majestic dude ranch

We stayed at the Majestic Dude Ranch from August 9-16, 2014 and had the time of our lives. We are a group of 21 people, ages 6-71, and each one of us had a blast. We have been to several other dude ranches and Majestic ranks right up there with the best!! Robert is amazing and does anything possible to make sure that you are getting exactly what you want out of your vacation. By the end of the week, we considered Robert part of our family. Different from other ranches, Robert actually participates in all of the activities with you. And why wouldn't he?? It's just so much fun!!! We especially liked the horse back riding, archery tournament, ping pong tournament, kayaking, paint ball, mountain biking, white water rafting and clay pigeon shooting. The baseball field, batting cages and baseball museum were incredibly fun and added so much enjoyment to our trip! The Majestic Event was just a blast- we will never forget it!! The food at the ranch was amazing- each meal better than the next. The cabins were very clean and comfortable. The staff work so hard and are great- especially the kids counselors. A special shout out to Josh, the bike guy, for going out of his way to make sure that this trip was a trip that my 17 year old son will never forget!! A bike trip to Moab, Utah---WOW!! This ranch will keep you very busy and create many lasting memories. We can't wait to return!!!

This was our first trip to the ranch, but it won't be our last! We went on a family vacation that included ages 1 1/2 to 71 years old. Everyone had a wonderful time. Our six year old son had an amazing time riding horses, swimming, playing laser tag, jumping on the trampoline, playing baseball and having fun with all his new friends. He did not want to leave!! The Ranch also made every accommodation for our toddler - they provided a crib, baby gate for the stairs (in the cabin) and provided a high chair for meals. We couldn't have asked for anything more.The food each day was amazing. The chef prepared fantastic meals and the kitchen staff were friendly and very accommodating. It was nice not having to plan and worry about meals while on vacation. You will definitely not go hungry here!We cannot say enough about the Wranglers at the ranch. Brandon and Jen ran a professional crew who took pride making sure every rider had an outstanding experience. None of us had ever ridden, but Brandon made sure we had the right horses and planned rides that matched our ability and interest levels. By the end of the week, our six year old son rode unassisted on our final ride.We also really enjoyed the white water rafting trip and mountain biking in the local area. Robert has invested in an awesome bike "barn" with very nice mountain bikes. The bikes were extremely well maintained, and there were enough for all the guests to get a properly sized/fit bike. Josh, the bike lead, went out of his way to accomodate the riders in the group, checking out bikes and setting up rides on request. The ranch is close to several great trails that are worth the trip. You are also close to Durango and all the conveniences of the "big" city. You are only minutes away from Mesa Verde National Park and it is worth a stop when you are in the area. You need to plan your visit to the ranch today!!

The Majestic was the perfect place for us to hold our 42nd class reunion!! Robert is the main reason that the Majestic is a wonderful place to vacation. He strives to provide a fun, unique, and safe place for families to be for their vacation. Beds are comfy, meals are prepared by a chef who trained at the Culinary Institute of America and are absolutely amazing, and the staff are fun and helpful. The head wrangler is an expert in matching horses to people's riding levels. Loved the fact that there is something for everyone: horseback riding, mountain biking, rafting and kayaking, hiking, ping pong, archery, a full program for the kids and swimming. The best events were the baseball game between adults and children ( kids won 24-1) and the secret event that happens on the last night at the Majestic.

My rating is based on my experience at the ranch this last week of June. I usually stay at 4-5 star resorts and have high expectations . I don't mind spending a higher amount of money, but it better be exceptional. It is a good great away for a family that can afford approx $375.00 per person a day. My bill was $2500.00 for two people staying 4 nights there. The children that were there were well behaved, but a few of us felt that it was more catered to children with them being involved in almost all of the activities at the same time. Your food, lodging, and activities are included in this price. The chef is very passionate about his cooking, the main courses were top notch at dinner, but I wasn't impressed with the desserts or cold soups. I would have liked to see some old fashioned apple or cherry pies. I don't think that you need to go so gourmet at the ranch. People like basic good food and more varied activities. The blueberry smoothies and pancakes were very good also at breakfast. The chef also made sugar cookies everyday that were excellent. The rooms were comfortable and the beds were newer. The porch was nice to sit in the rocking chair to read in the cool mountain air. The horseback riding had great scenery along Lake Jackson and the river rafting trip in Durango was exciting.I loved the archery and the pigeon shooting. Robert took a photo of each cabin family to take home with them. Now, I will tell you what annoyed myself and other guests that made comments to me. I didn't think Robert treated me as his valued guest at times when I told him or office personnel about my concerns, I had read prior comments that he went out of the way to make guests feel special, but I felt that during our week he was not prepared and used humor to brush off guest concerns. I had to wait 2 hours on the first day to ride because they didn't have enough horses, not enough equipped fishing poles with worms, floats etc, there were only 5 arrows at archery, and during the week they didn't have enough ammunition for the Tuesday pigeon clay shooting , so we only shot 3 times. On Wednesday, Robert bought some more ammo and we shot. Also, I was told a few times that there weren't enough fishing poles for fly fishing trip and it would be moved to a day I was leaving but then Robert decided to split the group on two separate days. Ok , so I am telling this to the owner so he will make it better. Don't say how great it's going to be or make promises, or be wishy washee, wow your guests especially at the rate you charge...go take inventory ahead of time , so you won't hear guests comments like buy ping pong balls, hooks, fishing

My husband, our two teenage boys, our recent college grad and I spent 4 days at Majestic Dude Ranch this June as part of a 17 day tour of the Western states. Of all the amazing places we stayed, from Grand Canyon to Yellowstone, the whole family agreed that the best time we had was at the Ranch. We want to go back next year for the entire week with Majestic being our one and only destination. The people who run the Ranch are organized, friendly and seem to have one goal- making your stay the best it can be. Since we were only there a few days, we knew we would miss some of the activities planned for later in the week, but when the staff learned of the things we wanted to do, they went out of their way so that we could do them. For example, the boys wanted to play paintball so the staff arranged a spur of the moment family paintball fight. We wanted to camp in the Rockies- they made it happen. Other highlights- the horses were well taken care of, the cabins were comfortable and welcoming, the food was AMAZING, and the schedule was as active or inactive as each guest wanted it to be. We learned how to use a lasso, how to fly fish and how to mountain bike. The teenagers got to drive an ATV, and I even found time and a relaxing place to read a Louis Lamour book from the Ranch's library. We loved this place and can't wait to go back.

I had a great time. The activities and the food were great. The owner really makes an effort to see that you are taken care of. I highly recomend this ranch.

Our extended family (daughter, son-in-law, grandson (9), grandparents (us), other set of grandparents) spent a week (1-7 June 2014) at the Majestic Dude Ranch. - Overall a great vacation/experience.The staff were all personable and very, very accommodating.- Special "call out" to Chef Tom (Culinary Institute of American trained chef) - GREAT food! (Rack of lamb tender, no-fat/gristle BBQ ribs, salmon-in-puff-pastry, prime rib, steak, trout, wonderful BIG omelets, lean burgers, buffalo burgers, etc.)- Brandon, Jen, Marissa, Alex, and all the staff were SUPER.Lots of activities: horseback riding, mountain bike riding, hiking, touring, archery, fly fishing, skeet shooting, rafting, etc.A few notes:- This is a dude ranch and cabins - not the Ritz Carlton -- Rooms are clean, well appointed, but a bit rustic in keeping with the "ranch" theme. -- GREAT beds (Tempur-Pedic) -- No air conditioning (but you don't need it) -- WiFi service is spotty in some cabins (but you don't go to a Dude Ranch for WiFi!) --- I did my WiFi/internet/email fix in the dining facility every morning.- The "ranch" is at 7900 ft. elevation - if you are from a lower elevation you need a day or two to adjust.- Be aware that some of the activities (e.g. mountain biking) are strenuous - especially at 7900 ft. elevation.GREAT family experience.

The staff and wranglers at Majestic Dude Ranch really make the place, not to mention how beautiful it is. We picked a week early in the season so we didn't get to see everything the ranch has to offer. The kids weren't there yet and all the programs weren't in full swing as the weather was still chilly. But the awesome hospitality offered by the hosting staff and the amazing wranglers who work at the facility made our stay well worth while. The scenery is fabulous and everyone is interested in making sure you have a great time!!

I wasn't at all sure about going to a dude ranch but Majestic Dude Ranch turned out to be a blast. My 12 year old boys had a great time riding and fishing and just hanging around with the other kids. The accommodations were very comfortable and I understand they have made even more upgrades since we have been there. I hadn't ridden a horse in many years but it came back easily and we enjoyed the daily rides through the beautiful hills. The horse wranglers were really nice kids who were great with our children. My boys loved the ranch and have been bugging me to go back again. And we probably will. I highly recommend Majestic Dude Ranch.

I went here last summer because my granparents had went there the year before. I had expected it to fun but I had a freakin' blast. I made about 3 friends and I would go back again this year but the air fare from my place to Denver alone was over $10,000 and from Denver to Durango was $12,000 so we can't. But I had an amazing time! My family even got one of the new cabins!

This review is overdue. We went two summers ago (sorry, not July 2013 - Trip Advisor didn't let me go back further) and had an amazing time. In fairness, we like mountain biking and horseback riding, so this place really fit us. We basically did one of these one day and the other the next so we never got tired of one activity. We were also lucky in several ways in that the owner's ex-wife and daughter were there and my daughter latched on to her and spent the day playing on the ranch with their dog, and we had few guests interested in the mountain biking so we essentially had a private guide. The guide was amazing and made sure we had awesome rides at our level. We were also lucky in that many of the guests did not do the all day ride at the end, so we, again, essentially had a private all day ride. The scenery is spectacular. The switchbacks on the mountains with the horses was a white knuckle/exciting experience. We were really made to feel at home on the ranch. The family dining was a good way to catch up with the kids after the day, and the fun night entertainment from skits to country dancing to movie night was really nice as a family. My wife is a vegetarian and the cook went to great lengths to make her something when the main dinner was meat. The owner's ex-wife even drove us to the airport the last day. Last summer we went to another ranch to vary the experience, but this year we are considering going back to Majestic. And Durango is a fun town to visit before or after the trip. If you want to have a homey ranch environment (no stuffiness here) with a great combination of horseback riding and mountain biking, this is an excellent choice and I doubt you would be disappointed.

Last year we had a great time at the Majestic Dude Ranch, so this year we went back and brought two of our friends who were novice riders. In spite of rain nearly everyday we again had a great time and the ranch had improved on many of the amenities. They had an improved archery range with compound and recurved bows and they had installed an automatic trap shooting clay pigeon thrower. Our friend Bob took to riding like he was born to it and the ranch provided us all with full length slickers for our rides even though it only rained on three of the actual rides and we rode every day. Our friend Christa was a little nervous on her initial ride so the lead rangler, Brandon gave her a different horse and helped her to learn riding with a private lesson in their arena. After that, she was good to go and had a great time the rest of the week. All of the wranglers, the kitchen workers, the room service personnel and the owner, Robert, were friendly and gave us the best time. The food was three squares a day and it all was excellent. It ranged from personal made to order omlettes, to fruits and salads and in the evening we had lamb chopes, steaks, massive shrimp, barbequed ribs and much more. Two birthdays were celebrated during the week and each came with a personal birthday cake made by a professional pastry chef, Sandy, at the ranch. Our stay was at an all adult late season stay, but during the summer the ranch has many younger folks and there is always lots to do other than riding. Some of our group got professional fly fishing instruction and trips to local rivers. Another activity was to go to the only World Heritage Site in the USA, Mesa Verde, with all of the cliff dwellings of the pre-pueblo ancient ones. Some of the campers also visited the hot springs at Durango and or the casino. This is a vacation that is fun for all and I know we will be back again. P.S-This year a videographer from the Voice of America filmed many of the activites and made a great video presentaion. It should be availabe on the ranch website or Facebook.

I have been to Durango at least 3 times before, but never heard of Mancos or the Majestic Dude Ranch until I got an offer from Travelzoo. I did my homework (read other reviews on TripAdvisor) & decided to book a Sun - Wed stay with my 9 yr old grandson in mid August. Wow, am I glad I did. This was probably one of the BEST vacations I have had with him. My grandson is a rambunctious active 9 yr old & he was absolutely worn out every night from all the activities & running around he was able to do in the safety & supervision of the fantastic ranch staff & the open layout & structure of the ranch itself. The ranch has supervised activities for the kids all day long, so they can do their "thing" while the adults can do another, or you can do things together. Its up to you. We did a mix of things together & apart, but were always informed of where they were & invited to participate if we desired. The best part, was in the evening when I was worn out I could retire to the front porch of my cabin & read in the comfy rocking chair, or hang out in the lodge to do some work, while my grandson was playing with the other kids, petting the ranch animals (they have goats, donkeys, etc.), play ping pong, or basketball, etc. on the ranch property which was all within earshot/easy walking distance for me to peek at him from time to time. He & I LOVED the freedom to come / go as we pleased & to not worry about a thing. My grandson hit some firsts on this trip (as well as did I). We got to fish, ride horses in beautiful terrain, did white water rafting, learned how to line dance, rode mountain bikes, shot bb guns/clay pigeon shooting, slept out in a tepee & much more! Robert, the owner, & his daughter, Ivy, are adorable. Robert was there with us on many of the activities & he goes out of his way to address your every need & make you feel at home. He even brought me a wine opener at 9:30 pm & was there within minutes of me asking via text. The ranch stocks your fridge w/some drinks & provides snacks to welcome you upon arrival. I was able to purchase wine/beer from the liquor store in Mancos before I headed up to the ranch. They did have beer for purchase there as well. However, if you forget something, Robert & staff are happy to pick something up for you in town, or they have some items for sale on the ranch if you forget something. Mancos is only 10 min away & you can get a few items there w/o a problem. The cabin was comfy. Paneling was a bit outdated, but who cares? It had 2 bedrooms/2 baths, living area w/couch/chair & plenty of room to put down your things & move around. I can't say that either of us spent much time in the cabin anyway. We both slept like rocks on the comfy beds! There isn't a TV in the cabin (yay!) which was great. I brought my grandson some books & we read together & he practiced his improv comedy routine while I shot video on my phone & sent it to his mom & sister back home. You do get reception there (I have Sprint) & they have wireless computer access in the main lodge. Food was plentiful & great w/lots of choices & plenty of fresh fruit & veggies along with a bottomless cookie jar (we both loved that) & help yourself fridge to milk/juice & coffee at all times. I have told many people about this place already & am planning a return trip w/my daughter & the rest of the brood next year. I highly recommend going for a week. You won't get bored, unless thats what you want. Nobody forces you into doing anything, but with a great host like Robert, his awesome staff, & all the phenomenal activities to choose from, you will be hard pressed to sleep in & hide away for long. The other families are awesome too & it was great to meet such nice folk from all over the country. Bottom line, you'd be a fool not to come here. I hope you try it. You won't regret it!

A great vacation! Every day was jam-packed with fun--though of course we could have just relaxed too if we had felt like it. Horseback riding, mountain biking, kayaking, river rafting, fishing . . . Our kids (ages 5 and 9) were entertained wonderfully by the camp counselors and the gang of other kids hanging out there. They rode horses and did archery and swam and played games and did some art projects. Some days I barely saw them until dinner and it was a great relief to have my usually clingy children so happy to spend time making their own adventures (and letting us parents have our own fun too!) The food was amazing, the desserts completely delicious (plus lots of healthy options like fruit and vegetables). Our cabin was very spacious and comfortable. Though some have said they are perhaps a tiny bit run down, I thought it was just right. I only saw two of the cabins so I can’t comment on all of them, but they met my requirements for clean and comfy. The dark wood paneling was a little outdated but the carpet was clean, the bed linens attractive, and the couch comfy. The bunk beds were a huge hit with the kids. The mattress on our king size bed was awesome--I slept like a rock and didn’t wake up for anything until morning. The shower was great too, good water pressure and no shortage of hot water. All in all, I thought the cabins were perfect because how stupid would it feel to be tramping around the muck of the horse barn in your cowboy boots only to return to some fancy schmancy cabin that looked like it belonged more in a golf course resort than a dude ranch?!? I mean, I may be a city slicker but at least give me some ranch flavor in my accommodations! There are two brand new cabins that are huge, also. They are for 5 or more people.There was a fridge, which I wish I had known ahead of time. Not that there was anything lacking for food there, but it would have been nice to have some cold sodas or beer on hand for rest breaks between activities. Though, during daylight hours I was rarely in my cabin for more than ten minutes at a time.The weather was quite rainy a couple of afternoons but we still had plenty to do. One afternoon's activities were rained out entirely but everyone gathered in the dining hall and a movie was shown for the kids while the adults chatted and read. I was impressed by the quality of the staff. I am sure the staff changes a little each year but for the ranch to hire people who are consistently excellent just means that whoever does the hiring is a very good judge of character. Everyone was friendly and made the guests feel welcome. And they had supreme patience for the antics of the kids. They all seemed to enjoy being there, which made it easier for the guests to enjoy being there too. The owner, Robert, is a real gem. Very enthusiastic. You can tell he puts his heart into the ranch.If you go, go for a week or you will feel so sad when it comes time to go. All the half week people felt like they did not get enough time. We will probably return at some point, perhaps with more family.

We were a tad disappointed when we first got there, that the accomadations weren't really as good as what we normally stay in, everything else was top of the line..............we loved it. Our kids like it and the best part was the other guests. The atmosphere is just so open so you meet all these new people. Our only complaint is that we didn't stay long enough. We didn't know it was sort of a week thing and only stayed 2.5 days. When we go back we are going to stay a week. We were all so bumbed out about leaving early. I have already told about 5 families that they just must go. Food was outstanding!!! It was glorious to have ever meal cooked and cleaned up for you. That alone is vacation!