In the blockbuster movie, City Slickers, Three male friends, facing their 40th birthdays, and experiencing midlife crises, decide they need time away from their "soft" city lives. Fans of old Western films, particularly John Wayne's Red River, they decide to vacation at a dude ranch, where they will be responsible for a two-week-long cattle drive through the Colorado hills. Along the way the urban cowboys encounter bad weather; macho, gun-wielding ranchers; and pregnant cattle, but they finish the drive with their lives back on track.

It is very easy for you to experience your own western on a Yellowstone Region guest ranch. Thousands of miles of national forest and parklands remain undisturbed and free from development. Nature hikes, horseback rides, wildlife viewing and wide, open spaces await to rejuvenate your soul. Most Guest ranches have friendly horses that can actually tear your attention away from the scenery, no small task in the mountains of the Yellowstone Region. Ethereal mountain landscape where jagged peaks tower more than a mile above aspen and conifer covered foothills valleys. With scattered white pine, grassy meadows and interspersed with areas of sagebrush plain.

Horseback ride through sage-covered hills in the shadow of monolithic granite spires. Catch a big trout in little creeks, blue ribbon rivers, or in a stocked pond. Take a trail ride up a mountain canyon to where the view breaks out of a valley a mile below you. Help herd the cows of a working cattle ranch. On working cattle operations there are plenty of livestock-riding chores too ­ wrangling, cutting, and roping, to name but a few.

On many ranches riding turns out to be only part of each day. You can also try your eye at trap shooting, swim in a pool or pond, play a round of tennis, take a guided hike. If you need a break from ranch life, most ranches are nestled between any of several cowboy cosmopolitan towns of the region you can combine the best of ranch life’s riding-centered programs and a plethora of other activities the ranch and region have to offer. Take a night off and head into town for a rodeo. Horses, golf and tennis, fly-fishing, whitewater rafting scenic floats!

Accommodations can range from: cowboy chic cabins with luxury touches, to cowboy basic. Most have a big lodge-gathering place for meals and socialization. From cozy cabins to luxurious hunting lodges, that is perfect for larger groups or socializing strangers.

Many provide family-style meals in the ranch's dining room or out on a deck. Gourmet dining is available at some where you can order a cocktail or appetizer in the bar, lounge on the front porch in a rawhide rocker, or sit in front of the river-rock fireplace, and some are rudimentary basic. Either way you will eat more and better food than you have in quite some time

By the end of you trip you’ll be able to identify with the line from City Slickers: Yesterday they were businessmen, today they're cowboys, tomorrow they'll be walking funny.

Whatever level of rider you are or the kind of dude ranch experience you're looking for ­ bare bones to luxury ­ The Guest Ranches of the Yellowstone region can fulfill your dream.

Yellowstone/Teton Region Guest Ranches and Pack Trip Outfitters

Hidden Basin Outfitters • (Jackson Hole) Hidden Basin Outfitters offers horseback trail rides and camping trips in some of the most remote and scenic terrain of the Teton Mountain Range. Our rides will take you through backcountry forest and spectacular mountain landscapes. You can ride, hike and relax to your heart's content surrounded by the vast beauty of the wilderness, where wildflower meadows and wildlife abound. Riders may also try their luck fly fishing in the stream near our camp. Our trips range from single-day rides to overnight trips and week-long vacation adventures.

Hansen Guest Ranch • (Swan Valley) Hansen Guest Ranch, located in the heart of picturesque Swan Valley, is situated on 17.5 acres along the banks of Rainey Creek and within easy access of the world famous South Fork of the Snake River. Whether you are seeking a relaxing vacation in a hammock under the quaking Aspens and Cottonwoods or looking forward to the adventures of a day on the river, trophy hunting for elk and deer or hiking and riding in the nearby mountains and around the Palisades in the valley, this bed and breakfast offers you comfort, convenience and personal attention year round.

Granite Creek Guest Ranch • (Swan Valley) Our guest ranch offers one of the most flexible guest activity schedules in the West all in the heart of spectacular Idaho mountain river country near Jackson, Wyoming, and Yellowstone National Park.  Cattle drives and Roundups (1-4 hours duration).  Scenic Trailrides, Boating, canoeing, and fishing on a 5 acre lake.

Bill Cody Ranch • (Cody WY) Bill Cody Ranch is a traditional western vacation adventure in beautiful Northwestern Wyoming. Bill Cody Ranch is located 30 minutes west of Cody, Wyoming and 30 minutes east of Yellowstone National Park! The ideal location to see all that this area has to offer!

Six Quarter Circle • (Paradise Valley) We are an upscale guest ranch on the border of Yellowstone National Park in Montana. Come ride with us as we work cattle in the Gallatin Mountains. Enjoy spectacular views of Paradise Valley and the Yellowstone River while relaxing at our award winning lodge. We are proud to be a member of The Dude Rancher's Association and MTDRA.