Sundance Trail Guest Ranch — Hotel in Fort Collins

We visited the ranch in mid June 2013 with our 13 year old daughter. For our family, we found this to be better than a trip to Disney World - everything here was REAL! With only one other family staying at the ranch, we all quickly became friends. The staff was terrific and the food was great. Many thanks to Chad and Jen!! We ate and ate and ate...the food was served family style, fresh and tasty. Even the lunches on the rides were great. We would stop for lunch and there was another wonderful meal waiting for us! Our daughter was impressed with the staff treating her like she was a part of their extended family. Actually, this whole trip felt more like a visit to see relatives than staying somewhere unknown. When I didn't know where our daughter was one afternoon, we found her helping to clean out the chicken coop (she had volunteered) and loving it. It was her dream trip! As far as activities, there was a lot to do even if you choose not to ride horses.We went white-water rafting, rock climbing, tomahawk throwing,rifle and black powder gun shooting, hiking and just sitting on the porch enjoying a large lemonade or sweet tea. Our daughter thought she had gone to heaven with the bottomless cookie jars calling out to her every time she passed the lodge. One of the highlights of the trip for her was sleeping out in the teepee with Alex and Brent after an evening of jackalope hunting. She also liked painting (yes, painting) her horse. For my husband - he did not want to ride horses, but took the opportunity to take a couple thousand pictures and to relax on the porch, watch the hummingbirds and eat a couple (or more) cookies. My favorite part of the trip was swimming with the horses on the last day. It was the most amazing thing I think I have ever done. The stars were brighter at night than we had ever imagined. We could hear the horses in the pasture at night and felt truly relaxed. There are no air conditioners in the rooms, but guess what? You don't need them. The temperature at night drops to make it perfect for sleeping. If it gets too cool - there is heat, don't worry! The cabin was clean and homey and the beds were comfortable.

We spent time together as a family and came home unstressed, unplugged and unwound.Dan, Ellen and staff made us feel welcome from the moment we set foot on the ranch until we drove away. Our daughter cried for the first half hour after we left for the airport. We will definitely be back to enjoy their hospitality again. The...

Ever gone horseback riding in the snow far away from everything? If not, you should definitely try it! We spent MLK Weekend at Sundance Trail and had a wonderful visit. This is a great time of year to visit and it is a very quiet and peaceful experience. Here is a brief summary of our visit.

Arrival: Dan (owner) met us upon arrival and gave us a tour of the ranch and showed us to our room. We happened to be the only guests for the weekend so he invited us to spread out on the second floor of the guest house. (There were three of us: two adults and a child.) During a walk around the facility he introduced us to the head wrangler, Tom, and showed us the recreation building.

Meals: We ate like Kings and Queens while at the Ranch. Dan and Ellen (owners) obviously take pride in the quality of the meals. We tend to eat fairly healthy and my wife has a gluten-intolerance that they easily accommodated. In fact, they made homemade gluten-free rolls, muffins,and biscuits for every meal just for her! Meals are served family style, which means eating with Dan, Ellen, Tom (wrangler), and Nick (wrangler). They are delightful and we enjoyed every meal. I recommend Ellen's brisket very highly... definitely request it!

Horseback Riding: There is a daily ride in the morning around the property and into the National Forest that adjoins the property. None of us are experienced riders and it was our 11 year old daughter's first time on a horse. Tom made her immediately comfortable and within no time we were heading off onto the trails with Tom giving her frequent tips to improve her skills. We chose to add a second afternoon ride to our visit because our daughter enjoyed it so much. On our second day, Nick led us on the morning ride and he was equally attentive and enjoyable. Our daughter is hooked and can't wait to ride again.

Entertainment: In the winter, it is about getting away and enjoying the peace and quiet of the ranch. We spent some time in the recreation building playing games and reading. We watched a couple of movies at night while a fire roared in the fireplace. And there is also a hot tub just outside the recreation building this is very welcome after the morning ride. But mostly it was nice to get away and enjoy some quiet time away from the hustle-and-bustle.

We had a wonderful visit and we plan on making this an annual winter weekend trip. I definitely recommend visiting in the winter if you have the...

Just returning from their honeymoon, the bride and groom called to thank us (the parents) for a "PERFECT wedding". The pair originally planned to elope thinking that a wedding was too stressful, too much work, too much money, too much of everything they didn't want on their wedding day. I'm so thankful they found Aspen Grove at Sundance Trail... The wildflower theme wedding was naturally adorned by the breathtaking mountain view and blooming wildflowers. Freshly potted plants gave splashes of color to the rustic carriage house porch. Vintage furniture provided display areas for portraits and guest book. Beautiful edison lights lit the gazebo surrounded by tables covered in pressed white tablecloths. My absolute favorite part of the venue was the Arbor purposefully placed in the middle of the circular Meadow Maze adorned with drapery and garland and flowers; guests sat in a semi circle facing God's majestic creation in the mountain view. Aspen Grove set the scene over the top (in a really good way) setting their horses free as they galloped along the picture perfect hillside during the ceremony. We literally heard the guests gasp in amazement of the timing and its beauty. It was a scene out of a fairy tale. Bonnie was an absolute blessing in coordinating the event for us... none of my requests phased her! She and the staff went out of their way to "go above and beyond" in every way... even to the point of sending a staff member on an hour long trip (one way) to have an ink security device, that had been overlooked at purchase, removed from the Father-of-the-Bride's jacket IN TIME for the wedding....AND it was THEIR idea to do that for us! Our daughter LOVED the Garden Buffet we had chosen for the reception; it was lite enough, classy enough and casual enough to fit her style and taste perfectly and happily satisfy our guests. Aspen Grove had no issues allowing us to add our own embellishments and was happy to indulge us. We were encouraged to stay and relax as long as we liked even after the event had ended. I couldn't be more pleased! The venue provided a casual sophistication and rustic elegance with a vintage feel that was stunning in its natural beauty. I highly...