Hot coffee, whenever you want it.

People come to our Colorado Family Guest Ranch so they can connect with the great outdoors. They come to hike the Rocky Mountains of Colorado. They come to ride horses and stand in the cool, clear waters of Goose Creek, fishing rod in hand. They come for the fresh air and the astounding beauty of the place.

All this could be had in the backcountry. The same people who come to 4UR could, instead, don backpacks spend a week camping. In fact, we know some do, at other times.

The beauty of 4UR is that our guests have an all-inclusive vacation. They get the great outdoors, the horseback riding, the hiking, the fishing, but they also get luxurious services.

What’s included in an all-inclusive Colorado Guest Ranch Vacation at 4UR?

• Three gourmet meals a day (including non-alcoholic beverages), picnic baskets when you like, coffee and tea delivered to your room in the morning, ice delivered to your room in the afternoon. We will make you a cake to celebrate a special occasion, and we’ll do our best to accommodate special dietary needs.

• Daily maid service, nightly turndown service, laundry facilities, free Wi-Fi, use of computer, and transportation to and from Alamosa Airport.

• Horseback riding and natural horsemanship lessons, private fly-fishing, and sporting clays and trap shooting.

• Guests may use the pool, the natural hot springs, the fitness center, and bicycles.

• Supervised daily children’s programs are open to all children.

In addition, we offer massages, guided fishing, and wine and alcoholic beverages. These are not included in the base rate.

A vacation at 4UR is the softer side of roughing it, to be sure. It’s wonderful.

The new spa at our Creede, Colorado, Family Guest Ranch is taking shape.

Imagine a spacious work out area with gleaming new equipment and space for stretching. We are hoping to add yoga classes this summer, so any guests who are devoted yogis will be able to continue their practice. Changing areas are being enlarged, as well. In short, the whole area is getting a little more elbow room.

We’re also expanding the massage room, which will enable us to offer more massage appointments. That is sure to be appreciated by our guests, some of whom get a tad sore from lengthy trail rides and hours casting flies on Goose Creek.

Outside, the new deck area will have an outdoor fireplace to warm us on chilly evenings, and a covered area for outdoor eating on drizzly days. Comfy new pool furniture and luxurious towels will round out the “new” spa in Creede.

We hope all of our guests are as excited to see the new spa as we are!

The view from the chairs is even better.

There’s nothing fancy about 4UR Guest Ranch, and we like it that way. Nonetheless, your comfort is paramount, and we strive to create an environment that has all you need and expect in a luxury ranch vacation. We don’t want you to have to think about your lodging or food – we just want you to have the best.

This may be the best cup of coffee you'll ever have.

Accommodations are spacious, warm, and inviting, with ample porches. Guests craving privacy will find it. Guests craving interaction with new and old friends will find that too. The Main Lodge of our Creede Colorado Guest Ranch is a popular meeting place morning, noon, and night. A roaring fire keeps the main lodge warm on chilly mornings and evenings. The bar is the perfect place to unwind after a day in the saddle or fishing, and guests of all ages enjoy the game room.

Relax.

You’ll be comfortable whether you stay for three nights or two weeks, and we hope you’ll want to return.

Colorful and tasty!

Guests of all ages eat well at 4UR Colorado Dude Ranch. Adults feast on colorful Roasted Beet Salad with endive leaves, feta cheese, and lemon vinaigrette. They tuck into Grilled Rack of Colorado Lamb with goat cheese polenta, wilted greens, and lemon-rosemary jus. The meal is completed with a delicate Banana-Ginger Spring Roll with salted caramel dipping sauce and roasted banana ice cream.

Is your mouth watering yet?

Children eat equally well. They may choose from the full menu, or satisfy their hunger with a flavorful Burger (with or without cheese), a Chicken and Cheese Quesadilla with sour cream and salsa, or Cheese Pizza. We understand that active children are hungry children, and we know they need to eat.

Natural beauty, exciting outdoor recreation, and gourmet food. That’s what you’ll find at 4UR.

Some of our guests are seasoned riders and anglers, but many don’t have the opportunity to spend much time horseback riding or fly fishing. They look forward to spending days on the river and in the saddle while they’re here, and they do, and it’s wonderful. Yet almost inevitably, sore muscles protest.

Soak away all cares in our spring fed hot pool.

The best solution is a soak in the curative waters of the Wagon Wheel Gap Hot Springs and a massage.

The massage therapists at 4UR Colorado Fly Fishing Ranch know what they’re doing. Joanne Kaufman graduated from the Boulder College of Massage Therapy in 2001, and has been making people happy and relaxed ever since. Judith Penrose Mattingly has practiced Swedish Massage since graduating from the Boulder School of Massage Therapy in 1989. Chelsea Heersink also lays her experienced hands on our guests’ sore muscles.

We encourage our guests to fulfill dreams, ride that extra mile, and catch one more fish. On the other hand, we do want you to be comfortable. Sore muscles mean your out there having fun, but they’re no fun. So at the end of the day, have a soak and a massage.

We suggest our guests book massages early, as they tend to be popular.

Golf during your family dude ranch vacation at 4UR.

The Rio Grande Club is truly spectacular. The first nine holes are located in a lush valley lined with interesting sandstone formations. Clumps of rustling trees dot the greens and the Rio Grande snakes its way through the course. The back nine are more dramatically tucked into the higher elevations and offer some challenging shots.

After the game, return to our Creede Colorado Dude Ranch for lunch, or dine at the Rio Grande Club. The main dining room looks out over the San Juan Mountains and affords lovely views. Lighter fare is available at the Big River Grille, which overlooks the pond at the 18th hole.

In addition to golf, our guests enjoy a multitude of activities at the ranch, such as trail rides, fly fishing, river rafting, and hiking. Some activities are appropriate for both children and adults. When your activity of choice is best suited to adults, rest assured that your children will be happily engaged in our Kids Program. In fact, they may even urge you to go off and do your own thing, so they can have their own fun. So go ahead – enjoy a round of golf with your spouse. Happy vacation!

Always save room for dessert at 4UR.

Our Executive Chef Wray Warner trained at Cordon Bleu, one of the premier culinary schools in the world. He honed his skills in some of the finest resorts in the country, such as the Lake Placid Lodge in New York and the Four Seasons in Jackson, Wyoming. Then we found him.

Here at 4UR Family Dude Ranch, Wray’s creativity and talent soar. He is as comfortable preparing rack of lamb and seared Ahi tuna in the dining room as he is serving up steak in a gorgeous mountain meadow. You’ll find Wray preparing our weekly chuckwagon breakfast on the hillside overlooking the main lodge, and cooking trout fillets by the the stream. You’ll see him by the pool, fajitas in hand. You’ll be as amazed by his refreshing homemade ice creams and sorbets as you are by his delicate roasted beet salad and hearty butternut squash soup. After years of watching him at work, we’re convinced there is nothing Wray can’t do with food; most of what he does makes us swoon with delight.

We value children at 4UR. We love the energy they bring to all events, including meals. We also understand that for many children, there is enough adventure in horseback riding for the first time, or catching their first fish in Goose Creek. Our Colorado Family Dude Ranch therefore has a respectable children’s menu. Let them indulge in Chicken Fingers after making new friends at the pool, and let them feast on pizza after their first time riding horses in the ring. It’s vacation for them, too, after all.

The original Wagon Wheel Gap historic bath house is on our Creede Colorado Dude Ranch. It was built by General William Palmer in the early 1900s, so his guests could soak their weary or achy bodies. The hot springs at Wagon Wheel Gap have long been believed to have curative powers. Try them for yourself and see.

These days, the spring fed hot tub is adjacent to the pool; soak while you watch your children romp and splash in the pool. Soak after exploring mountain paths on horseback or fly fishing on Goose Creek. Soak in the Wagon Wheel Gap Hot Springs when you feel sore and soak when you feel great – it’s part of the experience here at our Creede Colorado Dude Ranch.

Dining: We recruited our chef, Wray Warner, from the Four Seasons in Jackson Hole. Some of his specialties include unique home-made ice creams, and ambitious pasta, beef and fish dinner entrees. One of my favorites is a mushroom pasta that has been prepared to allow the delicate flavors of the fungi to come out.

It’s not just about dinner, breakfast and lunch are stunning as well. I love to start breakfast with the home-made granola and yogurt, along with hot, strong coffee. We also serve unique cook-to-order breakfast dishes. Breakfast is a very personalized meal, and we want you to feel right at home.

Even lunch is a special affair, esp. on Wednesdays when we hold our Mexican luncheon poolside. We have fajitas, chips, guacamole, cold Coronas and margaritas. Box lunches are also available to take out for your fly fishing trip.

Bathing: We have great “watering holes” – literally! Our pool is large and refreshing; there is plenty of deck space for lounging or playing games with family. We have tables if you want to sit in the shade umbrellas and have a cold drink or a snack. The pool is the place to be, if you ask me!
The hot springs are what Wagon Wheel Gap was originally famous for. In the early 1900s, General William Palmer founded the Wagon Wheel Gap Hot Springs Resort. The Hot Springs were thought to have medicinal qualities; we still have the historic bath house on property. You can still enjoy the Hot Springs, they are just adjacent to the pool and may still have the power to cure what ails you.
The sauna is here for you to enjoy as well – it is also in the pool area, and next to it is our massage parlor. This is relaxation central, and something that makes 4UR quite luxurious.

Catch a beauty in our "Private Tailwaters"

Fly Fishing Vacation: Our fly fishing is renowned as spectacular. We divide our pristine Goose Creek into 15 “stations”, each a 1/3 mile, which are assigned by lottery in the evening. This system keeps everything fair, and assures each fisher-person prime waters at a prime time nearly every day.

Along with Goose Creek, there are four stations on the Rio Grande and one in the Weminuche Wilderness. You may also take a guided fishing trip above timberline to Lost Lakes for rare Rio Grande cutts, or fish Station 21, a trophy pond in the ranch valley. All waters are catch and release fly fishing only, except for Walton Pond, which is a great place to start practicing with your little angler.

Goose Creek’s drainage is quite unique. Flowing from the Weminuche Wilderness, it passes through only two private properties before reaching the Rio Grande; the 4UR Ranch and our neighbors upstream. Our neighbor’s reservoir feeds the creek from its cool waters via an 80-foot dam, making this creek one of only a handful of private tailwaters in America. Andy Lee and Aaron Christenson have spent their years with us managing the stream rigorously. This, along with our catch and release practices make for some surprisingly big, well-colored trout. Look forward to seeing rainbows, browns, snake river cutts, cutt-bow hybrids and even brookies.

As you can see, 4UR Ranch is more than boots and dusty arenas – come here for something completely unique.

Dining: We recruited our chef, Wray Warner, from the Four Seasons in Jackson Hole. Some of his specialties include unique home-made ice creams, and ambitious pasta, beef and fish dinner entrees. One of my favorites is a mushroom pasta that has been prepared to allow the delicate flavors of the fungi to come out.

It’s not just about dinner, breakfast and lunch are stunning as well. I love to start breakfast with the home-made granola and yogurt, along with hot, strong coffee. We also serve unique cook-to-order breakfast dishes. Breakfast is a very personalized meal, and we want you to feel right at home.

Even lunch is a special affair, esp. on Wednesdays when we hold our Mexican luncheon poolside. We have fajitas, chips, guacamole, cold Coronas and margaritas. Box lunches are also available to take out for your fly fishing trip.

Bathing: We have great “watering holes” – literally! Our pool is large and refreshing; there is plenty of deck space for lounging or playing games with family. We have tables if you want to sit in the shade umbrellas and have a cold drink or a snack. The pool is the place to be, if you ask me!
The hot springs are what Wagon Wheel Gap was originally famous for. In the early 1900s, General William Palmer founded the Wagon Wheel Gap Hot Springs Resort. The Hot Springs were thought to have medicinal qualities; we still have the historic bath house on property. You can still enjoy the Hot Springs, they are just adjacent to the pool and may still have the power to cure what ails you.
The sauna is here for you to enjoy as well – it is also in the pool area, and next to it is our massage parlor. This is relaxation central, and something that makes 4UR quite luxurious.

Catch a beauty in our "Private Tailwaters"

Fly Fishing Vacation: Our fly fishing is renowned as spectacular. We divide our pristine Goose Creek into 15 “stations”, each a 1/3 mile, which are assigned by lottery in the evening. This system keeps everything fair, and assures each fisher-person prime waters at a prime time nearly every day.

Along with Goose Creek, there are four stations on the Rio Grande and one in the Weminuche Wilderness. You may also take a guided fishing trip above timberline to Lost Lakes for rare Rio Grande cutts, or fish Station 21, a trophy pond in the ranch valley. All waters are catch and release fly fishing only, except for Walton Pond, which is a great place to start practicing with your little angler.

Goose Creek’s drainage is quite unique. Flowing from the Weminuche Wilderness, it passes through only two private properties before reaching the Rio Grande; the 4UR Ranch and our neighbors upstream. Our neighbor’s reservoir feeds the creek from its cool waters via an 80-foot dam, making this creek one of only a handful of private tailwaters in America. Andy Lee and Aaron Christenson have spent their years with us managing the stream rigorously. This, along with our catch and release practices make for some surprisingly big, well-colored trout. Look forward to seeing rainbows, browns, snake river cutts, cutt-bow hybrids and even brookies.

As you can see, 4UR Ranch is more than boots and dusty arenas – come here for something completely unique.