Cariboo Chilcotin Coast Guest Ranches

At Siwash Lake Ranch, possibly Canada’s greenest dude ranch, you can ride, hike, mountain bike, canoe, and fish (catch and release of course). Don’t miss the opportunity to also help with land stewardship, wildlife tracking and learn wilderness survival skills.

Siwash Lake, a luxurious, off-the-grid working ranch runs with the smallest possible footprint. It’s been awarded the highest possible Five Key Rating by the Hotel Association of Canada’s (HAC) Green Key Eco-Rating Program. The ranch is also certified Gold by Green Tourism Canada. It’s all about minimal impact, from line-drying laundry to using solar power – but roughing it is never part of the equation. As one of, at most, 24 guests, you’ll enjoy organic, locally grown food, private lake-view balconies, and crackling wood fires in the antique-furnished great room.

Siwash Lake is also a great place to try glamping, or glamorous camping. The ranch’s spacious safari-style canvas cabins come complete with ensuite bathrooms and expansive lake- and meadow-view sundecks.

At The Hills Health Ranch, near 108 Mile Ranch, you can ride or hike across thousands of acres of Cariboo rangeland, relax with a massage or a facial, and then head out for a hay ride. This is a down-home kind of place, and has been one of BC’s favourite family-friendly spa getaways since 1985.

After hiking, aerobics, morning walks and trail rides, relax in the indoor pool, hot tub or sauna, or book the signature treatment: a rosehip oil wrap using healing herbs grown on the ranch.

Saddle up old school at the Flying U Guest Ranch, a genuine slice of Western history near 70 Mile House. The ranch, complete with a saloon and a museum of cowboy history, has been in the riding and roping business since the 1860s. Food is simple but hearty, log cabins are rustic (think hand-crafted furniture and a shared bathhouse) and the nearest thing to a spa is a sauna and a dip in Green Lake.

The Flying U is also one of the few ranches where guests can ride unaccompanied on the surrounding trails, lakeshore and pastures. The horses know the way home. In the evenings, gussy up for a hoedown at the Longhorn Saloon or an old western flick playing at the ranch’s Black Horse movie house.

Indulge in a Thai massage or a pedicure before slipping into riding boots at Echo Valley Ranch & Spa near Clinton. Ride wilderness trails through the high country, then, back at the ranch, take a dip in the indoor pool, soak weary riding muscles in a mountain-view hot tub, and learn about Ruesri Dat Ton, an ancient Thai exercise technique similar to yoga. Dinner? The chef adds a whole new meaning to home cooking, with organic, locally raised food eaten family style in the ranch house.