“Cowboy core” and “frontier tourism” continue to influence travel to western American destinations with a specific uptick in interest for guest ranch stays and horseback riding. Keeping things a little more Beyoncé/Cowboy Carter and a little less Yosemite Sam, the below upscale hotel and luxury guest ranches offer travelers the chance to experience classic Americana in style and comfort. If you’re looking to embrace this trend (and your inner cowboy), consider one of these!
Behind the Chutes at Anvil Hotel
Live like a cowboy in Jackson, Wyoming, the heart of the American West. Book a stay at Anvil Hotel, a mountain-rustic boutique hotel in Town Square with a lobby-area mercantile featuring cowboy-inspired gear, including bandanas and cowboy hats. Delve deeper into cowboy culture at sister property Turpin Meadow Ranch for horseback riding day trips through Buffalo Valley and multi-day wilderness horse pack trips. For an authentic Jackson experience, take a stroll through downtown Jackson and peruse Western-inspired works from local artists, take a stagecoach ride around the Town Square and pose beneath the famous Jackson Hole Elk Antler Arch. Finish the day at the iconic Million Dollar Cowboy Bar and saddle up with a drink or dance to live country music. For more information, visit anvilhotel.com.
Authentic Western Hospitality at C Lazy U Ranch
C Lazy U Ranch – Colorado’s award-winning luxury guest ranch – provides the ultimate all-inclusive retreat for adventuring, relaxing and immersing in authentic western hospitality. Centered around its daily horseback riding program, C Lazy U Ranch features upscale cabins with wood-burning fireplaces (television-free for a true digital detox), wellness services at Lazy You Spa and Lazy You Hideaway (a new adult relaxation lounge with cold plunges, a sauna and more), and gourmet family-style meals with wine selections chosen by the onsite sommelier. Ranch guests enjoy a variety of year-round activities, including Orvis-endorsed fly fishing, trap shooting, archery, hatchet throwing, scenic Ranger all-terrain vehicle tours, and much more. Fully immersing in the cowboy culture, C Lazy U offers guests traditional cowboy coffee prepared by a live fire, exclusive C Lazy U-branded whiskey tastings in collaboration with local distilleries, and horsemanship and cattle clinics throughout the year.
Quintessential Western Experience at Red Cliffs Lodge in Moab
For a classic western movie experience, Red Cliffs Lodge Moab is the region’s quintessential destination, honoring the wild landscape and serving as a home base for Southeastern Utah adventures in the heart of western cinema history. Perched on the Colorado River and framed by majestic cliffs in Moab, Red Cliffs Lodge welcomes film fanatics to Moab Museum of Film and Western Heritage, which honors legends like Maureen O’Hara and John Wayne, who starred in epic dramas shot on and around the property. Equestrian enthusiasts will enjoy Red Cliffs Ranch – a centerpiece of the expansive ranch-like resort – which offers horseback riding along the property’s scenic trails amidst 2,000-foot towering red rock cliffs.
Saddle-Up for Summer in Snowmass, Colorado
A renowned winter playground just nine miles from Aspen, Snowmass comes alive in the summertime as a haven for western explorers, thanks to the annual Snowmass Rodeo that draws visitors around the globe for cowboy-inspired adventures. Now in its 51st year, Snowmass is home to the longest running rodeo in Colorado, and the authentic western tradition welcomes cowboys and cowgirls to the Roaring Fork Valley every summer for rodeo classics, live music, petting zoos, mechanical bull rides and an abundance of BBQ. There’s no better way to spend a summer day in Snowmass than on horseback, and the western Colorado mountain town is home to more than 23 miles of equestrian trails for guided rides along creeks and through the iconic Maroon Bells Wilderness.
Which of these incredible properties will you book first?
