About an hour and half away from Orlando, the Westgate River Ranch Resort is gloriously secluded from malls, shopping centers and big box stores. Tucked away on over 1700 acres in Polk County, the River Ranch is the spot to be if you want to get away from everyday living and see how the cowboys (and girls!) live.
With activities ranging from skeet and trap shooting to hayrides, there is something for every member of the family to do.
We scheduled a weekend trip, selected our activities to keep us busy and set off.
Yes, the drive was boring but thankfully I had a DVD player for the oldest, a nap arranged for the youngest and a co-pilot to entertain me.
Once we arrived, the long drive was forgotten. The place is spectacular.
And we had picked the perfect weekend to visit.
The skies were blue and cloudless.
Plus, it wasn’t hot, which is a main sticking point in any weekend trip we take.
The River Ranch is huge and stretched out all over the place. There are endless pastures, white fences and animals everywhere. There’s even an airport!
There are accommodations for all: guest houses, regular hotel rooms, camping grounds and RV lots to rent.
We were put up in a typical hotel room that had so-so décor and the wear and tear of a 70s hotel but we didn’t have plans to spend much time in our room, especially with so much to do.
After dropping off our luggage, we hit up the petting zoo where my girls fell in love with day old goats and mini-horses that loved to be stroked. There were peacocks, guinea hens (which made me feel like I was at home), donkeys, buffalos and more.
We ate dinner at the Smoke House Grill (the only restaurant on property besides the general store which has a deli with sandwiches and pizza), did a little fishing at the marina and called it a night because the next day was packed and we wanted to be well-rested.
The next day consisted of horseback riding (where I went all by myself and enjoyed 45 minutes of plodding along on a horse named Beau), pony rides (the oldest got to ride a mule and a mini named Rickie), more fishing, more eating, a swamp buggy ride, two trips to the arcade, three trips to the General Store for drinks, four rounds of skeet and trap shooting and to end the day, we went on a traditional hayride (complete with a singing cowboy) through the Ranch’s pastures and had a cookout with other guests.
Another tradition at the Westgate River Ranch Resort is the Saturday Night Rodeo.
A family friendly rodeo packed with ranging bulls, trick riding cowgirls and lots and lots of pride. One cowboy rode two horses at once, a bull tried to climb out of the gates like a monkey and a cowgirl rode her horse upside down.
Oh, and the best part of the rodeo: the Calf Stampede.
The Calf Stampede is when kids go out in two groups (under 8 and under 12) and chase calves with the hopes of grabbing a ribbon from their tales.
Yes, their tales.
And I let my oldest go out there.
In fact, I encouraged it.
And boy, did she go full-on with it.
She raced and chased those calves with all of her heart.
She did not catch a ribbon but I was so proud of her that she went out there and did it.
The Rodeo was also my kind of Rodeo because it only lasted just over two hours, there were no long drawn out waits, they got you in and out and made sure you had one heck of a time. Plus, you were right in the action with seats right near the fences.
There was a block party (which happens every weekend after the Rodeo) but with two worn out kids, we called it a night.
The downsides to the River Ranch are it’s huge and you can either rent a golf cart to ride around (for $60 a day plus deposit), walk or drive your car from place to place. There’s only wifi in the main lodge (and you have to literally be in the lodge to access it), the only playground is located up at the front of the ranch and the cost of drinks is a tad steep.
Overall, we enjoyed our stay at the Westgate River Ranch. The kids had tons to do, we had tons to do. It was a nice stay with tons of friendly staff. Everyone was willing to chat and help out with directions if needed
My advice to you when staying at the Westgate River Ranch is to bring your own drinks, hold on to your maps (yes, it’s that big) and get ready for some down-home fun.
With activities ranging from skeet and trap shooting to hayrides, there is something for every member of the family to do.
We scheduled a weekend trip, selected our activities to keep us busy and set off.
Yes, the drive was boring but thankfully I had a DVD player for the oldest, a nap arranged for the youngest and a co-pilot to entertain me.
Once we arrived, the long drive was forgotten. The place is spectacular.
And we had picked the perfect weekend to visit.
The skies were blue and cloudless.
Plus, it wasn’t hot, which is a main sticking point in any weekend trip we take.
The River Ranch is huge and stretched out all over the place. There are endless pastures, white fences and animals everywhere. There’s even an airport!
There are accommodations for all: guest houses, regular hotel rooms, camping grounds and RV lots to rent.
We were put up in a typical hotel room that had so-so décor and the wear and tear of a 70s hotel but we didn’t have plans to spend much time in our room, especially with so much to do.
After dropping off our luggage, we hit up the petting zoo where my girls fell in love with day old goats and mini-horses that loved to be stroked. There were peacocks, guinea hens (which made me feel like I was at home), donkeys, buffalos and more.
We ate dinner at the Smoke House Grill (the only restaurant on property besides the general store which has a deli with sandwiches and pizza), did a little fishing at the marina and called it a night because the next day was packed and we wanted to be well-rested.
The next day consisted of horseback riding (where I went all by myself and enjoyed 45 minutes of plodding along on a horse named Beau), pony rides (the oldest got to ride a mule and a mini named Rickie), more fishing, more eating, a swamp buggy ride, two trips to the arcade, three trips to the General Store for drinks, four rounds of skeet and trap shooting and to end the day, we went on a traditional hayride (complete with a singing cowboy) through the Ranch’s pastures and had a cookout with other guests.
Another tradition at the Westgate River Ranch Resort is the Saturday Night Rodeo.
A family friendly rodeo packed with ranging bulls, trick riding cowgirls and lots and lots of pride. One cowboy rode two horses at once, a bull tried to climb out of the gates like a monkey and a cowgirl rode her horse upside down.
Oh, and the best part of the rodeo: the Calf Stampede.
The Calf Stampede is when kids go out in two groups (under 8 and under 12) and chase calves with the hopes of grabbing a ribbon from their tales.
Yes, their tales.
And I let my oldest go out there.
In fact, I encouraged it.
And boy, did she go full-on with it.
She raced and chased those calves with all of her heart.
She did not catch a ribbon but I was so proud of her that she went out there and did it.
The Rodeo was also my kind of Rodeo because it only lasted just over two hours, there were no long drawn out waits, they got you in and out and made sure you had one heck of a time. Plus, you were right in the action with seats right near the fences.
There was a block party (which happens every weekend after the Rodeo) but with two worn out kids, we called it a night.
The downsides to the River Ranch are it’s huge and you can either rent a golf cart to ride around (for $60 a day plus deposit), walk or drive your car from place to place. There’s only wifi in the main lodge (and you have to literally be in the lodge to access it), the only playground is located up at the front of the ranch and the cost of drinks is a tad steep.
Overall, we enjoyed our stay at the Westgate River Ranch. The kids had tons to do, we had tons to do. It was a nice stay with tons of friendly staff. Everyone was willing to chat and help out with directions if needed
My advice to you when staying at the Westgate River Ranch is to bring your own drinks, hold on to your maps (yes, it’s that big) and get ready for some down-home fun.
I received a weekend stay at the River Ranch Resort in exchange for my review. All opinions in this post are 100% my own. Please see my full disclosure policy for more information.
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1 comment:
This sounds like a great place to escape the hustle and bustle of the "real world". I think my Maggie would love the petting zoo and seeing the horses!
So glad you enjoyed your trip!
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