Three Bars Guest Ranch

Three Bars is a family-run guest ranch in the Canadian Rockies near Cranbrook, in southeastern British Columbia. Jeff and April Beckley built it as a guest ranch after running other ranches in Idaho and Canada, it opened to guests in 1992, and the Beckley family still runs it today. The ranch has 1,200 private acres with access to a much larger area of Crown land for riding, and controls more than 7 miles of the St. Mary River for fly fishing.

The season runs from May to October, with a two-night minimum, although most guests come for a week from Sunday to Saturday. The ranch has room for about 45 guests and around 100 horses, and rides go out in small groups of up to six with a wrangler. Beyond riding, the stay includes whitewater rafting and hiking, and there is mountain biking, tennis, sporting clays, an indoor heated pool, a hot tub and a fitness room. Children aged 6 and over have a supervised program of riding, hiking and rafting, younger ones have a play area and petting zoo, and about a third of guests are under 14.

Guests stay in log cabins with one to three bedrooms, full bathrooms and porches. The rate includes lodging, meals, riding, rafting, activities and the shuttle from Cranbrook’s Canadian Rockies International Airport, about 10 miles away; bar drinks are extra and gratuities are optional. Many guests fly into Calgary and drive. Contact the ranch for current rates.