Ranch Holidays

Lonesome Spur Ranch
Montana USA

This is am authentic fifth generation working cattle ranch resting in the Clarks Fork Valley, between the Pryor Mountains and the Beartooth Mountains. From the rustic lodge you can enjoy beautiful sunrises and sunsets, watch white tail and mule deer, an occasional elk, mountain sheep or moose, the howl of the coyotes and the fleeting sight of the red fox. You are invited to participate in the day to day activities of this working ranch and family, with plenty of riding to fill each of your days. And after the work is done, there is always time to have a little fun! Ask Nicholas Evans, author of the "Horse Whisperer". Mr. Evans stayed at the ranch while doing the research for his best selling novel turned motion picture. The Lonesome Spur was the original model for Tom Booker's grandparents' homestead, looking out over the Clarks Fork of the Yellowstone River. "From its crest you could see the river curving around like a castle moat and in the distance the snowy peaks of the Pryor and Beartooth Mountains."
Guests are invited to join the wranglers on daily checking the cattle, water holes and fences and the condition of the grass on the range. The summer and fall ranges consist of approximately 30,000 acres and the home ranch is approximately 1,200 acres. In addition to the everyday ranching activities, our guests are also given the opportunity to participate in exciting horseback activities such as team penning, cutting, sorting, team roping and fun games.

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Itinerary / Highlights

Activities are scheduled around the ranch and the cattle. The ranch operates their cattle on three different mountain ranges - Pryor Mountains Range, Beartooth Range and the Bull Mountain Range.

Depending on your riding ability and the time of year, you may be riding on each one of them during the week (some transfers may be necessary in the morning to get to these remote places).

Here are some examples of what we (you) will be doing: moving the cattle from one pasture to another; riding through the herd checking health and growth; riding the fence line and at times having to mend a section of it; irrigating hay and oat fields, and so on.
But after the work is done there’s often time for leisurely rides to see the Indian pictographs or driving up on the Pryor Mountains to experience a panorama of beautiful wild flowers and the wild mustangs of the Pryor mountains. In our new arena, guests are able to ride faster, run barrels, pole bend, and participate in Mok See games, team penning and ranch roping.



The type of work is dictated by the seasons ...
We have a saying . . . “all activities are dictated by the cows, weather and Lonnie”. Certainly the cows and weather have far more to do with what we are doing and where we are going, but the plan can change quickly.

January through March – this year will be the start of our Ski/Ride Holidays. Due to our close proximity to the Red Lodge Ski Complex (23 miles) we are offering our guests the opportunity to stay at the ranch house and either ride or ski during the day.

April – Spring has arrived and we are starting to prepare for the year’s ranch activities. Many of our returning guests take this opportunity to visit the ranch at a less busy time, also we are sorting cattle that are due to calf, and moving other cattle out to pasture once they have had their calves. Our guests also have the chance to combine activities and travel to the Red Lodge Ski Slope for world class spring skiing.

May – Starting beginning of May, we’ll be branding and working with the cows and calves at the Pryor Mountains and Grove Creek Ranch. Anyone wanting to take part in real cowboy activities, long days and hard work May is the month to look at. As well as all the cattle work, we will be starting to train some of our home-grown colts. Perfect riding weather and the newborn wildlife make May a great month to visit Montana.

June – Rodeo time starts on 1 June thru end of August so join us and the wranglers as we complete once a week at the Cody Nite rodeo. We’ll be finishing most of branding and main cattle drives for the year at the various ranches by mid-June. After this we fall back into checking the cattle regularly for the need for doctoring and moving stray cattle back to their range. This affords more relaxed riding days but a lot of fun checking and pushing the cattle from one location to another.
Marc Dixon and his family (our horse whisperer) come to the ranch twice a year to work with our young stock and mustangs, getting them prepared for their lives as ranch horses, past guests will be familiar with Hero and Ajax who were born and bred here and are now great working ranch horses. Last year we were fortunate in adopting three mustangs. Marc had an opportunity in 2009 season to start the gray (Smoke) and bay (Awesome) mustang, but has not yet seen the newest addition, Vaquero. We are very excited about starting Vaquero in 2010, as well as some other our other young homegrown colts like Maverick, Redneck, Tony and Max.
We will of course be seeing our friends the Real Bird family from the Crow reservation when we go on our Native American rides and following in the footsteps of Custer’s famous battle, as well as the one or two day rides we will also be able to visit the Custer museum and the Real Bird re-enactment of the battle, we are always amazed at the riding skills of the young crow Indian braves riding skills with no saddles in the re-enactment of the battle!!! 1st ride week starts19th June, 2nd week ride start 26th June, don’t worry our guests are provided with saddles and overnight camp is set up in Crow Indian teepees.

July –Join us for the 4th July parade and the Home of Champions rodeo in Red Lodge, Summer in Montana can hot in the daytime and cool in the evenings. Much of our ranching time involves checking, doctoring or moving stray cattle from one range to another. Due to the hot daytime temperatures we start early in the morning and try to finish our day when the temperature rises above 90. This allows us the opportunity for other afternoon activities, such as visiting the wild horse range, shopping in Cody, a day at Thermopolis at the hot spring spas or a spot of trout fishing locally. Or if you prefer we also can take you on a adventure to Yellowstone Park, always a favorite spot to visit!

August – The summer days continue and we maintain schedule for riding and working the cattle, we have weekly campouts one night a week with Mike our camp cook and historian. We also have a special week, the Crow Fair (15th thru 22nd Aug) is the single largest collection of teepees (1,400) with crafts, dancing, local customs and three days of great rodeo at the Crow Rodeo Grounds. We make this an excursion with a horseback ride through the Custer Battlefield, Indian rodeo in the afternoon, followed by the pageantry of the Indian dance competitions at night. Native food is available from vendors and we have the very special treat of spending the night in the Indian Village in authentic Crow teepees. Daytime activities at the Pow- Wow the next morning followed by the trip back to the Ranch. Those of us at the ranch highlight this event and everyone wants to attend.

September – At the ranch we are all looking forward to the cooler temperatures arriving and with it the change in our standard weekly duties. Slowly as the month goes on we start gathering the cattle from the high country and slowly push them down to the lower ranges. As the month progresses we get them closer and closer to the corrals. Due to much of these activities taking more time in the saddle, we are very busy all month on the gathering and preparations. That doesn’t curtail the beauty of September, the leaves are changing and the scenery is breathtaking. Spotting wildlife is also a treat as the wildlife are also making their way down the mountains for the coming winter.

October – This is the month where we get very busy with moving cattle . The 1st couple of weeks are spent finalizing the gathering and positioning of cattle We also have our 2nd Horse Whisperer Week with Marc Dixon returning the first week of October. As well as all this going on, we have the Nile rodeo in Billings where there is a week of livestock and horse shows, horse training clinics and four night of Rodeo!
New, this year our guests can combine a ranch stay with a trip to the professional bull riding finals in Las Vegas from 20th thru 24th October.

November – November’s first couple of weeks is spent with some finishing off of gathering, sorting and rounding up strays. Thanksgiving is fast approaching!

December – With Lonnie’s close association to rodeo, we head to Las Vegas for a few days of the NFR (National Finals Rodeo).
This year we are planning to attend 2010 NFR AND as well as our ski/ride program we can now offer our guests this trip to the NFR in Las Vegas from 3rd December thru 12th December.

Some weeks are almost fully booked now, but we would very much like to accommodate your needs. The earlier you make plans the better we can service your specific accommodation and riding needs. Don’t be concerned about riding experience. Certainly the gathering of cattle in September and October require more experienced riders, but we accommodate all folks and have plenty of chores for riders of all levels.



Overnight Trip: We will have an overnight camp once weekly overlooking the Bighorn and the Pryor mountains, where you can sit by the campfire and experience real Dutch oven cooking and hear local folk lore and family history, wake up to cowboy coffee and breakfast.

River Float Trip: We also have a weekly river float where you can enjoy fly-fishing down the river or just go with the flow and watch the native wildlife on the river banks, whilst enjoying the beautiful sunset the choice is yours! This trip is only available when the river conditions are right and is not guaranteed.



Off Ranch Activities!
While vacationing with us, guests have opportunity for off-ranch activities. The availability of these activities depends on the season, we usually visit a selection of these activities once weekly and are included and transportation is provided (part of your transfer fee). If you drive in on your own, you are welcome to follow the ranch vehicle - if you want to be driven, there is a small charge.

A Few Examples:
Viewing the Wild Horse Range in the Pryor Mountains; Touring the Buffalo Bill Museum and visiting the Old Trail Town in Cody; Reliving the Battle of the Little Big Horn near the Custer Battlefield; Experiencing the breath-taking Beartooth Highway up to Yellowstone; White water rafting -- Cody, Wyoming ; Rodeos - either watch local rodeo or whilst visiting Cody see the Cody nite rodeo Golfing --for spectacular scenery, there’s an excellent 18-hole course is only 28 miles from the Lonesome Spur, right in the shadow of Beartooth mountains. Guided Tours of Yellowstone park are available at additional cost and must be pre-booked with the ranch, the tour includes an overnight stay, and takes approx one and a half days to see the park, including old faithful. Prices can vary depending on which time of year you chose to see the park. Minimum party to do this tour is 2 persons. We are excited to be able to offer a holiday you won’t forget. We only take 8 - 10 guests at a time on the ranch, so everyone feels a part of the family atmosphere and ranching lifestyle.

Other Details

Accommodation Details

Lodging-- The lodging on the ranch is in cabins and the "bunk house".
There are two log cabins, decorated in western theme with log furniture and separate restroom/shower;
The bunk house - each room has a bathroom and private deck - some rooms have Satellite TV/CD players. The rooms are decorated in a western or lodge theme. The bunk house has a double room with king size bed, one twin room with two twin beds and one single room. Indian teepees and a covered wagon can also be used for children lodgings.
All ranch accommodations have air-conditioning, heating and a refrigerator.
We provide complementary fresh fruit, snacks and drinks in each room for our guests enjoyment, a gift pack of toiletries are provides for your comfort.



Spa Facilities -- We have a Catalina hot-tub where you can soak away your aches and pains after a hard days play at the ranch, relax and watch the stars in the evening in the hot-tub, or perhaps enjoy a soothing aromatherapy massage in a real native American teepee.

Meals -- Meals are served in the lodge, family style. At the Lonesome Spur, we have a saying, Keep the cooks happy and everyone will be happy.’ And this is hard NOT to do -- EAT! You may need to let your belt out a notch or two after spending time at the Lonesome Spur! Fresh-baked breads, mouth-watering and decadent desserts, salads, vegetables out of the garden, and good Montana beef A typical days menu: Breakfast -- golden buttermilk pancakes with maple syrup, scrambled eggs, crisp fried bacon, cantaloupe and orange juice; Lunch (Out On the range) -- deli sandwiches, macaroni salad, apples, chips, banana bars and candy bars; Supper -- barbequed Steak, twice-baked potatoes, fresh green salad, corn-on-the-cob, and for dessert? -- homemade apple pie! How can you pass up 21 meals like that? For the light eater, we have fruit, muffins, salads and many veggies. If you have special dietary requests, please let use know in advance and we will make every effort to accommodate you. But please remember that we are a beef ranch, and most all of our meals are centered around meat.