Dude Ranch Trip Itinerary
Johns Hopkins Alumni at Moose Head Ranch
Friday, June 1
Check in begins at 11 AM
Lunch 12:30-1:15
Settle in or take an afternoon ride with horsemanship orientation 2:30-4:30
Cocktails and hors d’oeuvres at 6:30 (all cocktails are byob)
Dinner at 7 followed by welcome by Professor Blair/stargazing
Saturday, June 2
Breakfast 8-9
Morning ride 9:30-11:30 *or offsite activities
Lunch 12:30-1:30
Afternoon ride 2:30-4:30 * or offsite activities
Cocktails and hors d’oeuvres at 6:00
Dinner at 6:30
Rodeo in Jackson 8-10
Sunday, June 3
Breakfast 8-9
Morning ride 9:30-11:30 *or offsite activities
Lunch 12:30-1:30
Afternoon ride 2:30-4:30 * or offsite activities
Cookout begins at 6:00 (food, boot branding, singing and s’mores by the campfire)
Monday, June 4
Breakfast 8-9
Morning ride 9:30-11:30 * or offsite activities
Lunch 12:30-1:30
Afternoon ride 2:30-4:30 * or offsite activities
Cocktails and hors d’oeuvres at 6:30
Dinner at 7:00 followed by Professor Blair lecture/stargazing
Tuesday, June 5
Breakfast 8-9
Morning ride 9:30-11:30 * or offsite activities
Lunch 12:30-1:30
Afternoon ride 2:30-4:30 * or offsite activities
Cocktails and hors d’oeuvres at 6:30
Dinner at 7:00 followed by Professor Blair lecture/stargazing
Wednesday, June 6
Breakfast 8-9
Morning ride 9:30-11:30 * or offsite activities
Lunch 12:30-1:30
Afternoon ride 2:30-4:30 * or offsite activities
Cocktails and hors d’oeuvres at 6:30
Dinner at 7:00
Rodeo at 8:00
Thursday, June 7
Breakfast 8-9
Morning ride 9:30-11:30 * or offsite activities
Lunch 12:30-1:30
Afternoon ride 2:30-4:30 * or offsite activities
Cocktails and hors d’oeuvres at 6:30
Dinner at 7:00 wrap up by Professor Blair/stargazing
Friday, June 8
Breakfast at 8-9
Morning ride 9:30-11:30 * or offsite activities
Lunch at 12:30-1:30
Checkout any time before or directly after lunch
*There are always plenty of things going on at the ranch aside from the riding:
We offer fly fishing lessons on our spacious ranch lawn in place of a morning ride. The ranch has all the fly fishing equipment needed, so no need to bring your own, unless you want to. Lessons and equipment are complimentary, but it is helpful for us to have a day or so notice for lessons as we like to limit the size of the instruction group.
Also on the ranch we have a children’s playground area, and a horseshoe pit, volleyball court and an area for croquet. Inside the Lodge is a ping-pong room as well. Our guests are more than welcome to use the ranch laundry after 2PM at no charge.
The ranch has a unique location in the middle of Grand Teton National Park. This allows for easy access to the airport (18 miles south) and the town of Jackson (26 miles south), Yellowstone National Park (32 miles north). A complete list of suggested activities follows.
SUGGESTIONS FOR ACTIVITIES WHILE IN JACKSON HOLE
The Jackson Hole valley is approximately 50 miles long with the town of Jackson in the southern end and Yellowstone National Park bordering Grand Teton National Park is to the north. Moose Head Ranch lies almost in the middle, completely surrounded by the Park, and just east of the Snake River. The airport is 8 miles north of Jackson and the ranch is approximately 18 miles north of the airport with the town of Moose in between. Moose consists of Dornan’s (grocery store, bar, liquor store with excellent wine selections, deli, gift/jewelry store, chuck wagon, fishing shop, mountain bike rentals and a small Patagonia outlet), Park Headquarters (with good displays, posters and books) and a Post Office. Access to interior Park roads are through Moose, one to the south (Moose-Wilson road) that takes you to the ski resort of Teton Village and the road to the north looping around past Jenny Lake to Jackson Lake. The best hiking trails can be accessed from these 2 roads.
Ranch activities:
Meals: Breakfast 8-9, Lunch 12:30, Cocktails 6:30, Dinner 7
Saturday’s dinner is ½ hour earlier so everyone can get to the rodeo, which starts at 8. Rodeo is also Wednesdays and some Fridays, but better to do Saturday, because of the early dinner. Reserved covered seats for the rodeo can be purchased ahead of time and require a credit card. jhrodeo.com
Sunday night we have a cookout with BYOB cocktails starting at 6, followed by dinner, s’mores and singing.
You will probably see lots of elk, antelope and buffalo on your rides and drives. Moose are harder to find, but we can point out places to drive to at dawn or dusk where you can sometimes spot a moose.
Fly-fishing is available at any time on our ponds and we have all the equipment necessary. We ask that you use barbless hooks, and we have those as well. If you want a lesson Chris is happy to instruct, but that is best done in place of the morning ride as the wind can pick up slightly in the afternoon, making learning more frustrating.
All day rides can be arranged with a day or so notice. Not as strenuous as they sound and Eddy Edmiston, our ranch manager, meets the ride and cooks flank steaks and hot dogs for lunch. He is happy to take up passengers who don’t ride, but do want to join their family for lunch. There is an option of a short return ride that can get you back to the ranch by about 2:30 if you want to rest, do laundry, take a drive or run to one of the museums.
Ping-Pong, croquet, volleyball, badminton and horseshoes are always available, and sometimes the crew and guests will play softball after dinner at Moose Head's "Field of Dreams". We also have a personal friend, who is a local artist and he often comes up and does watercolor demonstrations during our cocktail hour and after dinner.
Other than a trip through the lower loop of Yellowstone, or an all-day fishing trip, most everything else can be seen or done in a half day. Lindsay or Chris will go over a map of the valley and point out the highlights for you when you get to the ranch. Some of the things to consider would be:
1) Scenic float trip (gently down the stream). We suggest you use Barker-Ewing, as their guides are extremely knowledgeable and experienced. We usually suggest the early afternoon float at 2, which lasts about 2 ½ hours. You can also go at the crack of dawn when there is more of a chance to see more wildlife, and there are morning floats as well if you want to do that and take a picnic lunch. You meet at Moose, to the west of the Snake River.
2) Whitewater float trip, also with Barker-Ewing. You will get wet, so bring a change of clothes and shoes- best to wear Tevas (not flip-flops) or something along those lines. Again, early afternoon, is best as it is warmer! Anyone that doesn’t want to paddle gets to be in the middle and just hold on! People in the front get completely soaked. Trip leaves from Jackson usually at 12:30-1, involves driving down to the Canyon area and you return to Jackson around 5, which gets you back up to the ranch in time for a hot shower, cocktails and dinner. The duration of the trip depends on how fast the river is flowing. Do not book what they call the combo scenic/whitewater. It is not the true scenic area.
3) Hikes: Jenny Lake to Hidden Falls and Inspiration Point (best done when less crowded in the AM), Death Canyon to the Phelps Lake Overlook. Both easy, short hikes. There are many other hikes so check one of our hiking books or ask for suggestions. You can also do a 1 hr. scenic boat trip on Jenny Lake. We have water bottles and backpacks and we can always pack a picnic lunch.
4) Drives: Moose-Wilson road to Teton Village- very scenic road. You can do this in conjunction with the above Phelps Lake hike. Also relatively new Laurence Rockefeller Preserve. Great interpretive building. Once back in the car you can continue on to Teton Village, and if you want take the tram to the top of the mountain, where there is usually snow until mid July. Best done in the morning, if you want to visit the Preserve. Another drive is the Antelope Flats road to Kelly and then Slide Lake, returning via Gros Ventre road. Different terrain (red hills), beautiful lake- another easy afternoon excursion- often lots of buffalo in the area.
5) Museums: National Museum of Wildlife Art on the outskirts of Jackson. Excellent and very well done. Can do it when you go into town for shopping or the whitewater. The Jackson Hole Historical Society has a museum on the right as you are approaching the town square and it is full of wonderful memorabilia, including Moose Head Ranch pictures and items. Very worthwhile.
6) As well as the museums, there is lots of shopping in town, from high end art galleries to t-shirt shops. Also an Alpine Slide and a Ripley's Believe it or Not for the younger ones and a new zip line and ropes course and fun “Cowboy Coaster” at Snow King, the mountain behind town- everyone is loving this!
7) Guided fishing trips, either half day or all day can be arranged. We suggest WorldCast Anglers, an Orvis affiliated outfitter with permits to float most area rivers. We are happy to book this for you, as we know them well and they can help pick the right guide for you. Fishing on the Snake by the ranch we arrange with Snake River Angler, or Triangle X, as they have a permit for that section. The fishing on the Snake is usually not productive until late July, depending on the runoff.
8) Golf can be arranged at either the Jackson Hole Golf and Tennis Club (25 min. away, near the airport) or Teton Pines over by the ski area, Teton Village (45 min away). Both excellent, very scenic courses. Talk to Kit about arrangements and the course differences.
9) The Jackson Hole Mountain ski resort has some wonderful mountain biking trails for all abilities and you can learn more at http://www.jacksonhole.com/mountainbiking.html. This can be treacherous, and you may want a guide. You can also rent bikes in Moose and do the bike pathway to Jenny Lake- 16 miles round trip.
10) Touring the “lower loop” of Yellowstone can be done on your own or with a guide. If you would like a private guide, we suggest Yellowstone Day Tours. Talk to Brian (307) 201-1499, and tell him you are staying at the ranch and would like to leave after breakfast and be back by 6. If you want to do it yourself, rent a “GaperGuide” from us- GPS navigation ($47 a day)
11) Reserved covered seats for the rodeo (Wed. Fri. & Sat- on Sat. and we have early dinner that night so you are not as rushed). We recommend you get tickets in advance at jhrodeo.com
It might be best if you call the float trip people (Barker-Ewing- 2 different #’s) as they will want a credit card to book and you may feel more comfortable doing that directly. Whitewater # is 800-448-4202 and Scenic is 800-365-1800. Again, remember, don't do the combo scenic/whitewater, and for the whitewater try to arrange something around 12:30-1:30 as it will be warmer and that will also allow you to ride or do something in the morning prior to picking up a picnic lunch and heading into town. Be sure to tell them you are staying at Moose Head. Lindsay or Chris will go over all of this in person when you get there, but don’t hesitate to call me if you have any questions or if anyone wants to go over details.
While the Ranch does not offer TV, we do have Hi Speed internet available in our Lodge. Bring your iPad. A great time to check your emails is before breakfast when we have a roaring fire going and coffee available. We also do not have a liquor license, so we suggest you stop at Dornan’s in Moose, which is between the airport and the ranch, as they have an exceptional wine selection and a complete liquor store. If you wish, we will lock up your liquor after our cocktail hour, or leave it out for you. All set ups are provided by the ranch.