Three of USA TODAY’s top 10 all-inclusive resorts and one of the top 10 family resorts are just a few hours’ drive from Fort Collins.
So if you’re looking for a fun getaway where someone else will do the cooking, cleaning, and in many cases, entertaining your kids for a few hours, give these resorts a try:
Brush Creek Ranch is a family-owned ranch in a rural setting with 4 bedrooms and free WiFi.
Location: Saratoga, Wyoming
Distance from Fort Collins: 132 miles (US Highway 287 north to Laramie, Wyoming; Wyoming Highway 130 west to the ranch)
Accommodations include the main building with spa and two different private homesteads, each with its own cabins and suites.
Brush Creek Ranch offers a little bit of everything for those looking to get away from the hustle and bustle of everyday life for a few days to a week or more. Located in south-central Wyoming between the Sierra Madre and Snowy Range, the original homestead was established in 1884. It spans more than 30,000 acres and is still used as a cattle ranch.
But it also offers all the amenities of a five-star resort, including spa treatments and three gourmet meals a day. The American Wagyu beef is sourced from ranches; the Medicine Bow cheeses are made from an on-site herd of goats and aged in barrels from the Brush Creek Distillery; and the produce is harvested fresh from a 20,000-square-foot greenhouse.
Activities include hiking, horseback riding, fly and float fishing, rock climbing, ATV adventures, a high ropes course, paintball, cattle drives, and in winter, skiing and snowboarding on a private mountain with a heated snowcat and lunch in mountainside yurts.
Vista Verde Guest Ranch
Location: Clark, Colorado
Distance from Fort Collins: 184 miles (Colorado Highway 14 west to the end at US Highway 40, then 40 west through Steamboat Springs to Colorado Highway 129 north to the ranch)
Vista Verde Ranch has more staff to assist guests than guests during the summer months, with a maximum capacity of 50 people from June to August. Founded in 1919, the ranch sits on 600 acres surrounded by the 1.1 million acre Routt National Forest.
Accommodations include 12 private cabins, each with a hot tub on the terrace, and three lodge rooms. Vista Verde’s version of “cowboy cuisine” includes cooked-to-order meals, from breakfast burritos and honey wheat pancakes with caramelized apples to lunches of vegetable, steak and shrimp kebabs and three-course candlelit dinners.
Activities vary throughout the year but include horseback riding, archery, yoga, hiking, fly fishing, mountain biking, paddle boarding, photography classes, snowmobiling, snow tubing, skiing and snowboarding, snowshoeing, and even dog sledding and massage therapy. There are also numerous supervised activities for children, except in September and October when the resort is adults only. The ranch is open from June to October and December to March each year.
C Lazy U Ranch
Location: Colorado
Distance from Fort Collins: 107 miles (Interstate 25 south to US Highway 34 west through Rocky Mountain National Park and Granby to Colorado Highway 125 north to the ranch)
Located a short drive west of Rocky Mountain National Park near Granby, C Lazy U Ranch made the 10Best list of all-inclusive and family resorts. Founded in 1919, the luxury ranch is open year-round and offers a full-service spa and seasonal activities.
The ranch offers hiking, horseback riding, fly fishing, swimming, yoga, archery, skeet shooting, hatchet throwing, ropes course, zip line, mountain biking, tennis, yoga, paddle boarding, cross country skiing, snowmobiling, snowshoeing, snow tubing, ice skating, hockey and ATV tours on site. Off-ranch options include golf, white water rafting, tours of Rocky Mountain National Park and free daily skiing and snowboarding shuttles to nearby Ski Granby Ranch and Winter Park ski resorts.
Accommodations include private rooms and private one-, two- and three-bedroom cabins – all within walking distance of the main house. During the ranch’s family season, families eat breakfast and lunch together, while children eat dinner separately with their friends and enjoy games and entertainment under the supervision of counselors while adults enjoy a gourmet multi-course meal paired with fine wine.
For a complete list of the 10Best Readers’ Choice Awards for all-inclusive resorts, as well as the 10Best Bed & Breakfasts, Boutique Hotels, Vacation Resorts, Family Resorts, Historic Hotels, Waterfront Hotels/Resorts and Luxury Brands, visit 10best.usatoday.com.
Contact reporter Kelly Lyell at [email protected]. You can follow him at x.com/KellyLyell and facebook.com/KellyLyell.news.
