4 Things You Don't Expect When You Take Your Kid to a Colorado Guest Ranch

1) You have built-in older brothers and sisters.  Whether you bring one kid or five, be prepared to welcome several more into your family while you're at the guest ranch.  Luckily, the extra aren't the type that require your supervision.  Instead, these "older brothers and sisters" are the wranglers, housekeepers, waitstaff, and activities' coordinators.  Most ranches tend to hire college-age employees or a bit older for their seasonal positions, and they make the perfect age to be great role models for your kids.

2) His/her ipad and phone become irrelevant.  With horseshoes, roping the dummy steer, wading in the river, casting a fly rod, shooting a bow and arrow, kayaking and more, kids just don't have time to retreat back to the cabin to grab their phone or ipad.  And the best part, they don't want to.

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3) Your child quickly becomes more independent.  One of the most special parts about a guest ranch vacation is that you can do as much or as little as you please in a family unit.  We have lots of activities (and, of course, meals) that are conducive to the family doing things together.  And, whenever your kids or teens want to venture off on their own to do activities, that option is there, too.  The Elk River Guest Ranch property is also very friendly to kids and teens exploring, having campfires, hiking out to the teepees, and more.  Your cabin quickly becomes a home base for sleeping, and not much more.

4) You didn't expect these tears.  It's a special vacation experience.  One that's hard, if not impossible, for you to recreate unless you go back to the ranch again.