Dude Ranch Vacations near Yellowstone
There are many dude ranches near Yellowstone National Park. Your first decision is whether to go to a dude ranch or a rustic guest ranch with an emphasis on horseback riding, not amenities, like HorseWorks Wyoming. We are located an hour from Cody, WY and 40 minutes from Thermopolis, WY. Unlike most dude ranches, HorseWorks offers the opportunity to stay for one, two, or three weeks, and to extend longer at prices that are a fraction of dude ranch prices. Significantly discounted Spring Rates offer people on a budget the opportunity to get hands-on with horses and cattle in a working ranch setting. Daily, weekly and monthly cabin rental rates are also available for guests using the ranch as a base for sightseeing excursions to other nearby areas of the beautiful Western USA.
Here are some things to consider if you want to make a trip to Yellowstone National Park part of your guest ranch vacation or gap year holiday.
Planning your Yellowstone National Park excursion
A weekend trip to Yellowstone National Park is a scheduled off-ranch activity during your guest ranch vacation at HorseWorks and is a great way to get familiar with the Park in preparation for a longer trip after your ranch vacation. This excursion usually takes place the weekend between the first and second weeks of your ranch stay. Planning this overnight at Yellowstone trip is a great opportunity for guests to save money by traveling together – booking a car, sort out drivers, make decisions about camping versus staying in a hotel, hike the trails, driving to more sites, take a cooler of food or eat at the famous Old Faithful Inn. Friendships deepen as you get to know each other better while you explore Yellowstone, one of the great national parks in the world.
The Yellowstone National Park excursion is not included in our fee, but by sharing the costs of the trip with other guests, depending on the number of participants and detailed plans, the expenditure for the entire weekend is usually as low as $150 per person, a little more if the East gate isn’t opened due to snow and you need to go through the North Entrance, which is further away. Be sure you consider budgeting time and funds to include this amazing experience as part of your guest ranch vacation or gap year holiday.
Spring versus summer & fall in Yellowstone
In the spring, Yellowstone is accessible only through the North Entrance, which is several hours drive from the ranch through beautiful Wyoming and Montana scenery and well worth the trip to enjoy the magic. In the summer & fall when the East and Northeast gates to Yellowstone are open, we recommend driving the 46 miles long Chief Joseph Scenic Highway (Wyo 296) that links Cody with the Bearthooth Highway and the Northeast Gate of Yellowstone National Park at Silver Gate, MT and offers views of the Absaroka Mountains, Beartooth Mountains and the Clarks Fork of the Yellowstone River, as well as the Shoshone National Forest. We will happily help you with your trip planning for this excursion.
Here are tips for other Off-Ranch Activities to round out your Western experience.
