Take a dude ranch vacation with the family

By Clara Bosonetto Maerz

For ajc.com

The 1991 "City Slickers" movie spurred a stampede of travelers to experience the Wild West. More recently, an extremely prestigious honor was given to Colorado's Drowsy Water Ranch that just might inspire even more travelers to consider a dude ranch vacation for their families.

TripAdvisor has named Colorado's Drowsy Water Ranch the '#1 All-Inclusive Resort in the World' in its 2010 Travelers' Choice awards.

The 8th annual TripAdvisor Travelers' Choice awards honored the world’s best hotels, earning their distinction from those who know them best - real travelers. Unlike any other hotel awards programs in the world, winners are based on the millions of real and unbiased reviews and opinions about hotels.

The 700-acre historic dude ranch is located in Granby, Colo., 90 miles west of Denver, and is a member of the Grand County Colorado Dude & Guest Ranch Association. The ranch is conveniently located near many area attractions such as Rocky Mountain National Park, Grand Lake, Winter Park and Hot Sulphur Springs - but who will leave the ranch for other destinations when they have it all!

Guest accommodations are authentic Western themed with charming and cozy log cabins (one- , two- and three-bedrooms) and rooms in the Lodge. All types of accommodations have private bath, coffee maker, refrigerator and fireplaces.

The ranch activities are abundant with children's supervised programs (for infants to teens), fishing, hayrides, dancing, carnival, staff shows, campfires, sing-alongs, river float trips and tubing, horseshoes, mountain biking, hiking on nature trails and nightly entertainment. On-site is a hot tub, a heated outdoor pool, a gift shop and spa services.

Rates for all guests are based on American Plan and include accommodations, all meals and a personal horse for the week (persons weighing over 215 pounds may be limited to walking rides). The rates naturally include horseback riding for beginners to

advanced riders with instruction and cattle work.

The ranch offers a per person "Family" rate for three or more guests sharing the same accommodations.

The daily rate is $375 for adults (age 18 and up); $335 for children 14-17; $295 children 6-13 and $165 children age 5 and under.

The "Family" weekly rates offer tremendous value with rates of $1785; $1585; $1375 and $775, respectively.

Discounts of 20% apply for weekly stays through June 5; 15% discount on stays through June 19.

Solo adult travelers pay $400 per day or $1865 per week. The double occupancy rate is $385 per person, per night or $1800 per person weekly.

http://www.DrowsyWater.com

http://www.TripAdvisor.com

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One-way sale airfare rates to Denver start from $119. AirTran's sale expires at midnight, today (4/8). http://www.AirTran.com.

Delta Air Lines, Frontier Airlines and United also serve Denver with nonstop flight service and match AirTran's sale prices.