Big Bar Guest Ranch

Description:

• A longtime favorite for horse-focused family vacations, the Big Bar is a comfortable destination with lots of recreational and lodging options. Summer activities include riding and pack trips, or you can canoe, fish, pan for gold, bike, and go for hayrides. In winter, the ranch remains open for cross-country skiing, snowshoeing, snowmobiling, and ice fishing. The centerpiece of the property is the hand-hewn log Harrison House, built in the early 1900s, which now serves as guest lounge, with a huge stone fireplace, and game area with pool and foosball tables. The Big Bar is the quintessential old-fashioned guest ranch -- not a New Age lifestyle resort -- where lots of attention is spent on the quality of the horses and the wranglers. Guests will enjoy the family-style meals after a hearty day of horseback riding or hiking. In addition to 10 comfortable, no-fuss lodge rooms in the main lodge, there are four quite comfortable one-bedroom log cabins, each with a sleeping loft and fold-out couch that sleep up to eight, with full kitchens and fireplaces. In addition, other lodging options include tepees, a six-bedroom lodge, and campsites. If you're looking for an Old West adventure, not just an opportunity to dress up in a Stetson and denim, then this might be the guest ranch for you.

• © Frommer's 2012