What The Heck is a Dude Ranch and Where You Can You Find Them in Idaho?

Remember that show Hey Dude on Nickelodeon? Vaguely, right? The show aired on Nickelodeon in it's very very early days - we're talking from 1989 through the late 1990s. Hey Dude was about the daily life of a group of teenagers who worked on the Bar None Dude Ranch together.

Just the other day this show randomly popped into my head like it was a weird fever dream or something. Then I thought, "what the heck is a dude ranch anyway??" Sure enough there had to be some around here in Idaho, whatever they were.

I did a quick google search and found that a dude ranch is simply a cattle ranch converted to a vacation resort for tourists. About a 100 years ago the slang term “dude” was coined to describe an "urbanite," according the C Lazy U Ranch.  It's what the cowboys used to call the big-shot city slickers. Ranches that converted into the the tourism industry were called guest ranches, or “dude ranches" to cater to these city slickers.

Fast forward to the 21st century and the appeal of a dude ranch is still relevant today. The influx at Californians coming to Idaho to be a apart of the rustic and outdoorsy aesthetic is proof. There's no shortage of dude ranches here in Idaho as there's no denying the demand for this kind of vacationing experience with the influx population of Californians aka dudes.

Here's a list of some of the most popular dude ranches here in Idaho:

• Red Horse Mountain Ranch, Harrison
• Silver Spur Ranch Idaho, Dubois
• Granite Creek Guest Ranch, Ririe
• Seven Devils Lodge and Guest Ranch, Council
• Diamond D Ranch, Stanley
• Idaho Rocky Mountain Ranch, Stanley
• Western Pleasure Guest Ranch, Sandpoint
• Idaho Guest Ranch-Lazy R Ranch, Banks