Lone Mountain Ranch

An outstanding vacation destination but somewhat e

The first thing that stood out at Lone Mountain Ranch was the attention of the staff at all levels to providing an outstanding guest experience. Planned activities were not contingent on having a minimum number of guests sign up. When I was the only guest who chose a canoeing outing we went anyway. Mountain biking was scheduled only a couple of times during the week but when I asked about additional opportunities they made sure I had a guide available each day that I wanted to ride. We had to leave before breakfast on our last day and the restaurant staff worked out a way to provide breakfast for us. These are only a few examples of their commitment to guest satisfaction. The naturalists on their staff accompanied guests on outings to Yellowstone, wildflower hikes and other activities. They all demonstrated an impressive knowledge of the flora, fauna and geology of the area. The food in the restaurant was outstanding with few exceptions and the staff were empowered to make things right when there were problems. The menus offered something for almost everybody, though vegetarian options were not abundant. I suspect that the kitchen could find ways to offer acceptable vegetarian options but this is a ranch, not a spa, and the menu was obviously designed to please omnivores. I am not a horseman but my wife, who is, was impressed with both the horses and the wranglers. I described the ranch as "all inclusive" but that is not completely correct. Alcohol is an extra charge. All of the other food and beverages for the week were included in their standard rates. Some of the off-ranch excursions do have associated charges but they have a surprising array of options included in the standard rate.

This is a "guest ranch" (dude ranch) so it cannot be compared to a 5 star hotel but even so the cabin we were in was a bit of a disappointment partly because it was hard to get the room temperature well regulated and partly because some of the recent renovation left a few problems including a front door that did not latch properly. The cabin did not have a table or desk for writing or for computer use. The other disappointment was that the WiFi availability was poor due to weak signals (we never did find a place at the ranch with a strong WiFi signal) and rather erratic access to the Internet. Cell service depended on location. Sometimes it was good, other times there was no signal. That is not at all unexpected in a rural setting.