Dude Ranches are the Rage at GORP.com Dozens of Working Ranches Across the West Continue to Draw Families and Singles to a Quintessential American Experience
NEW YORK, June 14, 2000 - For parents wanting to teach their kids what it was like to live in the 'wild west' or for singles looking to escape the stressful realities of everyday life, the working ranch is the perfect vacation option. GORP.com, the leading Internet site dedicated to outdoor recreation and adventure travel, offers a wide variety of dude ranch getaways, with a full range of outdoor activities as well as friendly hospitality, comfort and modern amenities.
"In a world dominated by the Internet and globalization, it may come as a surprise that the most American of American experiences - the working ranch - is very much alive and not much different than it was 100 years ago. The dude ranch vacation is, for a surprisingly large number of people - and not just city slickers - a unique opportunity to enjoy friendly hospitality, good food, great outdoor activities, magnificent natural beauty and even learn a skill or two, such as how to ride and rope," said Bill Greer, co-founder and editor-in-chief of GORP.com.
There are dozens of ranches located throughout the west from Arizona to Montana and Oregon to Wyoming, with names like the Lazy K Bar, the Flying L and the Double Diamond. At www.gorptravel.com, would-be cowpokes can choose from an array of working ranch vacations. Most offer children's programs and special rates and all provide a highly personalized and distinctive experience (thanks to guest capacities as low as 20).
A sampling of GORP's dude ranch vacation offerings include:
Paradise Ranch - Buffalo, Wyoming: $1,100-$1,575 weekly through September 24, including accommodation, meals, weekly activities and more.
Offers riding, fishing, swimming and hiking for adults and children in a spectacular setting surrounded by a million acres of the Big Horn National Forest. Capacity: 70.
Wilderness Trails Ranch - Durango, Colorado: $1,440-$1,600 weekly through October 7, including accommodation, meals, horseback riding and instruction, water-skiing, river raft trip, and more. Save $200 off weekly rate during week of September 24.
Features top-notch equestrian program, special kids and teens activities, swimming, hot tub, trout fishing, hiking, 4x4 trips, western dancing, campfires and hayrides. The Durango Narrow Gauge Railroad and Mesa Verde National Park are nearby. Capacity: 48.
Dripping Springs Ranch - Mountainair, New Mexico: $1,120-$1,400 weekly through December 31, includes accommodation, meals, horseback riding, use of ranch facilities, guided hiking and more. Now through October 31, get a free massage with a three-night stay and two free massages with a seven-night stay.
Offers deluxe riding program, luxurious accommodations, gourmet meals and full-service spa on a 7,000 acre ranch highlighted with cedar, red rock mesas, ancient arroyos, old copper mines and settlers' ruins. Capacity: 44.
Bar BK Muleshoe Ranch - Prescott, Arizona: $750-$938 weekly through December 31, including accommodation, meals, ranch activities and more.
Features ranch and cattle work, hiking, fishing and wildlife observation on 43-square miles of natural terrain with splendid scenery. Capacity: 27.
Brush Creek Ranch - Saratoga, Wyoming: $975-$1,150 weekly through October 31, including accommodation, meals, horseback riding and instruction, fly fishing instruction, ranch activities and use of facilities.
Features riding, hiking, biking and a fishing experience endorsed by Orvis on the miracle mile of the North Platte River. Capacity: 24.
King Mountain Ranch - Granby, Colorado: $1,225-$1,750 weekly through October 15, including accommodation, meals, horseback riding and instruction, children's program and use of ranch facilities.
Offers scenic trail rides, trout fishing on a 50-acre lake, swimming, tennis, trap and skeet shooting, and bowling. Formerly owned by Oil tycoon John King, this ranch has entertained royalty, presidents, astronauts and movie stars. Capacity: 68.
Laughing Water Ranch - Fortine, Montana: $625-$1,275 weekly through October 1, including accommodation, meals, riding, fishing, hiking and other ranch activities.
Features mountain biking, swimming, children's program, wilderness rides just south of the Canadian border, square dancing and Mountain Man demonstrations. Capacity: 32.
Rock Springs Ranch - Bend, Oregon: $1,584-$1,760 weekly through August 26, including accommodation, meals, horseback riding, children's program, use of recreational facilities and more.
Offers riding program, swimming pool, hot tub, tennis, fishing, an on-call masseuse and gourmet dining on 12,000 wooded-acres of classic cowboy terrain. Capacity: 50.
GORP (a.k.a. Great Outdoor Recreation Pages) is the largest and most trafficked Web site dedicated to outdoor recreation and adventure travel. With more than 100,000 pages of content, GORP offers a complete package of authoritative, award-winning content, a large, active community of outdoor enthusiasts and a full-range of e-commerce offerings drawing nearly 13 million page views per month. Started in 1995, GORP offers a full-service adventure travel booking feature, accessible via the Web or telephone, with more than 35,000 departures in addition to a gear store with 180 brands of clothing, footwear and equipment. GORP has been cited by Yahoo!, US News & World Report, The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, and many others, as the leader in this category and a"Best of the Web" site. To reach GORP's world of outdoor recreation, including an incomparable selection of vacation packages, log on to www.gorp.com.
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