is enough to make one a little apprehensive of a foreign horse. The trail up to the ghost town was narrow and steep. So, my nerves clearly were evident to Marcus our Wrangler. He had me ride right behind him and told me how well I was doing the entire time. He was so fantastic at talking me out of being nervous and sitting back and enjoying the ride.

Hiking at Rawah Guest Ranch

I don’t have much to go off of except for what the other guests had reported from their hikes, we (read: I) elected to sit out hiking on this particular trip. Although, now I am regretting it because I heard some pretty fantastic stories of the waterfall that is the main feature of the hike. Chef Ford will pack a picnic lunch for you to take if you would like for him to, and I am sure that it would be enough to last for 3 days should a popup blizzard happen!

Skeet Shooting at Rawah Guest Ranch

Much to my surprise, my husband was a natural at skeet shooting! Me on the other hand, I really enjoyed trying but I have to confess, I didn’t hit a single clay! Again, much like the fly- fishing excursion, the guide helping me was so patient and I didn’t feel like I had totally failed (even though my hand-eye coordination was off!)

Activities that cost extra at Rawah Guest Ranch

For an additional charge, Rawah will bring in a massage therapist or coordinate a white water rafting trip for you.

While they don’t have a dedicated spa on site, I promise that you won’t even notice!

If you haven’t had a chance to read about how much we loved our time at Rawah Guest Ranch, you can find that post here. If you think you are ready to book your time there, you can visit their website here.