Summer Dude Ranch Rates & Policies 

Our season begins on June 14, and ends August 29 of 2008. Our rates include lodging, all meals, horseback riding, our youth program, and ranch activities. Rates do not include room tax, a minimum 8% service charge, massage, aromatherapy or face treatments, or off- site excursions such as rafting, canoeing, or cave exploration.

One week runs Saturday through Saturday, including 7 nights. Check-in at 4:30 p.m. Check-out at 11:00 a.m.

A 40% deposit is required to confirm reservations. We charge a $100 cancellation fee for cancellations made before May 1, 2008. Any refunds after May 1, 2008 are dependent on re-booking. All large groups of 20 or more people require an 80% deposit.  

* The weeks of June 14 - 21 and August 16 - 23 are discounted 10%

PARTIAL WEEKS

We have opened the first three weeks of our program for partial week stays. Currently, we are only offering Saturday to Wednesday stays, although we may open the Wednesday to Saturday stays as well. Dates for these partial stays are June 14 - 18, June 21 - 25, and June 28 - July 2.  The 10% early week discount applies to these rates June 14 - 18.

At the end of August, when the youth counselors and the children are headed home to go back to school, we stay open for one last week for just the grown ups. This is a 6 night week, from Saturday - Friday, and includes all the fun that our regular program does, except the child-centered programs and activities.

Dates for this special week are August 23 - 29, 2008. 

Do you offer any discounts? Yes, during the weeks of June 14- 21 and August 16 - 23 (our first and last weeks) a 10% discount applies to all reservations. We also are now offering a $100 per person discount to all returning guests in any week of the summer. 

Why are your rates higher than some of the other ranches we've looked at? Because we offer small rides, a very involved youth program, and personal service, we have almost as many staff as we have guests. We are also smaller than most of the ranches who offer the same programming. This focus on quality, rather than quantity, allows us to offer a more intimate environment with the same variety of activities. This also makes our cost per guest higher.

We have also made it our priority to treat our staff well. We try to limit the work week for all of our staff, including salaried, to 40 hours. We also pay about $2.65 per hour more for a starting employee, and do not include gratuities toward their minimum wage. (Federal minimum wage is $5.15 per hour, and tips and gratuities can make up part of the wage. Our lowest paid employee makes $7.80, plus service bonus gratuities.)

Although a small handful of dude ranches do, most do not offer benefits. We cover our year-round staff (typically about a dozen people) under our health insurance plan, and also offer 401(k) and vacation programs, among others. When we talk with other ranchers about wages and benefits, most seem quite surprised about what we offer our staff. This may be in part why our staff stay with us for so long.

We are very excited to announce that we have made the Oregon Business Magazine's 100 Best Places to Work in Oregon small business category, #35!! As a part of the hospitality industry, we are happy to have made the list, and a little sad to see that we have no company.

Can I come for less than a week? Maybe. We do book a few partials on short notice when we have the space available. Typically, we open up weeks to partial stays 30 days before arrival. We do, from time to time, open weeks for partials in advance. Should we do so, availability will be posted here.