This ranch is absolutely amazing. From the accommodations, to staff, to the view and location this…read moreplace is 5 stars! I hope to be able to go back soon. Highly recommended!

From the owner: Zapata Ranch is a 103,000-acre ranch owned by The Nature Conservancy of Colorado where guests can…read moreride through and learn about our conservation herd of 2,500 bison, integrate themselves into daily life on the ranch and participate in extensive nature programs. Managed by Ranchlands, Zapata Ranch in nestled at the base of Southern Colorado's Sangre de Cristo Mountains and shares a border with the United States' tallest sand dunes: The Sand Dunes National Park & Preserve.

I took a group of 9 people to Music Meadows. Absolutely fantastic. Elin Parker Ganschow is a…read morefantastic guide and teacher. She custom tailored the ride to my kids' more advanced riding abilities, so I'm sure she can do the same for your group. She's a bit more expensive than the other ranch near Westcliffe (Bear Basin), but very worth it. Bear Basin would only do "nose to tail" rides where you're stuck in a line the whole time. Elin at Music Meadows encouraged our group to get to know our assigned horse, get them to do what we wanted and explore the open country. (I'm sure you can do regular trail rides in a line as well). Great variety of terrain on a huge, 3800 acre working cattle ranch. A mixture of open grasslands, rolling sage hillsides, aspen groves, water crossings and amazing views of the Sangre de Cristo mountain range. Also, each rider was given a very nice Music Meadows aluminum water bottle for the ride, and got to keep them afterwards (probably supposed to be a secret bonus at the end, so shhhhhh!). Music Meadows is home of "Sangres Best" grass-finished beef, and you can buy some on site to take home. Since I was already covering a ride for 9 people, we just bought some all-beef bratwurst and franks, and they were delicious. She also let us sample some of their new beef jerky, which only had a small handful of entirely pronounceable ingredients. Elin also gave us a tour of the cute (and surprisingly big) cottage on the ranch. It's beautifully decorated and can be rented out. It looks like it could sleep quite a few people. I've been on plenty of trail rides throughout Colorado, and Music Meadows is top notch. Hats off to Elin for working tirelessly to carry on Colorado's rich western heritage. The ranch is protected under a conservation easement through San Isabel Land Trust that ensures it remains in its natural state for generations to come. Dang it. I'm gushing. Give these guys a try. You'll be glad you did.

Great experience! I was in Westcliffe for an offsite work retreat. Music Meadows Ranch was…read morerecommended by a fellow coworker. We had a group of 10 and had a wonderful time! Nicole was so easy to work with and talk to when I was planning the trip. We were unable to do a full day of riding so the ladies were very accommodating and we rode from 9am - 12:30/1pm. This was the first time anyone in the group had the freedom to direct their horse where to go and to trot. We had all only been horse back riding when you ride in a single file line which is... fine. This was SO much better!! They give you a lot of training before you ride so you feel comfortable directing the horse on your own. 5/5 stars definitely recommend! The ladies were also fun to talk to while riding! And the kitties at the barn were cute.

Nature excursions, private guided hunts, lodging, and bison meat sales. Contact JW Ranch for…read morerecreation activities and more.

What an incredible experience this was. Addie was awesome -- truly exceptional. We hadn't ridden…read morehorses in a long time, but she made us feel completely comfortable from the moment we started. Time flew by so fast. It turned out to be the perfect birthday present, and Letty and I were so happy with everything. I even made a little trade with Addie: if she taught me how to ride a horse, I'd teach her some salsa steps. I'd say it worked out pretty well! Honestly, I forgot I was even riding a horse -- that's how much fun we had.

Incredible time on a few hour UTV tour! Our guide was a lot of fun, knowledgeable, and passionate…read moreabout the area. We rented a six seater. So much fun!!

EXPERIENCE: The cowboys that led our 2 hour ride in Questa…read morewere so friendly and kind! They went through all the safety procedures and made sure each one of us were comfortable with our horses! It was a bit warm outside, but they made sure that we had plenty of stops so we can drink water from our water bottles. The guides did not provide much history or information during the ride, but they were very social and gave us a lot of local recommendations. RESERVATIONS: We made reservations the day before and had 0 issues since it was an off season in Sep! The woman I spoke to on the phone (Montie Mudd) was not very friendly though! I asked if they were taking reservations and she made a rude comment about how reservations are the "only" way to ride. I had my phone on speaker and everyone in the room heard her tone of voice and made a comment about it afterwards. I'm so glad that the guides were nice though since Montie left a bad taste with us.

The staff/guides were excellent! We had a great time and would highly recommend it. Our guide was…read morefantastic and fun.

Came back for their excellent margaritas and BBQ fries. Service great. Sat inside to get out of…read morethe wind. Of course soccer on the big screens.

For over 40 years the Dog Bar & Grill has been serving up food, drinks and in the summer live music…read more& dancing. And yes dogs (leashed) are allowed on the patio. At an elevation of 8650 this no frills rustic mountain restaurant is located in Cuchara Village. Inside, license plates decorate the walls and there are tables & chairs for seating. Note, parking is limited. Service was great... very friendly. We arrived for lunch on a weekday during the holiday season & there was no wait. I had the Alpine Burger & substituted a side salad for fries. Burgers are 1/2 pound grass fed beef patties. My burger came with melted Swiss cheese, grilled mushrooms, onions, lettuce, tomato & pickles. Not only was my burger big, it was cooked perfectly & delicious. The grilled mushrooms & melted cheese were yummy too. The side salad was plain but good, it also was a big portion, however it was served on a too small of a plate, making it difficult to mix the salad dressing in. This was a great meal & I'm looking forward to returning again.

This is a reputable rescue ranch run by a woman who is dedicated to her animals. There is plenty of…read morespace for them to graze and enjoy life in retirement once they are brought to this lovely setting. I highly recommend it

This is an amazing wedding venue. Such a great experience and everyone is friendly. We would…read moredefinitely recommend having your wedding here.

Brush Canyon Ranch was the venue of our dreams....mountains, camping, and an extremely awesome…read morefamily who runs a working ranch and also runs 48 hour weddings during wedding season each year! Cara is one of the sweetest people we've ever met, and iIt was really the little things she did that made all the difference...letting my mother-in-law order stuff and send it to the ranch to put in storage, letting us drop things off early the day before the wedding, coming over to tell us that we didn't have to rush out of there the next day.....every single person just had SO much fun! We got so many compliments on what an absolutely breathtaking venue we had chosen. The kids had tons of room to run around on and fly kites, our friends were able to bring their dogs, lawn games galore, there's a working fire pit, a brand new back patio, you can choose to get married under a gazebo or in the field in front of the mountains, they built a beautiful reception pavilion already decorated with lights, you can arrive in a horse-drawn carriage if you get married on the weekend, you hire all your own vendors and set things up exactly how you want it....and the absolute best part about this venue is that our friends got to camp anywhere they wanted on the property for 2 nights! That means we were able to dance ALL night long, and then just crawl into your tent when you got tired. I honestly cannot say enough good things about this ranch and the owners. We couldn't have asked for a more perfect wedding venue at an extremely reasonable price. Forever grateful we found Cara and her incredible ranch!!!