Pinegrove Family Dude Ranch

Spending time on a dude ranch is not our first thought for a getaway for my family of city slickers, but boy has our minds been changed!

Pinegrove Family Dude Ranch in the Catskills was so welcoming and homey. The all inclusive rustic resort was the perfect setting for some family bonding.

The ladies at the front desk didn’t waste any time during our check in. Our room wasn’t quite ready yet but they pointed us in the direction of the snack bar & urged us to grab a bite while we waited. We made our way passed the lobby fireplace to Chuckwagon Grill. It’s a small window with one guy (Ruben) there serving up hot dogs, fries, nachos, popcorn & soft serve ice cream. This stuff is available 11a-11p every day at no extra cost. It was perfect to hold us over until dinner. Ruben was very welcoming & could tell it was our first time there. We were very conservative when placinhttps://www.trendychaos.com/wp-admin/edit.php?post_type=pageg our order but he encouraged us to get as much as we want-heck its all included!  Our room was ready by the time we were done so we made our way to Sante Fe (that’s just the name of the hallway where our room was).  The room had a king size bed, a double bed & a twin bed. It was spacious & clean & felt like a hotel room. We could see the ice skaters from our window. We dropped off our stuff and decided to take a walk around the grounds to get familiar with the resort.

First stop was the petting zoo. It’s right across the road-a quick 2 minute walk. It had just a few animals-ducks, chickens, goats,sheep- just enough to satisfy my 5 & 7 year old. Right next to that was the horse stables. We were there right as the owners were preparing to bring the horses in for dinner. One woman told us the perfect place to stand & we watched as the horses paraded right passed us one by one. They were within arms reach but my boys were too afraid to reach out and touch.  Horse back riding is just one of the activities the ranch offers. It’s an extra cost but very affordable. Afterwards we walked over to the frozen pond which is where they allow ice skating. It was right next to a playground that my boys were super excited about.

Before we knew it, it was time for dinner. The theme for the night was a hoedown. There was a guy with his guitar singing some good ol’ country tunes. We had our own table but the food was served family style-baked chicken, ribs, mac n cheese, baked beans, fries. The kids enjoyed nuggets & fries. The waiters make it feel like a restaurant but it’s all you can eat so we just had to ask for more of what we needed. Dinner comes with unlimited beer & wine too!  And dessert!

After dinner, we decided to hit the indoor pool. It was a nice size & has two slides. It starts at 3 feet. The area could have been held at a warmer temperature but it wasn’t chilly in there. The water in the pool is heated too. We left the pool in time to change and check out the magic show. Some fun family entertainment!

After the show, we stopped for some ice cream at the snack bar and then off to bed. Gosh that was all in just our first day!

Day two was just as fun filled!  We got up bright and early for breakfast (nice selection & kid friendly).  We hit the playground again, took a tractor ride around the lake, ate lunch, went snow tubing, checked up on the animals in the petting zoo & then went back for a nap-all of us!  Got up for dinner (not a hoedown this time. Entree selection had chicken or steak or fish with mashed potatoes & green beans), hit the pool again and decided to skip the family entertainment this time (a comedic juggler). After the pool we went to the lobby by the fireplace & played cards. Just the four of us. We played go fish. The front desk has a good selection of games we could pick from. After a couple hands, we hit the sack.

As I mentioned earlier, this is not our typical getaway vacation. We are really into amusement parks & action packed stays. I knew this was a good choice when my son said “mom we are having so much fun & there aren’t even any rides.”  Looks like I got my city slickers interested in being Cowboys!

Pinegrove Family Dude Ranch is a really fun option for families. It was slower paced than what we are used to but we all really enjoyed it. There were a bunch of things we didn’t even get to (nightly Bon fires, pudding eating contest, paintball & a bunch of organized family activities, a nightclub).  The staff was great- very friendly and helpful. The place was clean, had a rustic cabin feeling type lobby and nice, well kept grounds.

We look forward to going back again!  Yeehaw!