Your mission: to come up with a whole new way to get members of a group to bond, to take them out of the safety of their e-mail cocoons. An image begins to form after some preliminary research on dude ranches. You can almost smell the Wyoming wildflowers as an executive assistant, astride "Sunshine," a gentle-natured dapple grey mare, attempts to get her colleague to bring up those last stragglers in the herd as the group moves cattle for the last few miles of the drive.
One thing is certain: Sending an e-mail is out.
Wyoming, Montana and Idaho boast some of the country’s finest dude ranches, and they are welcoming groups with open arms and presenting each member with their very own horse to ride for the duration of the stay.
"A horse orientation is usually the first item on the agenda," says Kristen Swenson, executive director for the Montana Dude Ranchers’ Association. "Horses are matched up with riders based on a person’s experience with horses. We match up a person’s personality with a horse’s personality."
Karen Ballard, director of the Idaho Division of Tourism Development, says a lot of time is taken to make sure that perfect match is made.
"People who work on the ranches serving you just adore and love horses," she says.
But at many ranches, riding horses is optional.
Billy Crystal’s character in City Slickers finds himself delivering a calf next to a grizzled, taciturn Jack Palance. In reality, though, staff members at guest ranches are a lot warmer and more inviting than "Curly."
"These people have a true love of hospitality," Ballard notes. "In a lot of cases, you’re being served by the third or fourth generation of ranch owners. They really love people, or they wouldn’t do this kind of work."
The way groups relate to each other at a dude ranch is a lot different than even a small convention center in a second-tier city—even if the group is convening at a resort ranch. When attendees gather as a group at a ranch, they are generally the only people around, except for the ranch staff, since these ranches are way off the beaten path.
"Experiencing a dude ranch can be a life-altering event," Ballard says. "It can cause people to reassess their lives and how they relate to people."
Wyoming
Nicknamed the "Cowboy State," Wyoming naturally features many of the country’s quintessential dude ranches.
The Vee Bar Guest Ranch, located 21 miles west of Laramie, Wyo., and only about one hour west of Cheyenne and 2.5 hours north of Denver, offers groups a memorable experience, and it’s not too far from civilization, despite the fact that the Vee Bar recently received some reports that MapQuest and GPS units couldn’t zero in on the correct location of the ranch.
Kari Kilmer, manager of the Vee Bar Guest Ranch, says the ranch accommodates groups of up to 30 people for overnight retreats and up to 40 guests for day conferences. The main lodge’s great room, with large picture windows, is the primary meeting space. The John Wayne Saloon can also be used for meetings.
"There’s no TV, but after the first night, nobody misses it," Kilmer says.
That’s because the Vee Bar offers horseback riding, fly-fishing, river tubing and hiking the trails in the nearby Snowy Range Mountains. Groups can saddle up for pack trips, breakfast on the range or herding cattle.
"Some groups prefer us to provide the setting, and we let them be more on their own if that’s what they want," Kilmer says. "Or some want guided hikes and more interaction with staff."
About 60 miles east of Cody, The Hideout Guest Ranch & Resort offers cattle work and cattle drives on more than 250,000 acres of land on a 100-year-old ranch. The facility can accommodate up to 32 guests. The diversity of the terrain on this ranch is hard to absorb: high deserts, canyons, mountain pastures and high alpine meadows that make you feel like you’ve stepped into a Frederic Remington painting.
Every evening during cocktail hour at The Hideout’s loft bar, guests can check out the photos of the day shown on a large screen before enjoying gourmet Western fare. Activities here include riding lessons, camping, mountain biking and hiking, and checking out dinosaur tracks embedded in limestone in an area that was once a beach along the Sundance Sea.
Montana
Just like the sky in Montana, the ranches are big. It’s not exactly culture shock, but groups should be prepared to see a lot of the landscape. Groups may be tasked to seek out watering holes, tend to yearlings or mend fences.
"Fixing fences is important," says Swenson of the Montana Dude Ranchers’ Association. "There are miles and miles of fences to check up on. The only way to do that efficiently is by horseback."
A group of ConocoPhillips employees recently convened for a geology conference at the JJJ Wilderness Ranch in Augusta, Mont., located about an hour-and-a-half west of Great Falls. Kim Barker, the Triple J’s owner, says the ranch can coordinate pack trips, arrange for painting excursions and lead peaceful horseback rides through the mountains.
"It all depends on what the group wants," Barker says.
Groups enjoy ranch-style food such as roasted potatoes and homemade bread, but the ranch can tailor menus to meet the special needs of guests.
For groups that really want to live like cowboys, Lonesome Spur Ranch is the place. Nicholas Evans, author of
The Horse Whisperer, stayed here while doing research for the book. In addition to the day-to-day activities of helping on the ranch, groups can participate in fun games on horseback. This working ranch includes a hot tub and offers massages in a genuine Native American teepee. The group can explore some off-ranch activities, such as checking out Cody’s summer rodeos and visiting Yellowstone. Lonesome Spur is situated 44 miles from Billings and 60 miles from Cody.
For larger groups seeking the cowboy life, Averill’s Flathead Lake Lodge offers the luxury dude ranch experience. The 2,000-acre ranch provides meeting rooms for 30 to 125 people and wireless Internet access. Groups can indulge in lake cruises, sailing, swimming, charter fishing and trips to nearby Glacier National Park. Golf tournaments can be arranged at a golf course that’s only five miles from the lodge. It’s a short walk to art galleries in Bigfork, where the lodge can arrange private tours to meet artists.
Idaho
"Idaho’s history is more oriented in mining [along] with some cattle ranching, whereas Montana’s and Wyoming’s are primarily based on cattle ranching," says Ballard of the Idaho Division of Tourism Development.
As a result, the state does not offer many hardcore working ranches for groups, but does boast plenty of guest ranches where groups can ride horses. Some offer cattle drives as well.
Diamond D Ranch, located roughly four hours from Boise near the town of Stanley, offers conference space for 35 people. Groups can go on leisurely all-day horseback rides, pan for gold or just soak in the hot tub. The location of the ranch alone is worth the price of admission, as it’s situated in the largest wilderness in the contiguous 48 states, the Frank Church-River of No Return Wilderness.
Twin Peaks Ranch is 48 miles south of the town of Salmon, and groups may find it convenient to access the ranch from airports in Idaho Falls and Missoula, Mont. Groups can round up cattle here or go white-water rafting on the Salmon River.
Western Pleasure Guest Ranch, located in Sandpoint, just north of Coeur d’Alene, features horseback riding, fly-fishing and hiking in the summer and snowshoeing, skiing and sleigh rides in the winter. Just like its Wyoming and Montana counterparts, Western Pleasure boasts horseback riding in spectacular scenery. Groups can enjoy a full-day ride with lunch at a mesmerizing waterfall.
