Overnight pack trip at Stagecoach Trails Guest Ranch
When you think of a dude ranch, many thoughts tend to come to people’s minds. Many wonder if they are an exclusive getaway for the ladies, staffed entirely by strong young men wearing tight shirts and a pair of leather chaps – sorry, only some of us do that out here. Some think they are a place where you have to get down and dirty wrestling steers in the mud or kicking around in the dust with a gob of tobacco under your lip – again, not quite that either. Besides, many of the desert dude ranches tend to have a severe lack of mud most of the year. But most infamous of them all, some city slickers associate Dude Ranches with another type of vacation, with a very similar name replaced with one letter – but no, all of us are fully clothed here. All of these assumptions are thought up in good faith, if you’ve never been to one, or even never heard of one, it’s fair for you to come up with all sorts of wild ideas. But I’m going to try and set the record straight, and by the time you’re done reading this, you’ll have a much better idea of what a Dude Ranch Vacation consists of, and you may even have to try one out for yourself.
Stagecoach Trails Guest Ranch
How did Dude Ranches come about?
To understand how these ranches came about, we have to go back to the days of the wild west, where Texas cattle ranchers and East Coast farmers started moving out to the great frontier in search of a better life. Anything west of the Mississippi River was considered “The West”, so any and all states that fall into that category apply to this article. The west was a vast area back then, and towns were very far apart. But in between you would often find a cattle ranch, complete with large swaths of grazing land, and a ranch house and barn often on the most desirable piece of property with tillable land and a steady source of water. Well, you can imagine that travelers from the East Coast were hard pressed to find anywhere to stay in between towns. Horses and wagons were not exactly a fast means of transportation, so it could take days or even weeks to travel between towns.
Ranchers started to catch on to this little predicament, and in true western hospitality they opened their doors to these weary travelers. In the beginning they hosted these travelers for free, but over time, as expenses grew, they had the bright idea to start charging a fee. They could have a warm, home-cooked meal, take a bath, feed their horses, and have a bed with a roof under their heads for a night. The cowboys called these people Dandy’s, as they wore fancy clothes complete with black top hats for the men and white dresses for the ladies. White isn’t really a common color for clothing out west, it tends to get dirty really quickly. Of course the cowboys who worked the ranches were not always so fond of a bunch of Dandy’s wandering around their work area. Cowboys liked to cuss and spit and were certainly a rougher breed than the “East Coast City People”. But soon enough the cowboys and ranchers started to see the benefits of becoming a hotel of sorts.
Eventually you had Dandy’s that would come and stay for many days, even up to a week or more. Soon the Dandy’s started to take part in the ranch activities, such as going on horse rides and cattle drives. Some took part in feeding the horses and taking care of things around the ranch. They would go on hunting trips, take part in brandings, and maybe even help ward off the occasional outlaw or two, though fortunately this is no longer an available activity for modern ranches. Before you knew it, the people that would visit these ranches wanted to live the life of the cowboys and cattlemen for a little while. Heck, the cowboys even started to like them City People once they started to help out and prove their worth. Eventually the west started to become more and more settled, and the railroads began to connect the dots between all the small towns. One might think that this marked the end of these ranches, but it was quite the opposite, in fact it helped set the stage for the modern Dude Ranch as we know it today.
What is a Dude?
Playing Billiards at Stagecoach Trails Guest Ranch
Now, just a quick side note as we transition into the 20th century, you may have noticed that I call the fancy folk Dandy’s, and this is in fact what they were called. But you also notice that I call these places Dude Ranches, so if you’ve been wondering why these are used interchangeably, I’ll explain. When the ranches started becoming more popular, they had to come up with a common name for people to use when describing them. As is common in American history, we always like to abbreviate names and the Dandy’s were often shortened to “Dudes”. But, I’m going to stray from my history piece here for just a moment and take some creative liberty. I believe somewhere on the Great Plains there was a group of cattle ranchers sitting around a dinner table discussing this very topic. And I imagine when one of them brought up this suggestion, and one of the more gruff and rugged ranchers stood up and said something along the lines of: “Now…wait just a gosh dang minute, who in the hell would ev’r go to someplace by the name of a darn’d Dandy Ranch!?” And from that point on the more fitting term of “Dudes” came to be, and thus the Dude Ranch was born. Again, I made that story up, but it’s my theory and I’m sticking to it, sounds perfectly reasonable to me. Now, back to the real history.
Taming the Wild West
Children brushing horse at Stagecoach Trails Guest Ranch
By the turn of the century, as the days of the wild west were starting to settle down, the “city folk” of the East Coast started to hear about these rustic vacations where you could take the train out west and experience the life of a cowboy. Civilization finally started to creep in to the west by this time, and no longer were the threats of being robbed and held up by outlaws anything to worry about. So people started to venture out west in droves. The railroad made it quick to get there, civilization made it safe to do so, and the expansion of cities made it desirable to do so. The desire to get back to some fresh air and nature started to grow. People could take a week or two and experience what their ancestors took months or years to accomplish, and this way they could engage in some rugged adventure without having to move the entire family across the country to do so, trust me, I’ve done that, it’ a lot of work. Ironically, the two World Wars in Europe actually increased the desire of visiting Dude Ranches, because the normal travel destinations of France and England were warzones, so Americans started to explore more of their own country, and once again Dude Ranches gained even more popularity.
By the mid 1900s, Dude Ranches had become a staple in American culture. The days of John Wayne and all those old western movies made people want to go and see it for themselves. Then came the spaghetti westerns of the 1960s with Clint Eastwood. By the 80s and 90s you had Lonesome Dove, Tombstone, and City Slickers. And even today the Western genre is still going strong, be it drama series’ like Yellowstone and it’s spin-offs or films like The Hateful 8 and The Magnificent 7.
Stagecoach Trails Guest Ranch Cowgirl
Dude Ranches in the Modern day
The history of the Dude Ranch now brings us to 2024, where there are still many of them across the whole west to go out and enjoy. While the modern world has certainly brought some amount of change to the industry, we still adhere to the strong traditions that never seem to get old. Best of all, they are all so different. Each ranch has something unique about it that others simply cannot replicate. For example, at Stagecoach Trails Guest Ranch we offer ATV, Humvee tours and even authentic Stagecoach rides, something completely unique to our ranch. That makes for a wide array of experiences and adventures to take part in.
The thing that all Dude Ranches have in common however is horseback riding, one cannot call themselves a Dude Ranch without offering this activity. But there are so many ways to ride a horse, be it walking, trotting, loping, climbing mountains, crossing rivers, or even chasing cattle, there’s so many experiences to have with horse riding alone. You can find ranches that offer all-day rides, team penning, barrel racing, cattle drives, horsemanship classes, sunset rides, sunrise rides, and even horse-drawn wagon rides. If that is not enough to satisfy your desire for fun, most ranches offer even more than horse riding. For those that crave adventure, you can take part in camping, shooting sports, off-road vehicle rides, mountain biking, fishing, zip lines, rock climbing, mineral prospecting, river rafting, and so much more that all of it won’t even fit on the page. Again, each ranch is different, so they all offer something unique to enjoy. For our more relaxation-oriented guests, ranches also offer more low-key activities like campfires, bird watching, swimming pools and hot tubs, yoga and spa treatments, nature hikes, petting zoos, star gazing, and much more.
Riding ATVs at Stagecoach Trails Guest Ranch
The point of these long lists is to inform you that Dude Ranches offer something for everybody. From grandma and grandpa to young children, there is always something that allows someone to take part in. Family reunions often have a great time at these ranches, as the properties are big enough for everyone to find some space to engage in activities, yet they are cozy and close enough for everyone to have dinner at the end of the night and sit around the campfire telling their stories of the day. Meals are plentiful and well cooked, ranging from home style cooking to gourmet. And despite all of this, you will still be reminded of the western feel that these ranches inspire. You’ll still find cowboys and cowgirls wearing leather chaps, and farriers pounding on horse shoes as they shape them on a steel anvil. You’ll hear the sound of horses neighing and cows mooing. You’ll see and smell horse poop, a lot of horse poop. You’ll likely meet some cowpoke with the most impressive mustache you have ever seen, they’ll probably have a peculiar laugh, and an even more impressive life story. There will be cowboy hats everywhere, and who knows, maybe you’ll even start wearing one when you’re there.
Barrel Racing at Stagecoach Trails Guest Ranch
A typical Dandy of the 1800s wore a felt derby hat, silk-lined overcoat, and pointed leather shoes; now, Dudes wear a NY Yankees baseball cap, a t-shirt, and a pair of flip flops. But what Dandy’s and Dude’s have in common is that very often at the end of their vacation, they’d leave wearing boots, jeans, a big belt buckle, and a cowboy hat high and proud. It’s not just a costume to look cool on vacation, it’s a way of life, cowboys dress that way because their lifestyle demands it. After a week at a dude ranch, you end up figuring it out too, and you begin to realize the amount of hard-work and perseverance that went into building the west.
Aerial view of Stagecoach Trails Guest Ranch
The Cowboy way of life
Even though the Old West as we know it died out long ago, Americans will not let the culture go, and for Dude Ranches, that has helped keep us alive and well for nearly 150 years. Cowboys still exist, people still make their living with a rope and saddle, and the west is still a vast range of untamed wilderness.
Nowadays, cowboys carry cell phones instead of pistols, and drive pickup trucks instead of covered wagons, but don’t doubt that they still know how to use both very well, because again, we won’t let the west die. We have rental cars and interstates to get to Dude ranches instead of mules and railroads. But just about every ranch has a point on the way where you turn your shiny Toyota onto a dirt or gravel road and start heading into the wilderness. You might get nervous at this point, wondering if you should have splurged for the upgrade to the full size SUV. Your family might start questing your direction abilities. But rest assured, keep on trekking, follow the directions the ranch gave you, turn off your cell phone or GPS, and just drive. Eventually you won’t see houses anymore, or really anything that resembles the modern world, again, keep driving. Soon enough you’ll crest a hill and be brought back in time as you drive up the main road of the Dude Ranch, where you’ll see horses grazing in a field along a wooden fence. You’ll park your car and a friendly looking character will walk your way with his hand held up above his Stetson. He’ll have a shapely mustache, and his spurs will jingle on his boots as he comes to your window and welcomes you to the ranch. Your kids might be rolling their eyes at this point, asking you what in the world you’ve got them into. But I promise you, after about an hour or two of checking in, or after that first horse ride into the sunset, you’ll all be talking about coming back next year. Trust me, this is the experience I had when I first visited a Dude Ranch, as I was one of those kids in the back seat rolling my eyes. But needless to say, I came back alright. I came back to spend the rest of my life promoting western hospitality and giving people the best vacations they’ve ever had. And I am raising my family into this life as well, to keep the American spirit alive, and continue the timeless journey of the Old West as it navigates this modern world.
Stagecoach Trails Guest Ranch Frontier Lodge
View of the Milky Way from Stagecoach Trails Guest Ranch