Children of all ages are welcomed with open arms at the Rancho. Indeed, every year we host dozens of kids that visit us with their families. All of them join in with their parents in activities and adventures that can, and oftentimes do, help grow the minds, and lives, of our young guests.

We have awesome horses that are patient, gentle and sure-footed, making horseback riding an unforgettable experience. Indeed, our herd of horses draw rave reviews from both adults and kids, making our horses the superstars of the Rancho. Our trails are ideal for kids of all ages, carefully designed to suit the comfort and experience levels of our kid guests. Our hiking guides share their love of nature, exploration and history with our kid guests, making sure educate, inspire and build confidence along the way. Our jeeps are exciting, our dogs and cats friendly. Our vaqueros real father-figures, our wilderness magical.

With so much research now available proving the benefits of spending time in nature, we can think of no better place than the Rancho to escape the wired world and enter the natural world, leaving behind concrete jungles and entering pristine wilderness.

We have hosted children as young as 9 months [and she had a wonderful time!]. However, we do not have a children's program in the literal sense. What we do have, though, are children activities and fantastic adventures we call the Rancho Kids Club. Most children join in with their parents in our many adventures. Of course, adventures can be and are tailored to children in a group, making sure they are suitable to the various physical and mental abilities and limitations of our young guests.

Additionally, we do offer young children great activities such as archery, arts and crafts, rock hounding, tortilla making lessons, horse care, biking, nature exploration, slack line, mud play, lassoing lessons, in addition to our great canyon and open country hikes, horseback riding, stargazing, fishing, wildlife spotting and natural history learning. The days spent observing and participating in a real working ranch's daily activities also adds an introduction into ranch life, Mexican culture and a unique window into life on a real Mexican cattle ranch.

Kids aged six to ten, pre-teens and teenagers, especially, flourish at the ranch. The personal development seen over the course of their stay is very apparent, as they escape the wired world and enter the natural world. Our collection of activities offers fun, entertaining, relaxing, thrilling and challenging adventures that our kid guests absorb fully. Oftentimes, the kid that began the week is not the same kid a few days later, as a week on our working ranch, in a great wilderness area, builds a newfound understanding of the self, and of the natural world.

Many of our kid guests thrive while at the ranch, evolving with each day of their stay. Our ranch is a great opportunity for children to discover mental and physical abilities, and learn a little about themselves in the process. We often see first-hand the benefits of spending a few quality days at the Rancho, as levels of self-confidence skyrockets thanks in large part to our adventures. We notice, too, many children discover the beauty and fun of nature, as they decompress from the myopic pull of technology to gaze upon a natural world almost alien to them.

The adventures at the ranch takes them away from their element for a few days, opening their eyes to the outdoors, to being active in nature, and to the beauty of the natural world. With so many kids today wired to TV, video games, cell phones, music, the Internet and more, the ranch offers the opportunity to escape this wired world for a few days. After a few days disengaging from their gadgets, our kid guests discover a world beyond the wired, to a world of the wild.

Child guests have a fantastic time at the ranch. However, the level of fun they have, in our experience, is determined on a kid by kid basis, as well as a group or parental basis. In our experience, the overall fun and entertainment of our kid guests really comes down to the parents and the group they are with. If you are active, your child will be active, and entertained as well. If they are used to the outdoors, or are used to being active, the ranch will be fun. If you have an open mind, then so will they. A lot depends on the individual child as well, as each brings their own personality along with them.