Colorado dude ranches offer the snowy staples: sledding, snowshoeing and sleigh rides.
By LINDA DuVAL
Published October 23, 2005
[Photo: Perry B. Johnson]
Guest at the Devil’s Thumb Ranch can go horseback riding in the snow.
GRANBY, Colo. - The little sorrel mare plunges through the powdery drifts; the image comes to mind of a carousel horse freed from its pole. Her shaggy winter coat is frosted with snow, and when she pauses at the hilltop, she snorts steam and her sides heave with the effort. Still, she pulls at the reins, eager to push on.
But not yet.
The view from here needs to be savored - silvery snow and dark evergreens cast against blue sky over the Rocky Mountains.
It's one of several unexpected treats experienced while visiting Colorado dude and guest ranches in February. These ranches have long been a mainstay of summer tourism in the West, but more than a dozen Colorado guest ranches stay open at least part of each winter.
The riders this particular day include a couple from Loveland, Colo., Lorrie and Janice McLaughlin, who are surprised at how much there is to do.
"We thought we'd just come up here, sit in front of a fire and read our books or take naps," Lorrie says. "We've hardly opened our books!"
Bundled up in winter coats and gloves, they have been on the daily morning hay ride to feed the horses in the pastures. They have snowshoed, and they are planning on ice skating later on the groomed pond.
"It's just been wonderful," Janice McLaughlin says.
Though neither has been an avid horseback rider before, both have enjoyed riding in the snow.
"I figure if I fall off, I have something soft to land on," he says.
A seasonal switch
Guest ranches transform for the seasons, mainly using resources at hand.
At Devil's Thumb, for instance, in the summer guests ride horses, hike, fly-fish and go on hayrides. In winter, the ranch is one of the state's premier places for snowshoeing and cross-country skiing. It boasts more than 60 miles of groomed trails, so visitors can tromp or glide through new scenery each day. In winter, hay rides become sleigh rides, and people who typically are hikers don snowshoes - a technique surprisingly easy to learn.
Guides lead snowshoe and cross-country ski excursions, or guests can grab a map and head out on their own. It's a calm experience: Silence surrounds you, and there are no ski-lift lines to endure or impatient skiers to mow you down.
On the guided trips through the high meadows, visitors hear history and lore such as how Devil's Thumb got its name (a rock formation that looks like a giant thumb sticking out of a mountainside).
After a day on the trail, visitors typically catch the afternoon sleigh ride, complete with a stop for hot chocolate and marshmallows roasted over a fire.
For the more indulgent, Devil's Thumb has a full range of body therapies, from soothing soaks in copper tubs to Swedish massage.
Newly built upscale log cabins (all with environmentally efficient geothermal heat) and a remodeled main lodge manage to combine coziness with an elegant edge.
One of the county's best restaurants, the Ranch House, is in a barn, but the cuisine, from Colorado lamb to free-range chicken, is upscale.
And the barn, an 1850s structure from Indiana that was moved here and restored, has a handsome, cherrywood-lined wine-tasting room. The cellar houses one of the state's better wine collections.
A full breakfast is included in the room rate.
Western to the core
Though some guest ranches do away with horseback riding in winter, the C Lazy U has an indoor arena for days when it's just too cold for comfortable riding or the snow is too deep for the horses to navigate.
But on days when they can stay outdoors, guests such as the McLaughlins of Loveland can ride in the snow or hop on the hay wagon and help feed the herds of horses, who come trotting up to the wagon.
Guests also can skate on the pond, which is cleared for that purpose, or borrow snowshoes to head out for the pastures enclosed by surrounding hills. Cross-country skiing also is available.
But the highlight of every day is what might be called "the driveway luge."
Guests choose their ride from a herd of Flexible Flyer sleds, load them in the ranch pickup, then board a van, which takes them out to the top of the ranch's one-third-mile driveway. The wide gravel driveway slopes gradually down toward the ranch, curving just enough to keep you alert.
If you go off the driveway, most likely it will be into a soft bank of snow. But if you stay on it, you can reach speeds of 25 mph, pretty fast when your face is about 6 inches off the snow and ice and your knit cap is threatening to blow off.
The ranch closes the driveway for about an hour to indulge the sledders, who usually can get in about three runs.
There's also a sledding hill (not as wild as the driveway) for kids, and a heated outdoor pool is a warm place to soak even in the snow. A workout room, recreation room with game tables and a huge fireplace in the lodge all draw guests.
Participating in some of the outdoor activities is necessary to burn off the lavish meals served at the C Lazy U. Breakfast might be a three-egg ham and cheese omelet or eggs Benedict, with sweet rolls, fruit and toast or muffins. Lunch is likely to be a choice of two entrees, plus salad and homemade soup, with dessert.
Dinners tend to be sumptuous: family-style platters of fried trout, rosemary roasted chicken and fettuccine Alfredo. And dessert, of course.
The spacious rooms feature large, well-cushioned furniture and Western-themed bed linens. Turndown usually means a chocolate horse lollipop on the pillow.
The McLaughlins' package, bought for them by their children, included a champagne sleigh ride for two in a little red sleigh, drawn by two amiable mules. This was to celebrate Valentine's Day, after all.
- Linda DuVal is a freelance writer living in Colorado Springs.
IF YOU GO
At least a dozen Colorado guest ranches remain open in the winter.
Some offer simple retreats for those who want to curl up in front of a fire and read a book, maybe watch the wildlife wander across a snowy landscape.
Other ranches offer an array of outdoor activities, from cross-country skiing to snowmobiling.
"Those that stay open seem to be offering more things each year," says Charles Henry, executive director of the Colorado Dude & Guest Ranch Association. "We even have a ranch (North Fork) that offers fly-fishing in the winter."
Other ranches, such as Lost Valley, Sylvan Dale, Vista Verde and the famous Home Ranch, offer horse programs in the winter, weather permitting.
FOR MORE INFORMATION: Contact the Colorado Dude & Guest Ranch Association, (970) 887-3128; ww.coloradoranch.com. Write to P.O. Box 2120, Granby, CO 80446.
