Dude Ranch Vacation in Colorado ~ All-Inclusive Family Vacation ~ Orvis Endorsed World-class Colorado Fishing Lodge  

North Fork Ranch, so not your 70’s Dude Ranch!

March 21, 2013 By

Horseback riding in the majestic Colorado mountains
Peggy Sijswerda, publisher and editor of Tidewater Women along with her family, spent several days with us last fall.

Her article has just come out in the March 2013 edition of Tidewater Women.

Here are a few quick excerpts.

“Imagine a perfect summer day. A gentle wind washes over you as the sun beams down from a cobalt sky. All around you a stunning mountain panorama unfolds—rocky peaks and emerald valleys, soaring pine trees and cold, babbling brooks.”

“It’s like a scene from a movie, and you’re the star! You breathe in the fresh, pine-scented mountain air!”

“North Fork Ranch—about 70 miles west of Denver—looks like something out of a storybook. With the Rocky Mountains as a backdrop, the ranch sits next to a sparkling river surrounded by green pastures, where horses graze peacefully.”

“I know, dude ranches seem so 70s, but today’s ranches offer families more activities than ever. Besides horseback riding (natch), you can go fly fishing, white water rafting, mountain biking, zip lining, hiking, and more.”

To read the entire article, please follow the link:

http://www.tidewaterwomen.com/travel/west-us/summer-in-the-rockies

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North Fork Ranch a “Bucket Must” in 2013

January 25, 2013 By

Happy New Year from all of us at North Fork Ranch & Fishing Lodge!

All is calm & bright at the ranch…quiet, peaceful & white this time of year!  Just hard to believe it is three weeks into January already! We hope this finds you enjoying each day & that the spirit of the past holiday season, family & friends remains with you throughout the year! We are all busy with our resolutions & Bucket List’s this time of year….we hope you will put North Fork in as your “Bucket Must”!!

The ranch is picturesque this time of year as each season brings to us a new wonderful Colorado look!  Right now we have views of beautiful snow capped Colorado Rocky Mountains, gentle water flowing in the North Fork of the South Platte River which is decorated with a little ice, soft snow & colorful festive lights lining the fences.  All of our horses are enjoying grazing leisurely in winter pastures and have grown a full coat of extra winter hair to keep them warm! They will most certainly be happy to see you & anxiously wait to take you horseback riding on your next ranch holiday or family vacation!

Snow may be on the ground but we are already looking forward to our upcoming ranch season & continue to strive to offer you something better or new.  The addition of zip line & our new western dance night to our program were a big success.  What an honor it was this year to be awarded “The Best Fly Fishing Dude Ranch in the USA & Canada”!! You just can’t beat fly fishing in Colorado…in particular at North Fork Ranch!

Speaking of new; Dean is busy remodeling a bathroom (a walk in shower & heated tile floors) in the Wildhorse Lodge in between plowing snow, feeding horses & other minor fix & update projects. We can’t wait to show you the new doors he recently replaced into the lodge as well!!  Many enjoyed the remodeled bathrooms inStonehenge mansion last summer.  We always look forward to greeting you with a fresh new look each season!

We are beginning our hiring of yet another fabulous North Fork Ranch staff for our 29th year!  You will see some familiar faces along with energetic new ones! They too are looking forward to enjoying with you horseback riding, whitewater rafting, hiking, fly fishing, zip line, trap shooting & all the fun adventures offered at North Fork Ranch!

Those of you that have joined us know that a Colorado Dude Ranch vacation is a unique experience. If you missed out last year and have been saying, “we must return”, this is your year to join us for your Colorado Adventure! We have added an extra incentive…we’ve lowered our 2013 rates…give us a call or look on our website!!

As we begin our 29th ranch season, we look back with Great memories & say “Thank You” for sharing your families & lives with us!  We look forward to seeing you soon!

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North Fork Ranch Fall Round Up

October 30, 2012 By
Fall Ranch Round Up

Where Fall meets Winter

Welcome Back to the Ranch!
It is time to catch up on all the Great things that have been happening at the ranch! Blogging seemed to get stuck on the back burner as the summer flew by! Our 28th summer season at North Fork Ranch was action packed with the usual fun family ranch activities; horseback riding, whitewater rafting, fly fishing, hiking swimming, hiking & shooting to name a few! The new addition of Zip Line was a huge hit!! What fun it was hearing each person describe their adventure!! I haven’t been brave enough to try it yet…maybe next summer! :) Cookouts, camping in the teeppee along with our new new western dance night kept the fun going until sundown!
As always, our highlight was meeting many new friends & reconnecting with returns!  Each of you are what makes the ranch special!                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                             The Aspen tree’s shimmering yellow color was spectacular & we have enjoyed an extended warm fall. We have received our first snow already but it hasn’t slowed down our determined fly fishermen!
All of the horses are out enjoying pasture & carefree days….cabins tucked in & ready for winter & empty shelves in the walkin!!
Thank you for taking time to read the ranch “round up”! Join us in saddling up for the holidays & remember to take a moment & put your feet up next to the fire!

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Spring Has Sprung

March 18, 2012 By

The Grass is Always Greener on the other side of the fence!! Hope you had a wonderful St. Patrick’s Day!!

Greetings from our entire herd & in particular, Scotch, our newest addition! He certainly has this concept down already…leaning right over the fence for that patch of green grass! You can see the pool & hot tub in the background…it won’t be long until it is surrounded by green grass & sounds of laughter & fun!

It IS Dude Ranch Vacation time!!

We are thrilled about our upcoming 27th season! The horses have a spring in their step enjoying our warm temperatures, the river is beginning to thaw…the kitchen & ranch is getting a deep clean…a wonderful fun filled staff is being lined up! We are SO ready to have all of you with us!!

Planning is simpled at North Fork Ranch; the perfect Colorado family vacation!! All you have to do is join us…we’ll take care of the rest!!

We are thrilled to be adding several New activities for you to enjoy (like there wasn’t enough to do)! Your new selections are: Mountain Biking, a Jeep Tour & Zip Line!! These will be in addition to all of our already popular & familiar activities; horseback riding, whitewater rafting, fly fishing, hiking & kids activities including the always busy petting zoo.

In my last blog I showed you a picture of Dean remodeling the 1940 bathroom in the Stonehenge, he is delighted to report the new walk in shower & tile work is complete! It is a Great new look & quite stunning as one of our Colorado Lodging options! We will also be adding new wooden southwestern headboards which will polish off this wonderful showpiece mansion! Make sure you follow us on Facebook to see the pictures of all of the happenings at North Fork Ranch & Fishing Lodge!

New News…The secret is out….We feel very honored to have been chosen to be included as one of the Top 50 Ranches in the world! You can see us at http://www.top50ranches.com/ Don’t forget to tell all of your friends about us & add us to your social media pages as well! A Big Thank You to all of you who have helped us along in our journey!

With summer right around the corner don’t wait to make your reservations & invite your friends to join you as well! http://www.northforkranch.com/ Your week at North Fork Ranch, the best Colorado Dude Ranch vacation is waiting!

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Havin’ Fun at the Ranch

August 26, 2011 By

Even though the our dude season is drawing near and many of our summer staff have returned back to school, we are still having fun at the ranch. Riding throughout the Rocky Mountains, exciting whitewater rafting, breathtaking hikes (literally-haha), talent shows while square dancing and the most intense and laughter-filled games of Catchphrase on family game night still are taking place. The weather has been amazing as fall is approaching and the deer are even starting to sneak out of the woods again as the temperatures cool down.

And as many of you know, our staff are one of the key elements here at the ranch that do a great job of keeping our guests entertained, even down to the smallest detail. For example, our chalkboard in the dining room reveals the menu for the day and one of our wonderful staff members put a cute and creative twist to invite everyone to our Friday burger/brat cookout. Check it out and enjoy. Wishing you all were here!
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The Queen

July 7, 2011 By
The “queen of the ranch” finally has her crown!! Well, she believes she is the queen, but we all know Karen is the first lady around the ranch. :)
This young lady definitely thinks she “rules the roost” around here and has the personality to back it up. She is quite ornery at times and a little stubborn, but she is much happier now that she has her tiara to show everyone how beautiful she is and that she is in charge. How can you not love our miniature mule, Lily? :) She can’t wait to show you all her beautiful jewels when you come and see her this summer.
 
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Here We Go!!!

June 10, 2011 By
We are finishing up our second week of dude season here at the ranch and what a start we’ve had!! We’ve met so many new wonderful guests already and have enjoyed some fantastic returns as well. Great people and lasting memories for all. It’s crazy that it’s the middle of June already and we look forward to meeting everyone that will be here this summer. Please enjoy this photo of our 2011 Staff with some familiar faces as well as many new ones. Everyone is doing a great job!
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Wilderness Pack Trip!

April 25, 2011 By

We are offering something new and exciting this year at the ranch. A real wilderness pack trip! It’s more than just an overnight trip like in the past. You will find yourself enjoying nature first hand for many nights in the beautiful Rocky Mountains. Views you have never seen before or imagined! Here are the details:

“Looking for the adventure of a lifetime? Something unlike what you have ever done before? A Colorado Wilderness Pack Trip is waiting for you! A five day, four night, back country, horseback, wilderness camping trip at 10,000 ft. Fill your leisure days with fishing in alpine streams, hiking nearby peaks and horseback riding. Explore Craig Park in the Lost Creek Wilderness Area as only a few have been able to do. Enjoy the open space, fresh air, ultimate peace & serenity of getting away from it all! A guide and camp host will care for your every need and safety. This exciting adventure is for one family or possibly two couples and only offered three different weeks: July 2nd, July 9th and July 16th, 2011. Contact us for more exciting details.”
 
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The Three Amigo’s!!

March 27, 2011 By
These three horses are some of the most loved & well known horses on the ranch. They are also some of the hardest working and have been for a long time. They are slowing down in their old age, but still love to come to the ranch and take our younger guests out on the trail. They each have their own special personalities but are as gentle as can be. They love to greet us every morning at the gate down at long meadow in the winter time and are excited to escort us down in the truck to their grain bins. It’s brings a smile to your face every morning to see the three of them greeting us. :)
Bailey. This cute girl has been working hard at the ranch for many, many years. She loves her treats and loves to get personal affection from her riders. The cutest thing about Bailey….is her ears. Instead of holding her ears up and perky like most horses, she always has them out to the side. Does it get any cuter?
Idaho. This handsome man is an Appaloosa and has wonderful coloring. He is extremely sweet and loves to take care of our younger riders every summer. Idaho is “the man in charge” in winter pasture and the other two horses he lives with highly respect him. :) He has a very soft winter coat right now and loves to get a nice pat on the back for a job well done.
Jake may be one of our smaller horses, but has the biggest heart. This furry guy is very sweet and gentle and loves to work hard. He is very patient and always takes extra special care of his riders. He might be hard to recognize in the winter time because he gets quite a shaggy, furry coat, but we think he’s cuter than ever! :)
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Lions, Tigers and Bears. Oh my!

March 14, 2011 By
Well, maybe not the tigers, but we do have lions here in Colorado….mountain lions that is. And of course bears. These powerful animals do not like to be seen just as much as we do not like to have encounters with them. They prefer not to be in the spotlight which I think is a mutual feeling with humans. :) The bears are most likely beginning to (if not already have) left hibernation and will begin looking for food to satisfy their empty bellies. Attached is a picture from a bear we had visit the Homestead Cabin last spring (please also see the blog post from May 15, 2010). Also, here are some neat mountain lion tracks recently seen in the mud. The picture isn’t great as it was taken with a cell phone and the print looks small but trust me, it’s big enough to make you nervous!! :) The print is a little smaller than a woman’s hand. Not a big lion, but not a small one either. :) Sorry about the quality of the photos.

 

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