Located in Big Sky, Montana, the 320 Guest Ranch offers an affordable ranch vacation for families looking for an escape to the great outdoors. For under $500 per person, as of 2010, you can enjoy a room for four nights at the Ranch, half a day of dog sledding through the Big Sky mountains, a snow coach tour of Yellowstone National Park and Old Faithful Geyser and an evening sleigh ride pulled by the Ranch's Percheron horses. A buffet breakfast is included each morning and dinner for one night at the 320 Steakhouse is also included. The Ranch is a 110-year-old homestead renovated into a guest ranch. Rooms are fashioned as deluxe log cabins and on-site activities at this 'dude ranch' include fly fishing, horseback riding, hayrides, hiking, snowmobiling and wildlife viewing.
Located in Crawford, Nebraska, the Ponderosa working ranch offers visitors the opportunity to experience real ranch life -- if they want to. Cabin rentals and camping are available as lodging options. Cabins start at $65 per night, as of 2010, and there is no minimum stay required. A breakfast of pancakes, french toast, bread, bacon, sausage and home-made granola as well as home-made barbecue dinners are offered at an additional cost. Guests are welcome to bring their own food, if desired which is another way to keep costs down. Meals, if elected, are served in the family's home. Hammocks are set up on site for afternoon naps, and on-site activities include cattle roping, horseback riding, deer and turkey hunting.
Located in Lake George, Colorado, about 40 miles west of Colorado Springs, the M-Lazy C Ranch offers cabins, RV camping and packages that include week-long training sessions on how to be a cowboy. These sessions called "Cowboy U Packages" include four hours of horseback riding and cattle roping out on the open range. Cabins start at $75 per night, as of 2010, and include a private bathroom. Horseback riding, Cowboy U packages and meals are priced separately and can be added onto a night's stay a'la carte. Stays range from one night up to one week. Specials are offered throughout the year including a "sleigh or wagon family outgoing" through the National Forest with cowboy entertainment with hot chocolate in the Cowboy U bunkhouse and passes to screenings of traditional western flicks or a two-night cabin stay for an additional $75.
