When it comes to an area of the United States known for its always sunny weather, few places can compete with the state of Arizona. Luckily for those that live there, and those that visit too, the beautiful weather the state has to offer is matched equally by the beautiful scenery there too. There are many ways to enjoy the warm weather and gorgeous surroundings of Arizona; by car in a road trip, from poolside at one of the many resorts, or even camping in the great outdoors. Probably the best way to enjoy all that Arizona’s outdoors has to offer though is from the saddle of a horse, and one of the best ways to accomplish this is to take advantage of one of the many dude ranch opportunities available there.
When it comes to activities available at an real life Arizona dude ranch, horseback riding is at the top of the list. Most of the nicer dude ranches offer much more though, including tennis courts, hay rides, cowboy style cookouts, swimming, boating, cattle roundups, and more. In fact some of Arizona’s most luxurious dude ranches offer such high end features as massages, facials, and other things related to spa treatments.
There are two main styles of dude ranches available in Arizona for travelers to enjoy. The first is more of a resort ranch and caters to the guests in a similar way that luxury resorts do, and the second is a working dude ranch where the guests participate in the operations of the ranch itself.
When visiting a resort ranch, guests have the opportunity to enjoy the outdoors and everything involved with a ranch like the animals and the wide open spaces, but aren’t confined with a solid schedule and a certain amount of work that needs to be accomplished. At a resort ranch, visitors can enjoy the peace and quiet and the beautiful scenery as they lounge around in the sun living life at their own pace. Resort ranches also work great when used as a base of operations for visiting many of the other popular locations in the state of Arizona.
As a guest of a working dude ranch, a guest will be expected to perform certain duties. While this will give them a unique slice of life and be an opportunity to learn what it is like to live and work on an Arizona ranch, it is also usually not so rigid that there isn’t free time and a great amount of fun available too. Part of the work that needs to be done is usually in the form of cattle herding and other livestock related chores. Much of the enjoyment comes from this hands on experience that cannot be duplicated at other more standard vacation destinations.
Among these two types of dude ranches, there are also many factors and features that differ from ranch to ranch. Researching what ranch would be best for a traveler’s family is usually fairly easily accomplished via the internet. Dude ranches cater to people from a wide cross section of backgrounds and there is usually at least one that is perfect for every family or group. An Arizona dude ranch vacation will create a great deal of memories that will last a lifetime.
I visited my sister-in law in Arizona last month, that’s pretty amazing place.
Comment by anne — September 26, 2008 @ 2:07 am