Vee Bar Guest Ranch

The Vee Bar sits at about 7,800 feet in the Centennial Valley below the Snowy Range, 21 miles west of Laramie and about two and a half hours north of Denver, with the Little Laramie River running right past the cabins. In its roughly 100 years the ranch has been a cattle ranch, a stagecoach stop, a boys’ school and a buffalo ranch, and it is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The Cole family bought it in 1994, and a third-generation family manages it today.

The summer guest-ranch season runs from June through August, with three- or six-night packages arriving on Sundays or Wednesdays, which makes it one of the more flexible dude ranches in the region. With room for only about 30 guests, each rider is matched with one horse for the stay, and riding covers trail rides, faster loping rides, cattle work and team penning; trail riding starts at age 6, and childcare for younger children can be arranged in advance. There is fly fishing with an Orvis-endorsed guide, river tubing, hay rides, trap shooting and archery, and live music several nights a week. Adults-only weeks are scheduled during the season.

Guests stay in cabins sleeping five to eight or in two-bedroom riverside suites, and eat three home-cooked meals a day, mostly in the historic main lodge. The ranch is open year-round, offering à la carte activities outside summer. Laramie Regional Airport is about 15 miles away and Denver about 150 miles; an airport shuttle is available. Ask the ranch for current rates.