Pine Ridge Dude Ranch [closed]

[NOTE: as of 2022, Pine Ridge has closed :: story here]

Set on a 150-acre site in the Shawangunk Mountains, this all-inclusive, ranch-style resort is 4.9 miles from Minnewaska State Park and 7.5 miles from Witch’s Hole State Forest.

Families have been visiting this all-inclusive dude ranch for more than 40 years under the old ownership, and in just a few months and $1.5 million in renovations (with more to come), Pine Ridge has polished its boots to become even better. What’s most impressive, however, is not what’s changed, but what’s been preserved. The resort is all-inclusive; with three all you can eat meals a day and one free trail ride per stay. Newly carpeted and freshly painted hallways are lit by the Southwestern-style ceramic sconces that graced the space decades ago. Carved wooden horses (the site of many family photo ops) await tiny riders in the lobby. And you can “saddle up” — literally, on a saddle — at the bar in the Bull Room nightclub downstairs.

Activities that thrilled families years ago are still available: archery, a day camp for the younger set, paddle-boats and fishing on the lake and campfires under the stars. Indoor & Outdoor Pools with Double Flume Waterslides, an outdoor bounce pillow, a rock-climbing wall, a fitness center with massages available, laser tag, and visiting Kawasaki the bull and the resident goats and chickens mean there’s no shortage of things to do. Of course, the biggest draws are the trail rides.