Starring Rick & Teresa Lukens, Explorer TV recently reviewed the Red Horse Mountain Dude Ranch in Idaho.. enjoy!

We’re all somewhat familiar with standard activities offered at modern day ranches…

Activities like horseback riding, hiking, fly fishing, mountain bike riding, etc.

All fantastic endeavors that’ll quickly fill a fruitful vacation.

But how about all the atypical activities? Unique offerings a bit off the beaten path. So unique, only a handful of ranches offer…

These type activities rarely receive the highlight & promotion they deserve. So we decided to dig around and uncover a a few we felt worthy of mentioning… Enjoy!

9 Unique & Unusual Dude Ranch Activities

1. Tomahawk throwing at Meadowlake Ranch in Oklahoma
>> Full lessons are provided on how to properly throw both knives and tomahawks.

2. Bowling at The Ranch at Rock Creek in Montana
>> An on-site 4 lane bowling alley is provided for guests, including bowling balls inscribed with the ranches initials.

3. Campout in a Teepee at Meadowlake Ranch in Oklahoma.
>> Each teepee sleeps six and features a chiminea for evening campfires.

4. Geocaching at Red Horse Mountain Ranch in Idaho
>> If you’re not familiar with Geocaching, study up on the popular activity here.

5. Gold Panning at Diamond D Ranch in Idaho
>> Display some patience, and you might strike it rich : )

6. Cooking Lessons at Rancho de la Osa in Arizona
>> In addition to cooking lessons, wine tasting dinners are also available.

7. Search for Indian Arrowheads at Elk Mountain Ranch in Colorado
>> Arrowheads can still be found on the historic Indian battlegrounds located nearby.

8. Antique Firetruck Rides (with siren sounding) to the local Ice Cream Store at Vista Verde Ranch in Colorado.
>> A treat for both children and adults.

9. Frog Racing at Greenhorn Creek Guest Ranch in California.
>> Foot long frogs borrowed from the ranches pond are used for this popular activity.

Conclusion

The old mainstay activities are always a welcome addition to any dude ranch. But it’s always nice to branch off and try some unique activities that you, your friends, and your family will remember for years to come.

Here’s a heart-warming story involving a 7-year old boy from Indiana winning a writing competition for a week-long stay at the Bar Lazy J Ranch in Parshall Colorado. His name is Drew Sigler, and from what I could count, he said he was, quote, “very very very very very very very very very” happy about winning the competition (9 happies for those counting). He’ll be visiting the ranch in August, along with his parents. Full video story below:

Nice to meet you : )

We’ve been in a deep darn cavern over the past 5 months designing, developing, writing, coding, … and today – 3/1/2010 – we launch.

First, our sincere thanks go out to all the dude ranch operators who sacrificed their time to provide direct feedback on how they’d like DudeRanch.com designed. The input was invaluable, and for that we say a big thank you.

Second, a warm round of applause to Rachel Smith, who bravely (and graciously) provided her amazing copywrighting skills to the site. Without her, I’d be cross-eyed and foaming from the mouth right now (in a good way).

And thirdly, thanks to wife, family, and friends, who’ve been patient with me as I continued to wax poetic about this project. Mucho appreciation for not raining on my parade : )

Now – it’s game on.

And we couldn’t be more excited.

thanks for visiting …more to come.