There is something to be said for having a thermos of coffee (complete with sugar and cream if you’d like) delivered to your cabin doorstep every morning before breakfast. Waking up to the Colorado sunshine streaming in your window and knowing that the day is yours to do with as you please – once you’ve enjoyed a plentiful home cooked breakfast that changes daily. This is the incredible experience that your hosts, Doug and Lynda, have created at Rainbow Trout Ranch.
Want to spend your time on horseback? Twice daily rides are offered as well as full-day excursions (complete with picnic lunch!) out into the Southern Colorado wilderness. Fishing more your speed? Fly fishing is offered for novices and experts alike in the nearby stream teaming with brown and rainbow trout. Hiking? Swimming? Sitting around a roaring fire in your cabin or the main lodge? Just a few of the many activities that are not just available, but also customizable and flexible to fit your wishes as to how you’d like to spend your time.
That’s the real treat (and truth) of this ranch. Sure, breakfast is served at 7:30 am, lunch at 12:30 pm and dinner at 7 pm, but what you do with the time in between is all yours. Even a late arrival from my group was greeted with a dinner of ‘leftovers’ from the riverside picnic earlier that evening – a steaming plate of grilled chicken breast, fall off the bone ribs, potato salad, a green salad, hot fluffy rolls and a cream cheese-iced carrot cake for dessert. I’d eat Rainbow Trout ‘leftovers’ any day.
While there is a multitude of activities in which you can partake, the real draw of this place is the horses. From those who have never ridden to those who own their own, Rainbow Trout Ranch takes care to ensure that everyone is comfortable, safe and has an amazing experience with these wonderful animals. The emphasis that the Wranglers aren’t just trying to improve your riding while you’re here but pass along training and tips that will carry you into any horse riding that you may do in the future, rings true daily. The safety reminders and constant learnings and adjustments to your riding that are provided ensure that you’re getting the most out of your riding experience. Rides will take you through open prairie (keep any eye out for prairie dogs!), up into the mountains and across streams.
You’ll walk, trot and lop (don’t worry, I had no idea what that meant until I got here) with your horses and learn their quirks and personalities as well as you know those of your traveling companions. While Bonnie and I didn’t have as much time together as I would have liked (bad knees on my end), I always felt comfortable with her thanks to the pairing based on my previous horse riding experience, and knew that the wrangler leading that days ride was always available to make any stirrup adjustments I may need or answer any questions I may have – about the horses, the ranch or the surrounding wilderness.
From the moment you arrive, you feel like family and it’s no wonder given that family is at the root of the Rainbow Trout Ranch experience. While Doug and Lynda are at the helm, the entire family is involved. From helping to manage the property, wrangle the horses, serve meals, provide instruction for a variety of Ranch activities and even oversee the youngest members of your party (my sister-in-law was traveling with her 8-month-old and they arranged a sitter throughout the day so she and her husband could still go out and ride), each person you meet greets you with a smile and a “hey howdy hey”.
A standard summer week at the Ranch runs Sunday to Sunday, however, this again is an area of flexibility depending on your travel needs. While we hated to cut our trip a few days short, we weren’t able to arrive until Monday evening and still felt that we were a part of the group by breakfast Tuesday morning.
The log cabins on the property are spacious and all come with a mountain view from the front porch (the best place to enjoy that morning coffee I mentioned earlier!) and a fireplace for those cooler Colorado mornings and evenings. In general, summer temperatures can range from the high 40’s at night to the upper 80’s during the day, but everything at the Ranch is tailored to this 40 degree swing and activities go on rain or shine, hot or cold – you’re in for a treat no matter how the weather falls while you’re here.
From daily outdoor activities for everyone from the youngest cowpokes to the oldest ranch lovers, and evening entertainment (a little line dancing, anyone?) there is something for every member of your group to enjoy.
Missing from Rainbow Trout? A spa, gym, cell service, and a bar. And although there are plenty of Ranches that offer those amenities, that’s not why you visit this special place. For a zen-like feeling, breathe in the fresh mountain air. For your fitness, you’ll get plenty a workout walking around the hilly property, riding horses, hiking, fishing…
While being off the grid may start off as intimidating, there is limited wifi in the main lodge library that will allow you to check in with those who aren’t traveling with you, make sure sh*t hasn’t hit the fan at work or share your experience on social media. However, I can guarantee after a day or two, the need to interact with the outside world will disappear. Although there isn’t a bar (but it seems every country western song includes a drink or two) the Ranch is BYOB and you’re encouraged to bring a bottle of wine to dinner, enjoy a whiskey on the wraparound porch as the sun sets or grab a few beers and head down for a dip in the river after a day on the trails.
When the hardest decision of your day is if you’re going to ride or read, sit on the porch or swim, or whether or not to go back for a 3rd salted oatmeal chocolate chip cookie (trust me, you’ll already have had two!) you begin to understand why the Rainbow Trout Ranch website says, ’guests often become friends and then feel like family leading people to return year after year’ – I hope to be able to do the same.
