Cattle Drives Vacations- Our 2019 Schedule and Rates

Cattle Drives in Montana- Our 2019 Schedule and Rates

We are thrilled to have you join us at the Dryhead Ranch for an authentic cowboy working ranch vacation. During the week that you ride at the ranch with us you will experience a wide variety of activities: working cattle, gathering cattle, cattle drives, working horses, horse drives, branding calves, mending fences, and our cowboys and cowgirls will teach you to rope. We offer the best horseback riding vacations in Montana. We are real, remote, quiet, and have seemingly endless mountain vistas. We share with you real cattle work and real working cow horses to experience an amazing horseback riding vacation.

Saturday we will return you to Billings. En route we will visit several of the historic sites along the Big Horn Recreation Area: Lockhart Historic Ranch, Devils Canyon Overlook, and the Wild Mustang Museum.

The Dryhead Ranch is located on the Crow Indian Reservation and features one of the largest historic buffalo jumps in the United States. We also have a few Indian Pictographs on the canyon walls and lots of arrowheads and artifacts for the finding. We are required to honor a Federal alcohol-free ruling required on all reservation properties.

2019 DATES AND RATES FOR DRYHEAD RANCH GUEST SEASON 

(Each activity requires riding every day)

HORSE ROUNDUPS AND DRIVES  –  $ 1900.00

April 14-20, 2019  Horse Drive from Wyoming winter pastures to Montana Ranch.

April  19-20, 2019  Real Ranch Horse Sale – Billings, Montana.  

June 2-9, 2019  Gathering mares and adding stallions for the breeding season.

October 13-19, 2019  Registration of weanling colts, putting mares out for the winter.

Oct. 27-Nov. 2, 2019  Horse Roundup and drive to Wyoming.

CATTLE DRIVES AND WEANING WEEKS   –  $ 1900.00

April 28-May 4  Trailing cows and calves to Montana Ranch from Wyoming pastures.

(These drives  pass through the Big Horn Canyon Recreational Area, Horse Thief Canyon,  Wild Horse Range, Big Horn Canyon Overlook, Lockhart Lane and into Dryhead Territory).             

May 5-11  Trailing cows and calves to Montana Ranch from Wyoming pastures.

May 12-18  Trailing cows and calves to Montana Ranch from Wyoming pastures.

May 19-25  Trailing cows and calves to Montana Ranch from Wyoming.                   

Sept 22-28  Gather to bring to the corral Jeff’s cattle to sort, wean, and haul to Wyoming. Pregnancy test and reride pastures to find any cows and calves we have missed.

Sept. 29-Oct. 5  Gather Matt’s cattle to sort, wean and haul to Wyoming.  Reride pastures to find any cows and calves we have missed.

Oct. 6-12  Gather Jen’s cows  and wean calves and haul them to Wyoming.

Oct. 20-26  Heifer Drive to Wyoming                  

RANCH WEEKS – WORKING CATTLE AND HORSE ACTIVITIES ON RANCH  – $ 1900.00

May 26-June 1  Branding, doctoring calves, gathering into the trap to brand.

June 2-8  Gathering mares and putting the stallions with them in mare bands.

June 9-15  Branding calves returning pairs to mountain pastures.

June 16-22  Finish up branding and take cows to distant pastures.

June 23-29  Checking horses and doctoring calves and fixing fence of our ranch.

June 30-July 6  Closed for the 4^th of July Week

July 7-13  Pushing cows and calves to Fishbird pastures and in Spring Creek Pasture,      doctoring calves and fixing fence.

                                         

July 14-20 Checking heifers on south pastures, riding neighbors to bring back strays,            doctoring heifers if needed.  Halter breaking colts and riding young horses.

JULY 21-27  Booked for Young Marines Cowboy Adventure.

July 28-Aug. 3  Checking cows, calves and horses on Flat Coulee Pasture and Bassett Pasture.

August 4-10  Pushing cows and calves back up on mountain pastures.  Halter breaking colts.

August 11-17  Open Week for Jack’s Colt Sale at Yellowstone Boys Ranch                                           

August 18-24  Riding southern pastures check heifers and mare bands.

Aug. 25-31  Pushing cows and calves back up on higher mountain pastures for grazing.

FALL GATHERING WEEKS     –   $ 1900.00

Sept. 1-7  Riding outside pastures as well as Dryhead pastures. Rotating pastures.

Sept. 8-14  Moving cows from back side of Little Mountain as weaning starts in 3 weeks.

Sept. 15-21  Moving cows close to ranch. Sorting off neighbor cattle. Getting ready to wean.

PLEASE READ BOOKING AND TRAVEL INFORMATION BELOW

A deposit of $500 per person is required upon booking to hold a reservation.  It is non-refundable if cancelled less than 90 days before vacation date.  Balance is due 30 days prior to arrival and is nonrefundable thereafter.  Dates can be changed with emergency situations.  All payments should be in US dollars.  They can be cash, personal check (with approval), Visa. Mastercard or bank wire.  There is a 3% charge on use of a credit card.  We suggest a 15% gratuity.  If additional days are desired, we can make special arrangements by email or phone.

There is a transfer charge of $100.00 per person for pickup in Billings on the day of your arrival to come to the ranch and we return you to Billings on the following Saturday by noon. We have three places we pick up on the Sunday of your arrival:  Best Western Clock Tower Inn and Dude Ranchers Lodge and the Billings airport.  If you choose to stay at another hotel, please make arrangements to meet us at the airport at 4:00, at Door Four at the west end of the airport.

Please send us travel arrangements 30 days in advance of arrival even if you are using a booking agent. We won’t know where to pick you up if we don’t receive your travel plans, airline information, pick up arrangements and driving plans. Please remember to send them when they are final. Thanks.

Check the website for a list of “THINGS TO BRING”.  Always consider the weather.

There are two types of accommodations you can choose: the bunkhouse rooms or three separate, private cabins with bathroom are available for $250 per couple and $150 per single person.  The smaller private cabin has a detached bathroom for the same $250 per couple and $150 per single person. Our semi-private bunkhouse rooms have two shared bathrooms and each private room has a queen bed, or twin beds to accommodate families or groups. The bunkhouse rooms are included in the weekly cost of our cowboy vacation.  Ask when booking for what fits your needs.

Dryhead Ranch reserves the right to alter or change any attractions, dates or activities, due to unforeseen circumstances and weather.  However, substitutions of a similar kind will be arranged.  These circumstances would include: unfavorable weather conditions, range or pasture conditions, insufficient bookings.

Special arrangements and discounts are available for returns, families or groups.  These arrangements   are best made by phone.  Office phone is 1-307-548-6688 or the Iris’s cell phone is 1-307-272-6688.

Just a few suggestions about the area that you are coming to visit.  Flights into Billings can be expensive and hard to get.  Alternative ideas to cheapen this cost would be to fly into Denver or Salt Lake City where more direct flights arrive and are cheaper.  Then rent a car and drive from Denver or Salt Lake City the 8 hours to Lovell, Wyoming.  We meet at 6:00 P.M. on Sunday at the Conoco Station/Country Store on the east end of Lovell.  Some of the scenic driving options are:

Yellowstone National Park, Big Horn Mountains Historic Medicine Wheel, Custer Battle Field, Wind River Canyon, Thermopolis Hot Springs, Big Horn Canyon, and Wild Horse Range.  Beartooth Pass and Chief Joseph Highway going into or out of Yellowstone National Park

Flying into Cody, Wyoming has also been a popular alternative.  It is a fun western town with Memorial Day to Labor Day nightly rodeos and the best Western Museum in the West.  Cody offers a great western atmosphere and shopping, rental cars and closer access to Yellowstone National Park.