Yellowstone is paradise for cross country skiers.

By David McKay Wilson

Yellowstone National Park has emerged as a world-class destination for cross-country skiers who yearn for high-altitude touring in and around the world’s first national park.

On a visit in mid-February, the powder was dry and light – the kind that provides cross-country skiers with plenty of grab for their kick, and a surface of silky smoothness for their glide.

I’d come to Yellowstone, hoping to rediscover the sport I’d learned 40 years ago in Norway. But it had been more than 20 years since I’d done any serious touring on the skinny skis.

The gals at Free Heel and Wheel in West Yellowstone, Mt. put me at ease the moment I walked in door our first morning. The town – simply known to local as “West” – lies on Yellowstone’s western boundary. So the park’s trail system starts a block away at the Riverside Trail, which runs along the Madison River – one of the park’s many waterways that stay ice-free in the deep of winter, warmed by water from the park’s geo-thermal features.

The 2004 decision by the National Park Service to strictly regulate snowmobiles in the park to up to 318 a day, and require the snow sleds to be equipped with cleaner four-stroke engines, has made Yellowstone much more enticing for cross-country skiers.

Leading us into the park was Melissa Alder, one Free Heel’s owners, who with her college chum, Kelli Sanders, founded the shop in 1995 when cross-country had grabbed a toehold on the park’s edge.  The shop doubles as a coffee shop, so after our four-mile morning warm-up, we came back for a spicy chicken enchilada and a warm cup of zebra mocha coffee. I then traded in the waxless Rossignols that rent for $20/day for a pair of high-performance Atomics, which Alder promised would add some oomph in my kick that afternoon in the Rendezvous Ski Trails, just down Yellowstone Avenue.

The trails are known for some of North America’s earliest snow, and during Thanksgiving week, draw up to 3,000 skiers for a weeklong festival that kicks off the season for racers who descend on West Yellowstone to train.  That festival also draws families and recreational skiers for clinics and the continent’s premier late-fall skiing. The Yellowstone Rendezvous Race in early March, part of the American Ski Marathon series, draws another huge weekend crowd. And while the event ends the race season, the trails typically stay open through May.

On the trail in Yellowstone

The Rendezvous Trails wind through rolling terrain, the kind that’s just right for cross-country skiing. You have to work a bit on a few uphills, but the downhill sections aren’t so steep as to cause issues. At Rendezvous, in a forest of lodge-pole pine, I rediscovered the wonder of the cross-country rhythm – letting the kick drive me forward, feeling the pole plant, not rushing the motion to find the sweet-spot of the glide.

We reconnoitered at Rendezvous the next day, joining 140 others for the second annual Taste of the Trails event, which featured tasty offerings on food stops along the trails – dates wrapped in bacon, a savory tomato-dill soup, hearty quinoa salad, and the Blondie I felt I’d earned for dessert after skiing 10 kilometers that day.

Snow Coach in Yellowstone. Photo by David McKay Wilson

Following three nights at the West Yellowstone Holiday Inn, and great meals at Serenity Bistro and Madison Crossing, we headed into the park on a snow coach – a transport vehicle operated by the park’s lodging concessionaire, Xanterra. The heated coaches, with cozy seats and big windows, look like a cross between a small school bus and an Army tank, with skis in front to steer it along snow-covered roads. We headed for Old Faithful Snow Lake Lodge, the well-appointed hotel built in 1999, with recycled post-and-beam construction, succulent bison steak for dinner, and a cellist who played dreamy classical pieces in the lobby. Winter rooms are $206/night.

The skiing at Old Faithful was superb, giving skiers the opportunity to view the extensive geothermal activity, which bubbled to the atmosphere through geysers, steam vents, and fumaroles. We took the Lone Star Geyser Trail, following a groomed trail on a steady, gradual climb along the Firehole River and up into the forest. We arrived just as the geyser erupted, sending a plume of steam, and as whiff of sulfur – into the crisp winter air.

Rendezvous Trails

Our tour took us the next day to Mammoth Hot Springs, near the park’s northern boundary. There we stayed in the historic Mammoth Hot Springs Hotel, one of the region’s best bargains, with rooms with bathrooms $117 a night, those with shared bathrooms just $87.

After four days of cross-country skiing on the well-groomed trails, it was time to test our mettle in the high-altitude back-country. The sun shone. Four inches of light powder had settled as we began our climb up Snow Pass, a winding 1.5 mile-climb through a forest of Douglas Fir. It was a heart-thumping ascent, with my friend, Alan, leading the way. At the pass, Mt. Sepulcher rose to 9,600 feet to the west as we met the Glen Creek Trail. We glided east as the afternoon sun cast long shadows along the expansive snowfield, where a bison herd had left tracks the previous day.

Now it was all coming together, that rhythm, the glide and kick and pole, all together, propelling me with surprising alacrity. Atop the plateau, we were alone, in a wilderness vast enough to support bison and the wolf packs that hunt them. Then I paused to catch my breath. I drank in the silence. It felt like we were on top of the world. But the lengthening shadows interrupted my reverie. The sun was setting, and it was time to descend.

For more info:

Yellowstone Lodging-

Freeheel & Wheel

Holiday Inn West Yellowstone

  David McKay Wilson has written on travel over the past 30 years as a freelance journalist, with his travel stories appearing in The Boston Globe, Philadelphia Inquirer, Hartford Courant, New Haven Advocate, and Gannett News Service. An avid cyclist and skier, Wilson enjoys vacationing in the mountains and by the sea. His articles on public affairs have appeared regularly in The New York Times. He’s currently the nation’s top freelance writer for university alumni magazines, with his work appearing in publications at 81 colleges and universities, including Harvard, Columbia, Dartmouth, Brown and the University of Chicago.

by Steve Jermanok

It doesn’t surprise me that Richard Bangs is leading the first adventure tour of North Korea, September 21-29, 2012. After all, it was Bangs who led the first tour to the People’s Republic of China back in 1977. He was also the man behind the first American tour to Libya in 2004. Best known as co-founder of Sobek Expeditions, Bangs almost single handedly put the sport of white water rafting on the map. Sobek was the first outfitter to descend Chile’s Bio Bio River and Zimbabwe’s Zambezi River, now considered classics. In 1991, Sobek merged with Mountain Travel to form one of the premier adventure travel companies in the world.

  Steve Jermanok As a columnist for National Geographic Adventure, adventure travel expert at Budget Travel, and regular contributor on outdoor recreation for Outside, Men’s Journal, Health, and Sierra, Steve Jermanok has written more than 1,000 articles on the outdoors.He’s also authored or co-authored 11 books, including Outside Magazine’s Adventure Guide to New England and Men’s Journal’s The Great Life. His latest book is Go Now! Put Your Life on Pause and See the World. He’s currently an adventure travel expert at Away.com and blogs daily at Active Travels.

Mammoth, CA

By Catherine Streeter

Being an Easterner, I’d never heard of Mammoth when I moved to LA.  But for Los Angelenos—at least, the serious skiing kind—it’s ground zero. And you can’t argue with the numbers: 3,500 acres of skiable terrain, 3,100 foot  vertical drop, an average annual snowfall of 400 inches and, with a top elevation of over 11,000 feet, as well as one of the longest ski seasons in North America. With this kind of size, there’s something for everyone–  from beginners to pros — including nine terrain parks and an Olympic-size half-pipe. Located on the eastern edge of the Sierra Nevada, it’s just a five-hour drive from LA—and a stunning one at that—or a little over an hour in the air if you catch one of the new daily flights. (Air service is also available out of Orange County, San Diego, San Francisco and San José.)

Mammoth also has great accommodations. Among them is Snowcreek Resort, where I was ensconced at an upscale vacation rental. At the eastern edge of town, the multi-faceted development has been evolving since the 1970’s, when a local construction worker purchased the wide-open tract of land with 360° mountain views with an eye to developing a “mountain retreat community”.  Snowcreek now encompasses 450 acres, including a nine-hole golf course, condominiums, townhouses, and, most recently, The Lodges at Snowcreek—luxurious two- and three-bedroom homes ranging from 1,856 to 3,418 square feet.

Mammoth Mountain village.

In spite of all the trappings of a proper, world-class ski resort, what makes Mammoth special is its down-home vibe. This isn’t Aspen. There is a notable dearth of chic boutiques and fur-clad ski bunnies. Mammoth is one of those ski towns where it feels like everyone is actually there to ski. Though the mountain reportedly enjoys 300 days of sunshine a year, it can also experience bone-chilling wind—and the corresponding “wind buff” that locals will gleefully tell you can make for fresh tracks every run. This is a place where many of the people serving and working grew up here, and the town’s year-round population of 8,000 all seem connected. In summer, elite athletes descend to train in the high altitude—which might explain the otherwise-incongruous 30,000-square-foot Snowcreek Athletic Club. This is the skier’s ski town. The anti-resort resort, if you like.

Petra's Bistro

Which isn’t to say it doesn’t boast great restaurants and upscale amenities.  It does. I had one of the best massages of my life under the care of the Double Eagle Spa’s goddess-like Ursula (that heated bed, those gifted hands!). The facilities at the Athletic Club are seriously impressive for the $20 drop-in fee. At Petra’s Bistro, memorable cuisine—such as the outstanding duck confit appetizer—is complemented by a lovingly curated wine list that includes 28 wines by the glass. I wasn’t able to get to the Lakefront Restaurant at Tamarack Lodge on my visit, but there wasn’t a person in town who didn’t speak of it in reverential tones.  On the casual end, Burgers Restaurant’s homemade barbecue sauce and mustard elevate the already-outstanding burgers, not to mention ribs, chicken, and chili. (Mud pie is the signature dessert, but for my money, I’d take the vanilla shake.) Breakfasts at The Stove are as delectable as they are generous.

Though 2010-11 saw near-record snowfall here, Mammoth is among the many U.S. ski resorts suffering from the unusual weather patterns this season.  But it finally arrived, so the President’s Week getaway looks promising indeed.

Visit Mammoth

  Catherine Streeter spent more than a decade guiding and researching luxury cycling and walking trips for Butterfield & Robinson.  She applies that experience to her work as a brand and marketing consultant for travel companies, and has penned travel and lifestyle articles for the likes of SKY, Aspen Magazine, Indagare, and Vogue (Brazil). A film aficionado, Streeter has also written numerous screenplays, with an option under her belt and more on the horizon.

Sonia Sanchez

By Gerrie Summers

As a child, Sonia Sanchez was shy and spoke with a stutter, but she found her voice in poetry and influenced a generation of writers.

Standing in front of an exhibit about poet Sonia Sanchez, I looked over at a section that read “Sonia Sanchez on what it means to be a poet.”  I pushed the button to listen.

As the audio began, it was interrupted by a soft voice saying “Hello, sister.”  Standing right beside the exhibit and smiling at me was the poet herself.  How often do you get the chance to speak to a historical figure?  I was able to tell her how her poetry influenced my becoming a writer, before a camera crew spotted the great photo opp. I then turned to view Mrylie Evers-Williams exhibit, to find her directly in front of me saying hello.  I was at a press preview for Freedom’s Sisters, a traveling exhibition, of which Dr. Sanchez and Mrylie Evers-Williams are a part.

Freedom’s Sisters is now housed in The Malcolm X & Dr. Betty Shabazz Memorial and Educational Center (The Shabazz Center) in New York City, inhabiting the old Audubon Ballroom where Malcom X was shot, and it is definitely worth the visit.  Dr. Betty Shabazz, wife of slain black activist Malcolm X, who continued to devote her life to childcare, health and education in the black community, is also part of the exhibit.  I would later find myself standing in the very spot where Malcolm X was assassinated, reading the biographical information about Ella Jo Baker, one of the founders of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC), which organized sit-ins and challenged segregation laws, and it vividly brought home the dangers some of the honorees faced in fighting for human and civil rights and challenging injustice.

Harlem is the 8^th and final stop on the traveling tour of the Freedom’s Sisters exhibition that had its opening at the Cincinnati Museum Center in March 2008.  Freedom’s Sisters is made possible from a grant from the Ford Motor Company Fund in collaboration between the Smithsonian Institution and the Cincinnati Museum Center.  It honors 20 African American women from 19^th century historical figures to contemporary leaders who have fought for equality for people of color.

The interactive exhibit is designed to resemble the pages of a history book, with each “page” featuring an honoree.  The exhibit contains reproductions of photographs, illustrations, or audio and interactive computer screens.  At the end of the exhibit visitors can collect all 20 pages of the honorees’ biographies and can step into a photo booth to create their page in history.

Freedom’s Sisters will be at The Shabazz Center through April 22, 2012.   The Malcolm X & Dr. Betty Shabazz Memorial and Educational Center, 3940 Broadway. 212-568-1341. .  Hours: Monday – Saturday, 10:00a.m. – 5:00 p.m. Sunday Closed.  Admission: Free.

Gerrie Summers has been writing professionally for over 31 years in the areas of entertainment, beauty, lifestyle, travel and wellness. A New York-based writer, she has been the Travel Adventures columnist for Today’s Black Woman and now writes the blogs Summers Retreat and The Tranquil Traveler.

Vancouver skyline

By Everett Potter

When I arrived at the Fairmont Pacific Rim Hotel in Vancouver a couple of weeks ago, I heard that distinctive low thrum – the sound of a seaplane taking off — and it made me smile. So did  the scent of the sea and cry of seagulls wheeling over the glass towers that overlook Coal Harbour.

It reminded me of why I love to visit Vancouver. What’s not to like? How can you not love a city where the cab of choice is a Prius, where some of the best skiing in the world is 90 minutes away, and where you can sea kayak from downtown?

It’s a city with an extraordinary setting amidst water and mountains. The first time I laid eyes upon Vancouver, I fell madly in love with a place that seems surrounded by the sea. Look at a map and you’ll quickly grasp what I mean: it’s enmeshed in bays, inlets, straits and rivers, wrapping around the thickly wooded shores of Stanley Park, a modern city encased in staggering beauty. It has extraordinary feng shui. Only Rio de Janeiro and Hong Kong — two other favorites of mine — can rival it. The fact that I don’t notice the rain here, though I do in Seattle, a couple of hours south, is clearly a sign of great feng shui.

I first visited Vancouver almost a quarter century ago, when it was still sleepy, a little provincial, but already embracing adventure travel, proud of its Asian culture, and discovered by many like myself as a remarkably cool gateway city on the way to Whistler. Now it’s the city’s dynamic multi-flavored Asian culture that drives it. It is a major player among Pacific Rim cities, belonging as much to the world as it does to Canada.

Here are five things I love about it:

Aquabus Ferry heading to Granville Island

1. Granville Island

Walk or cab or take one of the diminutive False Creek Aquabus Ferries, stubby little boats seemingly lifted from the pages of a children’s book, to reach Granville Island. This 37 acre parcel of old industrial warehouses on False Creek was slowly and carefully transformed in the 1970’s into a thriving home for artists, small business and the now legendary Granville Island Public Market. The Market alone is worth the trip, but then there’s the waterfront restaurants, theatres, galleries, studios, shops, cafes and Ecomarine, a great kayak shop and outfitter that can take you out on the waters surrounding the city from the dock in front of their store

Running along the seawall in Stanley Park

2. Stanley Park

I love the Luxembourg Gardens in Paris, and Central Park, but the wooded paths and views of mountains and woods in Stanley Park make it a contender for one of the world’s greatest parks. I have walked, run and biked the 9 kilometers around the Seawall of Stanley Park over the years. I never get tired of seeing the totem poles, stopping at the Teahouse for lunch, and finding new paths under the Douglas firs and seeing wild otters if I’m lucky. All in a park that is walking distance from downtown.

The eternal line at Vij's, for those seeking Nirvana

3. Vij’s

I lined up in the rain at 5:15 at Vij’s, as I always do every time I am in town. There were already a gaggle of locals on this Tuesday night who were waiting to eat at a place that many think is the best Indian restaurant in North America. Not classical Indian but amazing Indian. The doors open promptly at 5:30 and in a casual place where reservations are not accepted, every seat is taken within five minutes. Then the magic and the ritual begin. The complimentary cups of chai, the discs of poori, the cassava fries, spicy and better than most French fries that I’ve eaten. All to stimulate your appetite. The staff is in continuous smile mode and they  circulate breezily but effectively, in a place where everyone is your waiter. It’s the rare communal service that actually works. I settle on wine marinated lamb popicles in fenugreek cream curry on turmeric and spinach potatoes, a dish that tastes every bit as good as it sounds. With one side of basmati rice, another of nan, and a remarkably smooth Storm Brewing IPA. And yes, nirvana was reached. Visit Vij’s  

McLeod's, a booklover's trove

4. McLeod Books

In a world where venerable used bookshops are disappearing at a fast rate, McLeod’s is a godsend. Located at the seedy edge of Gastown, it is a jumble of books piled high, crammed into shelves, placed in piles that threaten to teeter and sometimes actually collapse as someone tries to unearth a dog-eared Lawrence Durrell from a poorly built skyscraper of paperbacks. Where else can you find books on Antarctica next to a row devoted to the French and Indian and Wars? Or Mountaineering next to Humor? The remarkable thing is within each section, the books are duly alphabetized. The other remarkable thing is how busy this place is,  filled with seekers of wisdom, truth or perhaps just a rare book by Roderick Haig-Brown, a beloved BC author. I found a well worn Mrs. Beeton’s Cookery Book from 1915 or thereabouts for my Downton Abbey-obsessed wife, the book no doubt a passenger on some trans Canada voyage long ago.  Visit McLeod’s

A Signature Ofuro Room at Fairmont Pacific Rim, giving fresh meaning to "soaking in the view"

5. Fairmont Pacific Rim Hotel

Built for Vancouver’s 2010 Olympic Games, the Fairmont Pacific Rim has an amazing location overlooking the grass- roofed convention center and Coal Harbour. Inside, it raises the luxury bar for Fairmont with a hip vibe and remarkably clean high design, a bit like the best of a Four Seasons crossed with a W Hotel. There’s a vast multi-storied atrium lobby where the Lobby Bar is designed for scene makers to be seen, starting in competitive earnest around 4pm every afternoon. Oru, the signature restaurant, is undergoing a serious menu makeover under Executive Chef Darren Brown, a BC native who has done stints in Vegas, Whistler and on Merv Griffin’s private yacht  on the way to the Fairmont’s kitchen. Upstairs, the Willow Stream Spa has a great outdoor Jacuzzi, perfect to watch the lights across the harbor, not to mention a outdoor rooftop pool that looked good even if the weather wasn’t inviting. Giovane’s, also in the lobby, is where you can grab an Italian inflected breakfast, from pastry to frittatas to remarkably good coffee, for a quick breakfast without the wait that traditional hotel dining rooms impose. But the best part is upstairs when you get to your room. These rooms are sleekly designed, with a wall of glass. The best have an eagle eye view of seaplanes landing and taking off against a backdrop of Stanley Park and the snow dappled mountains of the Coastal Range. If you can afford one of the Signature Ofuro Rooms, where the soaking tubs come with a drop dead view of the harbor and sea, you won’t be disappointed. If you can’t, your room, like mine, will likely transfix you anyway with one of the greatest views in North America. Doubles from $223 CAD per night. Visit Fairmont Pacific Rim

Everett Potter is Editor-in-Chief of Everett Potter’s Travel Report

Au Clocher de Montmartre

By Alexander Lobrano

For a variety of reasons, the French have been slow to come up with a good Gallic gastronomic retort to the creeping American concept of ‘fast casual-dining’ (Boy, do I hate that phrase, which resonates as a pretty unconvincing euphemism for fat-and-unhealthy). In fact, in many large American cities, it’s difficult to find anything but the chain gain, including Applebee’s, The Olive Garden, Chipotles’s, Hooters, The Cheesecake Factory, Red Lobster and their ilk. These formatted restaurants are rapidly going global, too, and inexplicably seem to be finding large numbers of receptive customers in Asia, as well as more traditional markets like Canada and the United Kingdom.

Au Clocher de Montmartre

  Alexander Lobrano was Gourmet magazine’s European correspondent from 1999 until its recent closing. Lobrano has written for almost every major food and travel magazine since he became an American in Paris in 1986. He is the author of “Hungry for Paris”  (Random House), his personal selection of the city’s 102 best  restaurants, which Alice Waters has called “a wonderful guide to eating in Paris.” Lobrano’s Letter from Paris runs every month in Everett Potter’s Travel Report. Visit his website, Hungry for Paris.(Photo by Steven Rothfeld)

Mashpi Lodge, Ecuador

By Steve Jermanok

Looking to combine that trip to the Galapagos with an immersion into the Ecuadorean rainforest? A 2 ½-hour drive northwest of Quito will bring you to the slopes of the Andes and a new upscale green resort called Mashpi Lodge, ready to be unveiled in April. Smack dab in the middle of the 3,000-acre Mashpi Rainforest Biodiversity Reserve, you’ll leave each morning to go on guided hikes to secret waterfalls through a rainforest overflowing with ferns, bromeliads, and hundreds of orchids. A mind-boggling 500 species of birds inhabit the forest, including hummingbirds and those multi-hued toucans. Also expect to see monkeys, the pig-like peccaries, even pumas, especially aboard their aerial tram that glides above the rainfortest canopy. Back at the lodge, you can refresh yourself in a Jacuzzi or opt for a massage. Many of the herbs found in the meals are indigenous to the local rainforest. The lodge is owned by South American travel company, Metropolitan Touring, who also just opened a 31-bedroom boutique hotel, Casa Gangotena, in a restored mansion overlooking Plaza San Francisco in Quito.

  Steve Jermanok As a columnist for National Geographic Adventure, adventure travel expert at Budget Travel, and regular contributor on outdoor recreation for Outside, Men’s Journal, Health, and Sierra, Steve Jermanok has written more than 1,000 articles on the outdoors.He’s also authored or co-authored 11 books, including Outside Magazine’s Adventure Guide to New England and Men’s Journal’s The Great Life. His latest book is Go Now! Put Your Life on Pause and See the World. He’s currently an adventure travel expert at Away.com and blogs daily at Active Travels.

Cloud Nine, Aspen Highlands. Photo by Daniel Bayer.

By Amiee White Beazley

If you ask any Aspen skier or snowboarder about Cloud Nine Alpine Bistro high atop Aspen Highlands, located just beneath the Cloud Nine chairlift, responses are often “great food,” “charming,” or “Andreas!” Cloud Nine has it all: indulgent European-inspired cuisine, out-of-this-world alpine atmosphere and one of the most beloved chefs in Aspen.

Chef Andreas Fischbacher has been the executive chef and general manager at Cloud Nine since it opened in 2002, and has turned the former ski patrol shack at 10,740 feet into one of the most memorable and appetizing dining experiences in all of Aspen.

A sit-down restaurant with ski-only access, Fischbacher’s native Austrian dining experience at Cloud Nine includes a glass of gluhwein upon arrival and hours of dining on fondue (served in an enamel-covered cast iron tub), raclette (cooked on the griddle) and other Euro-inspired entrees such as the decadent venison ragout or local Milagro beef pie. Afterwards, take your drinks to the deck and spend a sunny afternoon greeting friends or dancing atop the picnic tables long after the lifts close.

Complete with linens and fine wine and beer list, Cloud Nine offers 65 seats, with room for 110 when the deck, facing the Maroon Bells and Buttermilk Mountain is in play. And while it is known for its legendary lunches, Cloud Nine also offers periodic winter dinners on Thursday evenings with access to the restaurant via SnoCat. But even before the snow flies, people are making plans on their first trip to Cloud Nine. So it is suggested that reservations – for lunch or dinner – be made promptly.

For reservations at Cloud Nine Alpine Bistro, call (970) 544-3063/lunch, (970) 923-8715/dinner or email ascconcierge@aspensnowmass.com.

  Amiee White Beazley is the editor of edibleASPEN, founding contributor of Aspen Peak magazine and food columnist for the Aspen Daily News. Her food and travel writing has been featured in Yankee Magazine, Coastal Living, 5280, Aspen Magazine and The Providence Journal among others. A mother of two, her first children’s book, Snowmastodon! Snow Day Adventure was published by People’s Press in 2011. www.awbeazley.com

Gene Kilgore

by Ed Wetschler

There are more experts on spas, cruises, and ski resorts than stars in the heavens, but when it comes to dude ranches, Gene Kilgore is the expert, a star in his own right. Kilgore dropped out of medical school to write his first guide to ranch vacations in 1980, and since then he has witnessed – and reported to the world – profound changes in how dude ranches entertain their guests. Ranches have updated their programs so much, in fact, that you might even wonder if the term “dude ranch” still applies. So we decided to corral this cowboy and get the lowdown.

How did you get hooked on ranch vacations?

Growing up in the 50s and 60s, I watched all those great westerns on TV. Then, one summer, my parents took me to a dude ranch, and I just fell in love with it.

The whole country watched those westerns — Bonanza, Gunsmoke, Maverick, Have Gun Will Travel – but TV is no longer dominated by westerns. Children no longer get cowboy outfits for Christmas. Yet dude ranches are more popular than ever. Why?

Plenty of boomers, like me, want ranch vacations because they remember the great westerns. At the same time, Ralph Lauren and other marketers sell the romance of the West to people in their 20s and 30s, and so do rodeos and country music. What’s more, it’s not just Americans who love the Old West: Europeans are so taken with the cowboy way that they have cowboy clubs.

A classic day in the saddle

 How have ranch vacations changed over the decades?

The eco-warrior movement has found its way into ranch vacations. Today ranches serve as base camps and launching pads for all sorts of activities you might not have found 30 years ago.

Such as?

Archery, hiking, heli-hiking, birding and other naturalist activities. Riding lessons in French, tennis, sailing, spa treatments, photography, yoga. There are women-only ranches, adults-only ranches, ranches with vegetarian cuisine. To see even more of these options, click on Ranch Categories at ranchweb.com.

Did you say vegetarian cuisine – at a ranch?

Yes! The food served at ranches 40 years ago was pretty basic, but now a lot of ranches emphasize local produce – organic vegetables, free-range chickens, grass-fed beef – prepared by trained chefs. Many of the ranchers are involved with sustainable and holistic practices, too. And just as the food has been upgraded, so have the lodgings.

I used to work as a musician at a dude ranch that really was all about horses and chuckwagon chow. Can you really call a lodge with a golf course and a wine list a dude ranch?

Sure, because the horse remains the focus of a dude ranch. Of course, not everyone wants to go horseback riding; you might spend more of your holiday on a mountain bike than on a horse. But however you choose to enjoy a ranch vacation, it is still a place where you can go back in time, where families can reconnect with each other and the spectacular scenery around them.

 This can’t be cheap.

Oh, but there’s a wide ranch of prices, from less than $200 per person per day to $1,000 or more. And these rates are all-inclusive, covering just about everything except spa treatments and flyfishing guides. You can search ranches by price on ranchweb.com, and you should also click the Trail Bargains tab to see who’s offering specials. Some of the best deals are here in the United States, but you’ll find additional bargains in countries like Argentina and Brazil. Extraordinary food, too.

What advice would you give a first-timer?

Prepare to have the best vacation in the world. But before you even make reservations, look at Ranchweb.com‘s list of questions to ask yourself: questions about your budget, where and when you want to go, what activities interest you, and so on. Then make sure you’ve got a warm jacket for evenings, and put a few miles on your boots before you visit the ranch. And get a couple of pairs of washed jeans: Riding with new jeans is not a good idea.

For more information, visit Ranchweb.com

  Ed Wetschler is  the associate editor of Everett Potter’s Travel Report, and the executive editor of Tripatini.