Great for children aged 0 and over

"Dress Me Once More in a Sombrero that Flaps;

Spurs, Flannel Shirt, Slicker and Chaps.

Out Where the Sagebrush is Dusty and Gray;

Make me a Cowboy Again for a Day."

Paradise Ranch has a way of reconnecting kids with animals and the outdoors. Our award winning kids program exposes children to the natural world but it also offers parents a chance to enjoy their own pursuits or spend time with their children having the knowledge and peace of mind that the whole family is being well taken care of. Arts and crafts, pony rides, talent show, kid's fishing derby, kid's rodeo and even overnight pack trips are just some of our kid's activities offered through the program. Our program is all about FUN, our honest to goodness brand, and flexibility. It is designed so parents can pick and choose time spent as a family and time spent in individual pursuits. The program takes all ages from infants through teens. Our Kid's Program counselors are ready to take your children through a week of activities that they will remember for a lifetime.

Arts & Crafts

play-doh, coloring, sketching, For the Children's Rodeo the participants are provided paint and some creative assistance to decorate their horses.

Activities

hiking, picnics, outdoor play area, cookouts, campouts, Weekly Kid's Fishing Derby, Capture The Flag, Animal Track Identifying

Games

scavenger/treasure hunts, board games, horseshoes, volleyball, ping pong, pool table

Baby Sitting

From age 0 to 17. Hourly cost $10.

Baby Sitting Provided By

Crew

Environment

Recycling - The ranch recycles all plastic, cardboard and glass.

Independent Water System - Our water is collected from the Big Horn Mountains by a sophisitcated filtration system

Paradise Guest Ranch History

In the late 1890s, Mr. Norman Meldrum drove a herd of cattle from Colorado up to Buffalo, Wyoming, where he had acquired some land. The cattle were wintered near the present Soldier's Home and summered in the upper meadow range of the Big Horns, which was to become Paradise Ranch. Meldrum liked the mountain meadow so well that he proved up on the land and acquired title. He built the original log cabin, which still stands today.

Norman Meldrum’s son, Dr. Gordon Meldrum, returned from the war in the Philippines and decided to settle in Buffalo and establish a practice. Gordon Meldrum was enchanted with the cabin in the mountains and encouraged friends to visit him there. It was these visitors who eventually called the meadow "paradise." The name stuck and eventually became the name of the ranch. Shortly after Dr. Meldrum married Mabel Lee in 1903, they added a few more cabins to accommodate their friends. Soon, they began hosting paying guests and the infant dude ranch was on its way.

Paradise Ranch has hosted many folks from around the globe, including Owen Wister, who wrote a portion of "The Virginian" while a guest; and Aldo Leopold, a writer and guest, wrote this about Paradise Ranch in A Sand County Almanac: "Finally, there was Paradise Ranch, an obvious platitude when read from a map, but something quite different when you arrived there at the end of a hard ride. It lay tucked away on the far side of a high peak,as any proper Paradise should. Through it's verdant meadows meandered a singing trout stream. A horse left for a month on this meadow, waxed so fat that rain-water gathered in a pool on his back. After my first visit to Paradise Ranch I remarked to myself, what else could you call it."

The official date for the beginning is about 1907.