Best Luxury Dude Ranch
Where to Book Vista Verde Ranch – Clark, Colorado:
Vista Verde Ranch – Clark, Colorado

What’s Special About This Resort

Vista Verde Ranch is the ultimate luxury dude ranch north of Steamboat Springs. A stay here provides you with the casual atmosphere of a Western ranch but with all the modern amenities and activities of an all-inclusive resort. You can embrace the cowboy life of waking early and heading out on horseback for the day, stay on the ranch and explore the surrounding National Forest, or partake in the many experiences Vista Verde offers. Where else can you experience a valley full of beautiful aspens and horse pastures, a herd of 100 horses, and plush cabin living?

Your all-inclusive stay includes three meals/day & all beverages (wine, beer, & soda), airport transfers, horseback riding, photography workshops, culinary experiences, and all other guided seasonal activities on and off the ranch, including going to Steamboat Springs for shopping or skiing. There is no additional service charge or gratuity, and there is no expectation of tipping. For an additional fee, you can get massages from a trained therapist, select Premium wines from our select list, and go dogsledding and snowmobiling during the winter.

Things we like:
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    Ideal for families to improve their equestrian skills
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    The horseback riding opportunities will likely be among the most varied you’ve encountered
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    The resort has more than a 1:1 staff-to-guest ratio, even at its busiest time
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    Luxurious, authentic log cabin-style accommodations
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    Provide a detailed schedule for your stay showing what is offered on which days
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    The fun doesn’t stop in winter, and activities shift to snow-based
Click to see more
Things we don't like:
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    The resort is not set up well for kids under six years
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    Guided activities are not included on the day of check-in or check-out
Click to see more
Click to see more
Vista Verde Ranch – Clark, Colorado
See the complete list of the best All-Inclusive Resorts in the US here!

What to Do

During the happy hour, one of the staff will visit with you to plan your activities and schedule for the next day. And it helps because there are many activities to experience at Vista Verde. Such as morning trail rides on horses into the Mount Zirkel Wilderness Area, kayaking the nearby Eagle River, river rafting, mountain biking, fly fishing, rock climbing, paddleboarding, archery, yoga, and hiking. During the winter, you can experience backcountry skiing, snowshoeing, tubing, fat biking, sleigh rides, ice fishing, dog sledding, and snowy horseback rides.

If your kids want to be around other kids their age, you can have them join the Vista Verde Kids program. For a few hours a day, your kids can get a riding orientation to get to know their horses and acquire comfort in the indoor riding arena before heading out on the trail. There are also nature scavenger hunts, panning for gold, and spending time at the lake.

All these outdoor adventures aren’t everything Vista Verde has to offer. You can take a photography tour, relax with a massage, swim laps in the swimming pool, or exercise in the fitness center. A unique experience is that the Executive Chef hosts a hands-on cooking class and a weekly wine-tasting session. The evenings are even filled with dancing, live music, or campfires. Put on those cowboy boots, and let’s get your boot-scootin’ boogie on!

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What to Eat & Drink

Eating at Vista Verde is a communal event. They instill the feeling of ranch life in the guests, where the ranchers and workers get together to eat hearty breakfasts before heading out for the day. You can begin your morning by chatting up the other guests and munching on a breakfast burrito or honey wheat pancakes with caramelized apples on top, all ingredients from local farmers and ranchers. Lunch is a big affair, especially if the weather is nice. The staff and guests will often eat outside on the deck, enjoying the backyard BBQ and the spoils of the grill masters.

Besides the meals, guests can enjoy freshly baked cookies provided throughout the day and the happy hours before dinner in the main lodge. Most nights, dinner is casual family-style; however, Vista Verde occasionally puts on a food performance. The formal dinners are the highlight, with its upscale multi-course meals that rival the top-rated Michelin-starred restaurants in the big city; think potato gnocchi with short rib ragu. Yum! After a full day on the ranch, you will enjoy these dinners’ relaxed, slower pace with top-end dishes, but you don’t have to dress up for them. As part of the all-inclusive ranch pricing, house wines, beer, and various sodas are included in your stay.

Guests with kids will love the “Dine and Dash” option, where the parents can leave the kids with the wranglers and enjoy a candlelit dinner sans children. What are the children up to when the parents get some alone time? So much fun! The kids get their meal, then have their adventures going on a hayride, having a treasure hunt, or playing Capture the Flag.

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Room Guide

The accommodations at Vista Verde include three Lodge rooms and 12 Log Cabins. All the rooms are designed with a Western theme.

Lodge Rooms: The private rooms in the lodge have a king bed, a private bathroom, and a small sitting area. If staying in the Gilbin room, you will be the fortunate guest with a hot tub on your balcony. Guests who stay in the lodge have the convenience of being close to the Great Room. Wifi is available in the Main Lodge only.

Log Cabins: The Log Cabins on the Vista Verde dude ranch are rustic, but no worries, all the amenities inside the authentic log structure are modern. The cabins range from one to four bedrooms, with the master suites all having king beds. Each luxury Log Cabin features hand-hewn wood furniture, a sitting area with a wood-burning stove or fireplace, and a hot tub on the private deck to enjoy the mountain air and star gaze. Vista Verde pays attention to the little details providing guests with Italian linens on the comfiest bed, a spa robe, a coffee pot, a stocked refrigerator, snacks, and local toiletries locally made at Vista Verde. All the comfort and amenities for you to connect with friends and family and disconnect from the rest of the world as there are no TVs and phones in the cabins.

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Special Experiences

From the end of August until October, Vista Verde becomes an adult-only resort where you can enjoy experiences sans kids. Another special experience they offer is a huge bucket list experience that books up a year in advance. The Cattle Round-Up Week is a unique horseback riding vacation with you helping a local rancher bring the cows home. Also, during the winter, you can participate in a beer-tasting experience, where you can try craft beers and explore the process of making a great-tasting beer.

Vista VerdeGuest Ranch also works with several skilled outfitters to provide guests with special experiences. For an additional fee, heated snow cats are available to take you deep into the powder of Northern Colorado for a fun adventure of Powder Cat Skiing. The Bridgestone Winter Driving School offers 4 hour and all-day courses where you can learn how to handle winter driving safely. And during the warmer months, hot air ballooning can also be arranged through trained outfitters in Steamboat Springs.

 

Get to know more of the best all-inclusive resorts in the US:

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Related Reviews

Things we like:
  • check-mark
    Ideal for families to improve their equestrian skills
  • check-mark
    The horseback riding opportunities will likely be among the most varied you’ve encountered
  • check-mark
    The resort has more than a 1:1 staff-to-guest ratio, even at its busiest time
  • check-mark
    Luxurious, authentic log cabin-style accommodations
  • check-mark
    Provide a detailed schedule for your stay showing what is offered on which days
  • check-mark
    The fun doesn’t stop in winter, and activities shift to snow-based
Click to see more
Things we don't like:
  • check-mark
    The resort is not set up well for kids under six years
  • check-mark
    Guided activities are not included on the day of check-in or check-out
Click to see more
Click to see more

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