Vista Verde Ranch, Clark, near Steamboat Springs, Colorado

Vista Verde Ranch is the Colorado cowboy dream, done in style. Hidden in a high valley north of Steamboat Springs and surrounded on three sides by national forest, this all-inclusive guest ranch has just a dozen hand-built log cabins, each with a wood stove or fireplace and a private hot tub on the deck. Days are spent on horseback, on cross-country skis or in a horse-drawn sleigh, and evenings around the fire in the timber lodge. It has been named one of the best dude ranches in America by USA Today readers.

Location: Clark, near Steamboat Springs, Colorado

The ranch lies at around 7,800 feet in the Elk River Valley near the tiny settlement of Clark, about 25 miles (40 kilometres), or 45 minutes, north of Steamboat Springs. Its private land, around 500 acres, borders Routt National Forest, with access to the Mount Zirkel Wilderness, so guests can ride, hike and ski for miles without seeing another soul.

Yampa Valley Regional Airport, at Hayden, is about 45 minutes away, with direct flights in winter, and the ranch's free shuttle collects guests from the airport and runs to Steamboat. Steamboat Resort, famous for its Champagne Powder and tree skiing, is under an hour away for days of downhill skiing, and the town's hot springs, Western shops and restaurants are an easy excursion.

Cabins and rooms at Vista Verde Ranch

With room for only around 50 guests, Vista Verde feels personal and peaceful. Accommodation is in 12 standalone log cabins, each named after a local mountain, with one to three bedrooms, a living room with a wood-burning stove or gas fireplace, and a private hot tub on the deck. There are also a few rooms above the main lodge, named after nearby lakes, with sitting areas, balconies and mountain views.

The design is authentic Western: hand-hewn logs, timber beams, stone, leather and cosy textiles outside, with thoughtful comforts inside. There are no televisions or phones in the cabins, and Wi-Fi is limited to the lodge, which is very much the point. Soaking in your own hot tub under a sky full of stars, with snow on the pines all around, is the ranch at its best.

Facilities at Vista Verde Ranch

Almost everything is included: all meals, wine and beer with dinner, an evening happy hour, activities, guiding, most equipment, the airport shuttle and gratuities. The food is a highlight, with gourmet ranch-style cooking using ranch-raised meats, local produce and farm-fresh eggs, along with cooking classes and wine tastings.

Horses are at the heart of the ranch. There is a large herd, a big indoor arena used year-round, daily horsemanship lessons and trail rides, and, in summer, cattle work and team penning. In winter, guests can try cross-country skiing on groomed trails, snowshoeing, tubing, horse-drawn sleigh rides, ice fishing, fat biking and backcountry ski tours, with snowmobiling, dog sledding and massages available for an extra charge.

Summer brings Western riding, hiking, mountain biking, fly fishing, paddleboarding, archery and yoga. Staff numbers are high, and the service is famously warm and personal.

The mountain moment

The defining Vista Verde moment is a winter evening. After a day on horseback through the snowy aspens, followed by a sleigh ride across the valley as the sun sets pink on the peaks, you walk back to your log cabin, light the wood stove and slip into the steaming hot tub on the deck. The only sounds are the creak of snow-laden pines and, somewhere in the distance, a horse snorting in the cold.

Why Vista Verde Ranch is one of the best mountain hotels

Vista Verde earns its place as the finest way to experience the Wild West in the Colorado Rockies. Its log cabins with private hot tubs, outstanding food, superb horses and staff, and vast, empty landscape make it one of the most memorable mountain stays in America, in winter as much as summer. It is not a ski hotel: Steamboat's slopes are under an hour away, and the ranch has minimum stays and is expensive, though almost everything is included. But for a cowboy adventure with real comfort, it is hard to beat.

For another remote Colorado escape, see Dunton Hot Springs in the San Juan Mountains. For ski-in, ski-out luxury, try The Ritz-Carlton, Bachelor Gulch.

When to go to Vista Verde Ranch

The ranch has two seasons. Summer runs from late May to late October, when riding, fly fishing and hiking are at their best, with wildflowers in July and golden aspens in late September. Stays are usually a week, Saturday to Saturday.

Winter runs from mid-December to the end of March, with a shorter minimum stay of around three nights outside holidays. Families are welcome over Christmas and New Year and from mid-February, while the weeks between New Year and Presidents' Day are adults only, ideal for couples. Spring break, in the last weeks of the season, often brings discounts. Book well ahead: with so few cabins, the ranch fills up fast.