Real Cattle Drive Vacations

At Dryhead Ranch we specialize in real cattle drive vacations. You will have an opportunity to experience authentic ranch life. When you visit us, you aren’t simply a bystander observing us as we drive cattle and work our ranch. Instead you become one of our team of cowboys, cowgirls and ranch hands. You will work with us and experience the satisfaction of honest hard work. Every day you spend with us we will work side by side to care for our cattle and American Quarter Horses.

Cattle Drive Vacation Experiences Unique to Dryhead Ranch

Another aspect that sets us apart from other ranches and adds to the real cattle drive vacation experience is that we allow you to ride off the trail and not nose to tail. Jake, our head cowboy, will send you out in small groups to scout the area ahead. This might entail turning away neighbor’s cattle in order to ensure that our cattle don’t comingle with theirs. The last thing we want is to accidentally take our neighbors cows. Jake will also rely on you to help round up stray cattle and bring them back to the herd. Often our calves will lie in the brush and fall behind, our guests play an important role in helping us to keep track of calves and keep them with the herd. You will be an important member of our team and not a bystander simply observing us as we work. We value your stay with us and want you to have the opportunity to engage in all we do.

The time you spend with us will be full of adventures just waiting to be undertaken. While it may seem like hard work it’s an experience that you will treasure for a lifetime. We give you the chance to experience authentic ranch life as you enjoy your real cattle drive vacation. The bond between horse and rider is a truly awe inspiring encounter. At the beginning of your stay with us Jake will pick two horses just for you. Throughout your time here you will have the chance to know two horses. Each time we ride out it will be on one of the other. Over the course of your stay you will brush, water and ride your horse giving you the opportunity to bond, horse to rider. It simply cannot be explained in words the unique connection that occurs. As you work with your horse each day and complete tasks together you will grow to understand your its personality and treasure its uniqueness. This is another key factor in experiencing a real cattle drive vacation and we want each of our guests to enjoy it.

Schedule Your Real Cattle Drive Vacation Today

At Dryhead Ranch you arrive as guest and leave a member of our family. We value each and every person that comes through our door and enjoy showing them authentic ranch life. Our family takes great pleasure in sharing our lifestyle with those who visit us and are dedicated to making your cattle drive vacation one you will remember with great fondness. If you’re looking for a truly unique and rewarding experience it’s time to call Dryhead Ranch today and schedule your real cattle drive vacation. 

Cattle Drive Vacations Are Different

Here at Dryhead Ranch, we offer an authentic cattle drive experience complete with sweat, mud, hard work and memories that will last a lifetime. Our guests don’t just play at being cowboys… they ride into the range alongside experts with lifetimes of experience under their belts.

Dryhead Ranch does not offer a “Dude Ranch” experience. If you are looking for a “Western-themed” resort where you can watch other people doing cowboy stuff while you sip an umbrella drink, you might want to look elsewhere. We don’t think there’s anything wrong with dude ranches, or umbrella drinks for that matter. We just don’t want you getting the wrong impression.

A working cattle ranch in the West country is a rugged place, and driving cattle is rugged work. On the trail, our guests live just like our full-timers. On a cattle drive vacation at Dryhead Ranch, you should expect to get your hands dirty. But, if you are anything like our staff of working ranch hands and cowboys, a little dirt wouldn’t bother you at all.

If dirt does bother you, you might want to reconsider a dude ranch vacation. If you are looking for an authentic working ranch vacation, complete with all the amenities the open range and the endless Montana sky can offer, you are looking for Dryhead Ranch.

Expect to get really familiar with cows. Expect to get even more familiar with your horse. Expect to hear wild stories of drives gone by from people who have been doing this their whole lives. Expect to bring back your own wild stories that you’ll never get tired of telling.

Authentic Cattle Drive Vacations

For more than sixty years, we here at Dryhead Ranch have been raising and driving cattle. Sharing this experience with our guests is a special opportunity to pass on time-honored skills and knowledge you only get when you do this for a living. This sort of hands-on opportunity to learn the ranch life from the people who live it doesn’t come around very often. Fewer and fewer old-school ranches still run, and of those that do, fewer still take guests on authentic cattle drive vacations.

Our guests are looking for the kind of adventure you can only get on the range. We are glad to give it to them. It’s what we do for a living. And besides, we can use the extra hands. There’s always something to do on a working ranch.

If your hands are very soft and you want them to stay that way, or if boredom sounds like something you might be into, again, maybe a cattle drive vacation is not for you. The West is dotted with dude ranches that will gladly put you up in a deluxe suite and give you all the room service and tiny bars of soap you could ask for.

Dryhead Ranch is not that kind of place. Come out and see for yourself.

Working Ranch Vacations

Working ranch vacations are a truly unique experience that we have perfected at Dryhead Ranch. Our vacation opportunities are seldom offered at any other cattle ranch vacation destinations. Unlike dude ranches, we allow our guests to work alongside and with us. You will not only become one of our team but experience modern day cowboy life. When you leave Dryhead Ranch you will not only have greatly increased you riding skills but have earned the title of honorary ranch hand.

Horse Lovers Dream Vacation at Dryhead Ranch

Dryhead ranch is the ideal vacation for horse lovers. We not only have our own herd of American Quarter Horses that we raise but most work completed on our ranch is done on horseback. When you come to Dryhead Ranch for a working cattle ranch vacation we will assign you a horse that you will ride for your entire stay with us. We will teach you to saddle and bridle your horse as well as how to properly ride in Western style. After a week with us you will have accomplished the equivalent of six months’ worth of riding lessons.

For our fellow horse lovers, you will be able to see countless horses of all ages, from colts to full grown adults. Many of our guests spend time teaching the halter breaking the yearlings. Teaching them to become comfortable with a halter as well as to be guided by it, this is a horse lovers dream. For more experienced riders we offer our horse drive vacations. Depending upon the time of year you join us your working ranch vacation may involve driving our horses between Dryhead Ranch and our farm in Lovell, Wyoming.

Working Ranch Vacation Inside Look

When you join us on a working cattle ranch vacation you are able to encounter Montana’s raw and rustic beauty.. As you drive cattle, work the fences, and attend to the tasks that allow a working ranch to function you are surrounded on all sides by nature at its finest. We often compare your working ranch vacation experience to hiking vs riding in a car. When you ride in a car you are able to view nature but at a distance. However, when you go on a hike you immerse yourself in the beauty of nature and have the chance to experience it up close and personal. While our guests enjoy their working ranch vacations they experience the rare beauty of Montana’s nature firsthand. For a sneak peek at the scenery you will encounter on your stay with us take a look at the gallery section of our website.

Schedule Your Working Ranch Vacation Today

At Dryhead Ranch we offer authentic working ranch vacations. As you join us each day you will encounter ranch life at its finest. We look forward to sharing modern day cowboy life with all who join us. Dryhead Ranch is a horse lover’s dream and an adventure everyone should experience at least once in their lifetime. To schedule your working ranch vacations, call or email us at Dryhead Ranch today.