Well maintined facility with great trainers, and great care of the horses! I have had a horse at…read morethis facility since 2014. Great option if you want to live near your horse, as there are also apartments for rent. Farm pond for fishing, and acres of pasture to roam/ride.

My 10 year old daughter absolutely LOVES going to the ranch! She has learned so much within the…read morelast 6 months and I'm so happy we chose her to do lessons with them. The trainers are all so nice and helpful, no matter who she is training with. She has learned both Western and English riding, and how to care for the horses and the stalls. I absolutely love that they teach more than just riding, she needs to be prepared to take care of it all for when she gets her own horse. Definitely recommend them all around! The facility is always clean and ready to go, plus having the indoor and outdoor arenas is great for year-round riding.

A horseback ranch in the middle of the city - definitely was surprised when I made a turn in the…read moremiddle of businesses and homes - and I ended up at a country ranch. Now this ranch is more than just Horseback Riding, they offer date nights, which is where you and your partner(or a few friends) take a ride around the ranch on the horses and end the night eating a candlelight dinner outside. They even attempt to cater to you when it comes to drink and/or alcohol beforehand. When we went, it was getting darker than normal, and close to pitch black by the end of the ride - they admitted they'd probably have to move the dinner nights earlier to compensate for the next date nights. Also don't rely on being able to obtain your group pictures - as we never saw ours get uploaded. But these friends who are turning this ranch, which has been passed down from family, into something new and different - are doing an amazing job. If you love horses or just being outside - and looking for a date night that is isn't your average Saturday, be sure to give Watkins Ranch a call.

Our group recently stayed at this ranch for a special event. While there were parts of the…read moreexperience we enjoyed, unfortunately there were also several things that made members of our group extremely uncomfortable. During our late-night horseback ride, the employee accompanying us touched the thighs of the women riding and got extremely close to, if not touching, one woman's butt. I was one of the ladies he touched. His name is JR. He also made a sexual comment to the youngest woman in our group about men who ride horses making better lovers because of their hip movement. This was completely inappropriate and made us uncomfortable. Earlier in the evening, the same employee had been drinking and continued inserting himself into our group's event. Telling us he had to stay during the bonfire even though the next morning a female employee told us that was a lie. He did not have to stay. During the horseback ride, we also witnessed him yelling at a horse, calling it names, and becoming physical with it, which was upsetting to watch. He would hit the horse in the face and call it a "dickhead." There were some additional communication issues regarding the horseback riding schedule and breakfast. I had reached out to the owner twice on us not arriving a three. When she communicated with me at the beginning I took it as we can check in as soon as 3 pm and check out as late of 11 am. However, she never told me the horse back ride was on a schedule. She also had poor communicate with answering and acknowledge my text on time we would be arriving and then was rude when we arrived. We had been told there would be cinnamon rolls for breakfast but were instead provided muffins that were available to everyone on the ranch. We also misunderstood the level of privacy we would have during the event. The owner later clarified that we had not paid for a completely private ranch rental. People were coming in and out of the table we were provided for meals to get food for themselves. However, those misunderstandings are minor compared with the conduct we experienced during the horseback ride. We brought all of these concerns to the owner and was told that she would speak with the employee and that nothing like this had been reported about him during his three years working there. However, I have found other complaints similar on the behavior towards the horses. I'm sharing our experience because I believe other women considering staying or riding here deserve to know what occurred during our visit.

This charming place is relaxing and removed from the busy Lawrence scene, yet close enough to…read morearrive quickly. We visited friends from out of state when they stayed here- the dinner was amazing! Fresh, tasty dishes, and plenty of staff service. The views are lovely, and when I was out there most recently, in May '22, they were working on expansion projects. The only downside I can see is the slow internet, and since covid they've had to reduce costs so the 800 # listed somewhere on their website is out of date. If you google their name, though, you can get the local & accurate number. Excellent place, wonderful staff!

This was a great place for my friend's wedding. The rooms are great and all have a different theme…read moreto them. The decor was very country. The wedding area was great with natural benches and a nice natural gazebo for the bride to walk through. The reception room was great too! The food they prepared for us was great. Their hospitality was top notch. I would recommend this place to anyone looking for a B&B or a wedding venue.

If you love the big open sky surrounding Lawrence, KS, and the sound of crickets, cows and a…read morepicturesque Midwestern night, you're going to see the appeal of the Historic Taylor Barn. That was our thinking when we booked this for our wedding in 2015. This beautiful working farm, although a bit more on the rustic side than some photos would have you believe, really is a place where you can breathe deep, relax and make for a wonderful evening. Being in the event world myself, I was less than thrilled with some of the steps leading up to it when we booked this venue. They are friendly folks, but there was a sense of a vaguery around a lot of things. We had to have every vendor "approved" by them, but the responses were slow. In the wedding planning process, things move so quickly that you better nail down that photographer, caterer, etc. and not have to wait and follow up continuously. Something that bugged me as my stress was H-I-G-H that final week before the wedding was that a big time cold front and high chance of rain were forecasted to move in. With over a week's notice I requested that they go ahead and get the heaters and tents that we'd talked about as our agreed upon contingency plan. No response. Followed up, and by then it was too late to get all that we needed, even though we were still four days out. They had told me 48 hours would be sufficient notice so I was very disappointed. Thank god it didn't rain as forecasted! She also quoted me pretty high on the heat lamps and I grew weary. I called the rental company (Sunflower Rental) myself and found that the total price I was quoted was bumped up to nearly double what they actually charge. So I could've just ordered these myself and saved a lot of money, and there was no explanation for the upcharge except that I called them on it. Now the wedding day was great, they were accommodating to the caterers, they dressed up and were around but not too present, and were just overall great. I chalk it up to the fact that everyone EVER who is in the wedding business realizes the cash grab that it can be and that a few things here and there fell in that category. I think this would probably be the same for a lot of venues, I just wish there had been a bit more transparency from the get go. Also not a fan of the $300 clean up charge, that's bogus. Thankfully as the bride and groom we were not on the hook and our family stepped up to do this. Our wedding was beautiful, and the weather cooperated. It was crisp, they had a bon fire stoked for us, and the historic barn (built in 1887 I think?) and I was thrilled with the way everything worked out.

From the owner: Wedding/reception venue Rehearsal dinners…read moreAnniversary celebration Photo opportunities

My friends and I stayed at the Big Blue Ranch for a few days this month because it was on the total…read moreeclipse path, and because we are astronomers, looking for dark skies that we cannot get at home anymore. I would come back here to stay in a minute. The skies in this area are beautiful and huge. The horizons are clear, with very few trees to obstruct the view. Every single night we had amazing skies, whether on account of storms you could see building for miles away, or clear skies that were so very dark and starry. This area is pretty remote; there is not much in the way of towns unless you want to drive about 40 miles, and no light domes to disturb the viewing near the horizon. Note: there is no Wi-Fi here and cell phone connections may be problematic as well; one of our party has AT&T and had a very spotty connection, another of us had Verizon, and had good service there. I have T-Mobile and no service at all while at the ranch. Just something to be aware of. The facilities here are top notch. The kitchen is well-stocked with the amenities, but you should plan to bring your own food. This is a working ranch. Therefore, you can help the family with ranch duties, or you can horse back ride, or any number of other activities, such as fishing in the pond behind the lodge. Our hosts, Bobbie and Scott, were very cordial and attentive. They were perfect. I want them to get business because this place is so wonderful. As I said, I would come back here in a minute. I will have lots of fun memories of this place long into the future.

Service was good but wish server introduced herself. Just okay for a greasy spoon. They could use a…read morerehab on the seating/chairs. Ranch cafe needs a new cook!The food was barely marginal It arrived cool to cold, not as ordered and tasted not good. I am disappointed because I have been eating there off and on for the last 25 years. I won't be returning.

Very good food good service for the price best home cooked food iv had in a while definitely…read morerecommended