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.

Enjoy a discounted stay with your kids at 4UR Ranch

Can you believe that it is more than half way through February? Spring is going to arrive at the guest ranch before we know it. It is still plenty snowy and cold up here, but we are hoping the worst of it is behind us now.

As we start to think about spring and guest arrival, we think you should be also. Have you made plans with your family for some time away, together? Take advantage of an amazing deal for a horseback riding vacation with your kids – for free! Our head wrangler Damon takes good care of all our riders old and young. He selects other qualified wranglers to help him work with the kids riding program. We have all different types of horses at 4UR for our different levels of riders. Our kids get real loving rides – horses that can help with the learning process of becoming a horseman or woman.

We try to provide a balanced amount of time between the kids program and family time. You, the parent, will have large chunks of the afternoon and morning to do what you want on your rocky mountain vacation – whether it be fly fishing, laying by the pool, visiting our hot springs or just taking in the stunning beauty of Wagon Wheel Gap.

Make sure to give us a call (719-658-2202) to check availability during our kids stay free weeks. This is a unique chance to make plans with your family at a highly discounted rate.

Interior of the Lodge

Dining has always been an important aspect of our Western vacations. We actually open up our dining room to non-4UR guests from Creede, so that if they want to have some fine dining they don’t have to drive all the way to Denver! This can be a wonderful time during adult only week to share some fine wine and food with your travel companions and the new friends you will meet at the ranch. Swap fishing stories, hiking favorites, and enjoy a relaxing dip in the natural hot springs before you retire to your comfortable cabin.

Take the time to find your peace of mind through the variety of great activities we have at the ranch. Fly fishing might be your tonic: the cool gurgle of Goose Creek is sure to soothe. For me personally, there is little more relaxing than getting on horseback and taking to the trails. The rhythm of the animal’s movements always allows me to think, and get outside myself for a while.

Whatever it may be, come to 4UR for an adults only dude ranch vacation and find a little peace of mind.

Cozy 4UR Rooms with new mattresses and linens

On the other end of things, we are taking care of all the lovely amenities you have come to expect during your horseback riding vacations at 4UR Ranch: new linens and a new finish on the pool. It will be extra sparkling blue next summer!

Speaking of new improvements and changes for 4UR, did you know we have a Facebook page now? We also just began importing our blog posts into the page, so you can look both on the Facebook page or here to keep up with the winter in Creede.

We attended the Colorado Dude and Guest Ranch Association (CDGRA) convention last month. It was a great time to reconnect with other Ranchers in the area, as well as learning a lot of valuable information.

On a personal note, the guys are playing basketball during these cold winter months to stay entertained. It is now about 0-10 degrees in the morning, and the cold weather is making the horses quite sassy!

We hope that all of you had a wonderful Thanksgiving, and we will keep you posted on new things happening at our Colorado Dude Ranch over the winter.

We have a variety of lodging options that our dedicated staff work hard to plan perfectly for your family trip. For example, we try to put couples in the same lodging area, and families in another, so that kids can become friends with their neighbors, and no one has to worry about a sleepless night.

Some 4UR Guests Relaxing in front of the Lodge

Most of our lodging is structured Adirondack-style, with a long shared porch. The lodges are centrally located by and large; close to our dining room, lodge and pool area. However, we do have some homes that are pulled away for the rest of the ranch, and offer a quiet and secluded option.

Step two for a family ranch vacation is a great variety of activities to keep everyone in the family happy and entertained. We have Goose Creek of course, our world-class fly fishing creek, with seven pristine miles of private waters for anglers of all skill levels. Our head guide, Andy, can often be seen on the lawn in the morning with a group of young folks, showing them fly fishing techniques and tricks.

Then there is our equestrian program, which we are so proud of! Head wrangler Damon is trained in natural horsemanship, and when you come to ride at 4UR, you won’t just plot along behind the next horses’ bottom. We will lead you through our beautiful valley onto mesas and mountaintops for stunning views or delicious meals, like the Steak ride and the Fish Fry. We have a great riding program for the kids as well, which culminates in a hilarious kids rodeo.

There is our pool, and hot springs, as well as massage and yoga classes to partake in.

The last step for a great dude ranch experience is, or course, relaxation. With the quiet and peace of our little valley here at Wagon Wheel Gap, you are sure to find pure moments of serenity. After all, people have been visiting this valley for just that purpose for more than 150 years. I guess that is what keeps folks coming back again and again to our Guest Ranch. We provide a place for effortless and pleasant memory-building. That is what 4UR Ranch is all about.