Late August 2024. Disappointing Experience. Great rides & great food, but I Cannot Recommend We recently visited Bitterroot Ranch and wanted to share our experience with fellow travelers considering this destination. While the ranch boasts stunning scenery and offers some nice riding experiences, our stay was significantly impacted by the owner's belligerent behavior and the quality of accommodations. Positives: * Beautiful Scenery: The natural beauty of the ranch is truly outstanding. Rating: 5 stars * Expert Wranglers: The wranglers were knowledgeable, friendly, and provided excellent instruction. Rating: 5 stars * Unique Riding Experiences: The ranch offers a variety of riding opportunities, including trail rides and potential cattle drives. Rating: 4 stars Negatives: * Confrontational Owner: Unfortunately, the owner's overly critical and dismissive attitude created a negative atmosphere. Rating: 1 star * Poorly Maintained Accommodations: The log cabins needed repair, with issues like pests and uncomfortable beds. Sleeping was a terror!! Rating: 1 star * Unfriendly Atmosphere for Less Experienced Riders: The owner's demeanor was particularly discouraging for novice riders during the skills assessment. Rating: 1 star If you can make it past the first day, there might still be worthwhile experiences ahead. However, be prepared for potential negative interactions with the owner, Mel. While she has a wealth of know-how to share, her delivery leaves much to be desired--not what you expect on a vacation for the price you pay. This was our third annual ranch trip, following wonderful experiences at Bar-W in Montana and Vista Verde Ranch in Colorado. Those previous vacations included an assortment of equine activities like all-day rides and team penning, making them truly magnificent. Sadly, our time at Bitterroot Ranch was bittersweet and marred by several negative experiences that began on day one. Our initial experience felt rushed as Mel's rapid-fire overview instructions left guests confused about basic riding concepts regarding deck vs direct reining, when & how to post, etc. Every ranch has its own style & similar lingo, but they do things differently, so for assessments, guests often head into the arena for the orientation ride and "go with the flow." That did not turn out so well for my wife and long story short, Mel pulled my wife from the assessment, and "parked" her in the middle of the arena for the rest of the evaluation as the rest of the guests completed their evaluations. This set a negative tone for the rest of our stay. This encounter set a negative tone for the remaining days at Bitterroot. Mel's curt and dismissive attitude made it difficult for my wife to enjoy ride-outs, and she completely avoided any cattle work as she was not willing to "have that ruined, too." It was heartbreaking to see my wife upset and disengaged. We contemplated leaving after the first day, but she wanted to make the best of the situation for my sake. Despite this, we did find some positives during our visit. The riding itself was enjoyable, with beautiful scenery featuring lots of climbing and descents into streams. Just a heads-up--you will need to bring your riding helmet (no exceptions) and request to carry your own water during rides. Rides typically last 2-3 hours in the morning and afternoon, allowing you to experience different horses throughout the week. The best part of our trip was connecting with fellow riders from around the world. We even created a Google Photos album together to share our best moments! A saving grace during our stay was Hadley, Mel's daughter-in-law. She was sympathetic, encouraging, and an outstanding trainer who navigated challenging situations with grace. Regarding accommodations, while charmingly situated along the ranch's streams, some of the guest cabins were inhabited by mice, making it difficult to sleep due to scratching and clawing noises once the lights were turned out. Additionally, the bed sagged deeply in the middle, and a trap had to be set in our closet to capture a bigger critter. In summary, while we enjoyed the rides, food, and company of other riders, negative interactions with Mel and poor accommodations overshadowed our stay. If you are an advanced rider and can overlook management & cabin issues, it may be a great fit. But I advise caution if you are not. If something goes awry during your stay, it might not be the best of vacations. Unfortunately, we cannot recommend this ranch based on our experience and do not plan to return. It is disheartening because they have a beautiful ranch rich in family history. On a brighter note, I am grateful this was our third ranch experience rather than our first; otherwise, it would have been our last! read more

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My opinion of my week at Bitterroot ranch in early September, '24: I chose this ranch because of the content of their literature and admit I read only the first page of the reviews which were all 5 stars at the time I booked the week. My stay was disappointing on several levels. Firstly, the mice, they seemed to inhabit many if not all the guest cabins, as well as the main lodge. The cabins are made of logs with the traditional white chinking between the logs. Our cabin had numerous places where the chinking was missing and we could see daylight coming through, thus opening the cabin to any and all small critters or bugs that wanted in. I've had my own barn for the last 15 years complete with tack room. In all that time there have not been any rats or mice in the tack room because of our diligence. Guests at the ranch deserve the same diligence. It's hard to go to sleep listening to the scratching of tiny claws running across the floor and furniture. Secondly, the horses and riding techniques were not as advertised. All guests are required to fill out a detailed form about riding preferences and experience. Yet people who only rode English were given horses that only neck reined and visa versa. The western riders had no idea how to direct rein. Mel demanded that everyone ride two-point for all canters, all uphill climbs, and all downhill desends. It is almost impossible to safely lean forward over a horses neck, standing in the stirrups, and going down steep trails. If the horse trips you will summersault forward and off. And the horses were definitely nose-to-tail trained as it was very difficult to get them to do anything else. Oddly, the horses are purposely not taught to back up which made it extremely difficult to safely turn around on the Pole Creek Upper Gorge ride. Mel, the owner, was curt to the point of rudeness and yelled at riders for improper technique in front of everyone. The food was good tasting, not fancy but more than adequate with entrees such as meatloaf, pot roast, fish etc. There was very little choice of entrees and very small dessert portions. Sandwiches were packed for the all day picnic ride without asking the riders what they could eat. I was given an Italian sub, which at my age, does not go well with the digestive system. So in essence, I went without lunch, only the 1 cookie packed for each rider. However, one guest could not eat dairy products and the cook went out of his way to make sure she always had alternative food. It was wonderful to see how well taken care of she was. The best parts of our week long stay were the beautiful rides/countryside and the wranglers. Despite the drought, the scenery was spectacular. And I can't say enough about the young girls that worked as wranglers, several from Europe. The only problem we incurred was when a horse went down in a bog, threw his rider and then couldn't get up. As it was going down the horse threw it's head striking the rider in her head. We had only one wrangle and no satellite phone. The wrangler finally got the downed horse up but was not able to call the ranch. The only choices were for all of us to go back or go on with the ride. The thrown rider had a headache but decided to complete the ride. Eventually she was OK. As odd as it may sound, I enjoyed my week at the ranch although I would not go back. And certainly would not recommend it for people who can't deal with mice. read more

Great experience working with horses, riding, and learning about ranch life. Fun, knowledgable, hard-working wranglers who *do it all*. Delicious food cooked over a fire. I was there for a four night cow-camp spent camping at one spot in the mountains (9500 feet) so I can't comment on the comforts of lodging at the ranch. I was there in August There was a lot of cow work to do - pushing cows up on the way to camp, going out and finding cows and bringing them back, taking out salt blocks, roping an injured calf to give an antibiotic The horses were first rate. The wranglers were great in every way -- great horseman, great interpretation, prepared great food over the open fire, fun stories. Fun "roping" when one day cut short by rain. The area is stunningly beautiful. Trip of a lifetime read more

The owner "Mel" is very rude!!!! My mom went to this place and had an absolutely horrible experience. She went for a week and they only gave 1 wash cloth and 1 towel from Sunday until Wednesday, she had to drink BROWN tap water because there was no bottled water available, the owner was absolutely RUDE! The first day she was there, the owner basically said she was too fat to ride her Arabians and humiliated her in front of everyone. My mom weighs 180 pounds. She said "you can't ride these horses because of your weight". She screamed at her for her "riding skills" because my mom doesn't normally ride English in the "2 point position" but has ridden western, barrel raced and rodeo'd her entire life. They only let you take 1 bottle full of tap water if requested on the ride with you. There is no refrigerators or coffee pot in the room. Don't look, touch, or feed the dogs or the owner will run out and scream at you and insult you. For the amount of money paid, she should have had a WAY better time. This was a once in a life time experience and it was extremely disappointing for her. The views, the staff and the scenery made the trip worth it but I wouldn't pay them a dime. read more

This ranch is so true to the western riding experience, my wife and I just got back from our second visit in two years. At Bitterroot, it is all about the horses and horsemanship. If you want extraordinary riding this is the place. Nestled between two mountain ranges, and butting right up to the Shoshone National Forest (home of Yellowstone Park), Bitterroot Ranch has the best natural scenery, the best footing for long rides and lovely canters, and millions of acres to ride in. In a week's riding, twice a day, don't expect to see the same view repeated. They have so many trails ... The wranglers are wonderful and the Fox family is amazingly knowledgeable about horses. The trail rides were unparrelled. My wife insists that she only learned how much fun riding horses can be at Bitterroot Ranch. This is a ranch for serious riders. The food is good to wonderful. The accommodations are rustic, like the real West. The hosts are intelligent and forthright. If all you care about is indulgent spas and high-class entertainment, you might want to look elsewhere. But if you love to ride, Bitterroot Ranch is Nirvana. http://www.tripadvisor.com/ShowUserReviews-g60453-d3443540-r279996225-Bitterroot_Ranch-Dubois_Wyoming.html# read more