Bitterroot Ranch · Dubois, Wyoming
Varied mountain riding on home-bred horses, fifty miles from Yellowstone
A week of genuinely varied riding from Bitterroot Ranch, a working guest ranch bordering the Shoshone National Forest and fifty miles from Yellowstone. Run by the Fox family, who breed their own Arabians and keep a herd of around 135 horses, it offers everything from arena lessons to long canters across open country, with cattle work and a cross-country course for confident riders.
There is riding here for most people. Your week starts with a short assessment in the arena so the ranch can match you to the right horse and group, and riding is done in small groups of about eight, split by ability. Trail rides are well-paced rather than flat out, with long canters where the open country allows and a slower pace on the rougher wilderness rides. The cross-country jumping course and the more demanding cattle work are for competent, confident riders who can handle a horse independently. Say honestly where you are and the ranch will place you well.
The Fox family breed and train their own horses and keep a herd of around 135. This is very much a horse place: mounts are well-schooled and carefully matched to each rider, with the ranch's prized purebred Arabians ridden alongside a wider string of ranch horses.
Days follow the rhythm of a real ranch. A morning ride of about three hours heads out into the forest or up to the high meadows, back to the cabins for lunch, then out again for two or three hours in the afternoon. Lessons in the arena or on the trail are offered through the week, along with a weekly picnic ride, and most weeks include a half day learning to pen and sort cattle. Faster riders can take long canters across the open ground, and the cross-country course is there for those who want it. Non-riding time is spent fishing the ranch's rivers and ponds, walking, or sitting out on the cabin veranda watching the horses wander by.
Comfortable, rustic log cabins spread along the East Fork River, with a central lodge for meals. The feeling is simple back-country ranch life rather than luxury, with the sound of the river and the mountains all around.
All meals are included: home-cooked ranch food served in the central lodge, with dietary needs catered for on request.
Best months: Late May to late September
The ranch runs a Sunday to Sunday week through the summer season, roughly late May to late September. Cattle work is best in the warmer months when the herds are on the high grazing, and there are special cattle and range-rider weeks plus an autumn round-up in late September. Some weeks also include yoga.
Nearest airport: Jackson Hole (JAC) is the usual gateway; Riverton (RIW) is closer for regional flights
Transfers: About a two-and-a-half hour drive from Jackson Hole, the last sixteen miles on a dirt road. The ranch can arrange a transfer with notice, or you can hire a car
Fly to Jackson Hole via a US hub such as Denver or Salt Lake City, then drive or transfer to the ranch near Dubois.
