Great for children aged 5 and over

Branded Rock Canyon is a family-friendly property. Children under the age of 12 stay free of charge, when sharing room with parent/guardian. Adjoining rooms are available for an additional charge – if the child is over the age of eight, they require their own private room. Ages 13-18 may participate in all other ranch activities and programs, with parental supervision and permission.

Branded Rock Canyon does not provide childcare services. Please plan accordingly.

Onsite activities for children over the age of five, while under supervision of parent or guardian: fishing, jeep or side-by-side tours of the ranch, kickball, cornhole, kite flying, frisbee throwing, archery, canoe paddling, hammock swinging, making s'mores and toasting hot dogs over the campfire, and hiking and exploring the beautiful lodge grounds and trails with family. Visits to the ranch horses can also be arranged.

Minimum age children can ride

6 and over

Arts & Crafts

play-doh, coloring, sketching, Painting

Activities

hiking, biking, picnics, outdoor play area, cookouts, floating, supervised swimming, Canoeing and paddle boarding, fishing, kite flying, hammock swinging, movies

Games

board games, horseshoes, soccer, cornhole, archery, frisbees,

Environment

Go Green: Branded Rock Canyon makes all attempts to minimize our environmental impact on the surrounding landscape and in landfills.

This is an arid semi-desert climate, so we make all attempts to conserve our precious water resource.

During years of plentiful winter snow pack, there is a constant flow of water from Brush Creek through our four fishing lakes, past the lodge, and down to the irrigation of our farm fields and garden, eventually mingling into the mighty Colorado river, 18 miles downstream.

Although we offer daily laundry and room service, we do ask guests to consider the environment, and reuse linens and towels whenever possible. Filtered water and refreshment stations are available in multiple locations throughout the lodge, so we ask you to reuse your personal water bottles whenever possible.

Recylcing receptacles are available throughout the property for proper disposal of plastics, glass and aluminum drink containers.

Pet Policy: we love pets as much as you do, but in consideration for the safety of our local wildlife and of the pets themselves, we ask you to please make arrangements to leave your pets at home.

Safety: Our most important policy! Guests signed up for shooting and hunting activities will be asked to abstain from alcoholic beverages until the activity has been completed for the day.

Our expert guides and instructors will supervise all planned outdoor activities, and we ask you to please adhere to their safety rules and regulations for your chosen activity.

We do NOT have lifeguards on duty at the lakes or hot tub. Lifejackets are available for water-related activities, but parents are expected to supervise children at all times.

This area of Western Colorado boasts a richly diverse history of Native Americans (Utes), Spanish explorers and fur traders, mining, ranching, wild Spanish mustangs, railways and of course it served as a hideout for a few of the American West's most infamous outlaws and notable figures, such as Butch Cassidy, Doc Holiday, Wyatt Earp and Tom Horn.

Homesteaders first laid claim and settled Brush Creek canyon, where our main lodge sits, in 1897, scraping out a harsh living by raising livestock in the rugged landscape. Over the years, the property changed hands several times, before ultimately becoming the popular 5-star Marriott Hotel resort known as Kessler Canyon Ranch. In 2017, the property was sold and converted back to a private estate, offering limited availability to outside guests by advance reservation only.

Today, the exquisitely appointed 20,000 square foot Homestead Lodge and 12,000 square foot Guest House grace the homestead cabin site. The original homestead apple orchard still produces succulent heirloom apples and remnants of the early settlers can still be explored across the property.

The namesake for the ranch is an ancient boulder that tumbled off the canyon rim eons ago and has been 'branded' by area cowboys and wranglers etching their livestock brands and initials into Branded Rock since the late 1800s.