Kara Creek Ranch — Hotel in Upton

The last several years I've been visiting numerous dude ranches, it's something I've been wanting to do for a long time. I've now been to enough I feel I can compare and review.||||Kara Creek||||Location: Wyoming (and South Dakota)||5 stars: This ranch has property mainly in Wyoming, but also some in South Dakota, and is located near the border of these two states. Beautiful location, and we rode through a variety of country. Woods, plains, mountains, valleys, you get it all here. Nothing negative to say about the location! The ranch is very accessible, and you can drive any vehicle to it. The road leading to the ranch is dirt/gravel, and there are some potholes, but I had a small rental car and made the trip with no issues. ||||Activities||3 stars: This is a working cattle ranch, and while this gives visions of cattle work all day, every day, this isn't always the case. We spent some days riding around looking for cows, and there weren't any where we were. Having been to several working ranches, I understand you set out with a job to do, and if that job is moving cows from one place to another, they have to be where you are looking in the first place! I like that this isn't a ranch that is "set up" with cows for you to move around needlessly. You are doing the work that needs to be done, and that looks different every day. As far as the cattle work goes, I felt like the guests weren't allowed to do much but trail behind what the wranglers went out and gathered. It felt like the wranglers felt we were in the way, and a lot of times would tell us to stand in a location while they ran off to find and move the cows to the main path they wanted us to move them down. Once they were gathered, we were told to fall in behind and keep them moving. If any strayed, the wranglers were the ones to go bring them back. I guess if you had never done work with cattle, this would feel like something, but to me part of the fun is going out and doing some of that work yourself. The wranglers were all young, and maybe that is part of the problem. We were snapped at a few times and one of the young men even cursed and yelled at us to get out of the f** way when we tried to help. We paid good money to do cattle work, so I would have liked to have been able to be a little more involved in the searching and gathering. I was lucky enough to attend a branding day, and we were allowed to be involved in that a little more. Guests were allowed to help tag the ears, hold the calves, and vaccinate if they wanted to. This was a long day, and several hours in it did get a bit tedious, but it was something I really wanted to do and enjoyed being able to help and get involved. Some days we rode out from the ranch, other days we loaded the horses in trailers and drove to the location we were riding in. Some days had a bit of a drive, but nothing overly long.||||Accommodations:||4 stars: I stayed in a cabin, although there are also lodge style rooms. The cabin was clean and comfortable, and I had plenty of room. It was really nice to sit out on the porch in the mornings and evenings and enjoy the view. One of the windows didn't quite shut all the way, so I had more bugs inside than I think would normally be there, but I wouldn't say that is a deal breaker. You are in the country after all! While not an accommodation, I will mention here the saloon. It was a great gathering place after a long day of riding, and it's where the party was! Great drinks, music, and a lot of fun to hang out and get to know the other guests. My cabin was near the end of the line, but there were some guests that were lodged closer to the saloon that mentioned it was very noisy late into the night while they were trying to sleep.||||Horses:||4 stars: Overall the horses were great. The first day I had one who wasn't keen on listening, and was a little slow, so the second day I asked for a different horse, and explained the reasons why. I was partnered with another horse that was perfect for me and he was mine for the remainder of the trip. I felt like the horses knew their jobs and all seemed to be healthy and happy. The pen they are kept in during the day could use some work. The muck and manure was pretty deep, and the horses that weren't used were left in the small area all day. It was one of the dirtier corrals I've seen.||||Food:||4 stars: Everything was delicious. Nothing fancy, just good country style meals and food. If you leave hungry it's your own fault! I can't speak to any kind of special diet or options, because I have no restrictions or special needs. A little more variety would have been nice, the cook made a huge pot of stew one day for lunch and that was also served for at least two or three other meals. Very good, but would have liked something different for some meals. A few days we had lunch "on the trail", where they had coolers packed with lunchmeat, cheese, and bread to make sandwiches, along with potato chips and drinks. For some reason there wasn't much ice put in the coolers and the drinks were not cold, and everything was lukewarm. ||||Staff: ||2.5 stars: As mentioned before, the wranglers acted like we were in the way and a bother. They didn't allow us to participate in much of the actual cattle work other than trailing behind the cows they gathered up. The wranglers also were very interested in and participated in a lot of the drinking in the saloon every night. More than once I overheard a couple of them mention how hung over or drunk they were. I never want to begrudge anyone a good time, and I know this is a pretty relaxed environment, but that seems unprofessional and perhaps a bit unsafe having drunk and hungover wranglers guiding your guests. None of the wranglers went out of their way to try and talk to or get to know us, and seemed more interested in hanging out with one another playing games on horseback or racing one another. ||||Misc notes:||There is not much structure here, and management is a bit unorganized. I drove myself in, and when I arrived, there was no one to be found. I had no reception to call anyone, so just had to sit around and wait in my car until someone showed up. No one told us what time we were supposed to be in the dining room to eat, what time to be at the barn, or what the plan was for the day. You had to ask if you wanted to know even the most basic details. Times were never the same, so if you had breakfast one day at 8, and showed up at that time the next day, no one was around. Other times people would be done by 8 and there wouldn't be much food left. This is different from most ranches in that you can arrive and depart any day of the week, and stay any amount of days you want, so new people are always coming and going. This made it great since I was able to schedule my dates with what worked for my schedule, but it made it hard to get to know other guests since everyone was just arriving and departing randomly. ||||This ranch is great if you set your expectations correctly. If you want a party and don't care that there is not much structure, this may be the place for you. Cattle work is hit or miss like on any working ranch, so some weeks you may have some every day, other times it may just be a few days a week. This is the real deal as far as a working ranch, but it is the most relaxed place I've been. I think the owner should train the staff a little better. We are paying a lot of money for the experience, and I don't think we should be made to feel a burden, cursed at, and basically ignored. I would return, but it is more in the middle of the list rather than the top for a...

The last several years I've been visiting numerous dude ranches, it's something I've been wanting to do for a long time. I've now been to enough I feel I can compare and review.||||Kara Creek||||Location: Wyoming (and South Dakota)||5 stars: This ranch has property mainly in Wyoming, but also some in South Dakota, and is located near the border of these two states. Beautiful location, and we rode through a variety of country. Woods, plains, mountains, valleys, you get it all here. Nothing negative to say about the location! The ranch is very accessible, and you can drive any vehicle to it. The road leading to the ranch is dirt/gravel, and there are some potholes, but I had a small rental car and made the trip with no issues. ||||Activities||3 stars: This is a working cattle ranch, and while this gives visions of cattle work all day, every day, this isn't always the case. We spent some days riding around looking for cows, and there weren't any where we were. Having been to several working ranches, I understand you set out with a job to do, and if that job is moving cows from one place to another, they have to be where you are looking in the first place! I like that this isn't a ranch that is "set up" with cows for you to move around needlessly. You are doing the work that needs to be done, and that looks different every day. As far as the cattle work goes, I felt like the guests weren't allowed to do much but trail behind what the wranglers went out and gathered. It felt like the wranglers felt we were in the way, and a lot of times would tell us to stand in a location while they ran off to find and move the cows to the main path they wanted us to move them down. Once they were gathered, we were told to fall in behind and keep them moving. If any strayed, the wranglers were the ones to go bring them back. I guess if you had never done work with cattle, this would feel like something, but to me part of the fun is going out and doing some of that work yourself. The wranglers were all young, and maybe that is part of the problem. We were snapped at a few times and one of the young men even cursed and yelled at us to get out of the f** way when we tried to help. We paid good money to do cattle work, so I would have liked to have been able to be a little more involved in the searching and gathering. I was lucky enough to attend a branding day, and we were allowed to be involved in that a little more. Guests were allowed to help tag the ears, hold the calves, and vaccinate if they wanted to. This was a long day, and several hours in it did get a bit tedious, but it was something I really wanted to do and enjoyed being able to help and get involved. Some days we rode out from the ranch, other days we loaded the horses in trailers and drove to the location we were riding in. Some days had a bit of a drive, but nothing overly long.||||Accommodations:||4 stars: I stayed in a cabin, although there are also lodge style rooms. The cabin was clean and comfortable, and I had plenty of room. It was really nice to sit out on the porch in the mornings and evenings and enjoy the view. One of the windows didn't quite shut all the way, so I had more bugs inside than I think would normally be there, but I wouldn't say that is a deal breaker. You are in the country after all! While not an accommodation, I will mention here the saloon. It was a great gathering place after a long day of riding, and it's where the party was! Great drinks, music, and a lot of fun to hang out and get to know the other guests. My cabin was near the end of the line, but there were some guests that were lodged closer to the saloon that mentioned it was very noisy late into the night while they were trying to sleep.||||Horses:||4 stars: Overall the horses were great. The first day I had one who wasn't keen on listening, and was a little slow, so the second day I asked for a different horse, and explained the reasons why. I was partnered with another horse that was perfect for me and he was mine for the remainder of the trip. I felt like the horses knew their jobs and all seemed to be healthy and happy. The pen they are kept in during the day could use some work. The muck and manure was pretty deep, and the horses that weren't used were left in the small area all day. It was one of the dirtier corrals I've seen.||||Food:||4 stars: Everything was delicious. Nothing fancy, just good country style meals and food. If you leave hungry it's your own fault! I can't speak to any kind of special diet or options, because I have no restrictions or special needs. A little more variety would have been nice, the cook made a huge pot of stew one day for lunch and that was also served for at least two or three other meals. Very good, but would have liked something different for some meals. A few days we had lunch "on the trail", where they had coolers packed with lunchmeat, cheese, and bread to make sandwiches, along with potato chips and drinks. For some reason there wasn't much ice put in the coolers and the drinks were not cold, and everything was lukewarm. ||||Staff: ||2.5 stars: As mentioned before, the wranglers acted like we were in the way and a bother. They didn't allow us to participate in much of the actual cattle work other than trailing behind the cows they gathered up. The wranglers also were very interested in and participated in a lot of the drinking in the saloon every night. More than once I overheard a couple of them mention how hung over or drunk they were. I never want to begrudge anyone a good time, and I know this is a pretty relaxed environment, but that seems unprofessional and perhaps a bit unsafe having drunk and hungover wranglers guiding your guests. None of the wranglers went out of their way to try and talk to or get to know us, and seemed more interested in hanging out with one another playing games on horseback or racing one another. ||||Misc notes:||There is not much structure here, and management is a bit unorganized. I drove myself in, and when I arrived, there was no one to be found. I had no reception to call anyone, so just had to sit around and wait in my car until someone showed up. No one told us what time we were supposed to be in the dining room to eat, what time to be at the barn, or what the plan was for the day. You had to ask if you wanted to know even the most basic details. Times were never the same, so if you had breakfast one day at 8, and showed up at that time the next day, no one was around. Other times people would be done by 8 and there wouldn't be much food left. This is different from most ranches in that you can arrive and depart any day of the week, and stay any amount of days you want, so new people are always coming and going. This made it great since I was able to schedule my dates with what worked for my schedule, but it made it hard to get to know other guests since everyone was just arriving and departing randomly. ||||This ranch is great if you set your expectations correctly. If you want a party and don't care that there is not much structure, this may be the place for you. Cattle work is hit or miss like on any working ranch, so some weeks you may have some every day, other times it may just be a few days a week. This is the real deal as far as a working ranch, but it is the most relaxed place I've been. I think the owner should train the staff a little better. We are paying a lot of money for the experience, and I don't think we should be made to feel a burden, cursed at, and basically ignored. I would return, but it is more in the middle of the list rather than the top for a...

I’ve been to Kara Creek every year since my first visit in the spring of 2015. I do other trips throughout the year but keeping finding myself back there each fall now so it’s becoming a routine that I look forward to.

It feels like such a homely place so it’s always great to visit. There are so many repeat guests, which means there are always friends to hang out with as well as new friends to be made. I’ve been there alone a few times and have never been lonely or out of place - everyone (guests and staff) always make me feel welcome.

The horses and riding are amazing. They have many different horses with a range of personalities and Kyle takes care to match each guest with the kind of horse they like. You can ride the same one if you bond, or if you prefer you can switch around and ride different ones. Kyle will help you tack up and is very patient, even if like me, you ask a lot questions! He's always very encouraging - whenever I say I think I can’t do something, he'll tell me “way too many cant's in that sentence” then will kindly help me do whatever it is I thought I couldn’t do.

You will usually load your horses into the trailer after breakfast and drive out to pastures nearby to gather and move cattle - Kara Creek has a few thousand cattle on various plots of land, so you get to ride in different places and different types of terrain to keep things interesting. You may spend your time gathering herds of a few hundred at a time, or you may ride the land looking for stragglers and cows that have hidden, which is fun as they are the ones that don’t want to be rounded up .... You can get involved in other activities such as taking cattle to the sales, or in spring time you can join in and have a go at branding, vaccinating and calf wresting! Again, Kyle, Austin and the other guys will help you, show you what to do and encourage you to get involved as much or as little as you want to.

The food is great with lots of variety. Bacon and eggs every day for breakfast, usually with some kind of toast, muffins, pancakes or cinnamon rolls. There’s fresh fruit and yoghurts. Lunch is on the truck tailgate while you’re out moving cows, so it’s usually a sandwich and crisps. Shanna always makes something great for dinner, like tacos, beef brisket or spaghetti & toast. They also cater for special diets and intolerances.

There’s a nice patio area and also a balcony to sit outside. There’s a fun saloon to drink (BYOB), play pool, make friends, listen to some music (usually played live by a neighbour who’s dropped in) or learn to two step! There’s a sitting room with comfy couches and a tv, and there’s also a small store selling hats, T-shirt’s, hoodies and other ranch merchandise.

The accommodation is comfortable, with rooms in the main ranch house and also some cabins.

If you want an easier day, you can just ride around the ranch area, or if you have a car there are plenty of tourist attractions within driving distance, such as Sundance, Devils Tower, Mount Rushmore, and various national parks.

Most people fly into Rapid City, but another option I like is to fly into Denver and drive up to the ranch with some stops along the way. It’s a pretty drive.

Bring plenty of layers as the weather in Wyoming is best described as 'changeable'. I rode there last week in the sunshine wearing sunscreen and a T-shirt, then today their Facebook page is showing the ranch covered in snow!

One thing to mention is there’s no 'guest schedule' so you won’t ride at a set time, or have games and entertainment scheduled. Everything is planned around what needs to happen with the cows, and the rest of the time you make your own entertainment so if you want a set schedule, packed with events, this isn’t the ranch for you. If however, you want lots of good riding, can go with the flow and can find things to do (there’s always plenty) in your free time, then you will have a blast I’m sure!

Overall it’s a great place, with great food, great people and most importantly great horses! What are you...