The Dude Ranch Tradition of the Bighorns
Near Sheridan, Wyoming
After Eaton's Ranch, which began in North Dakota, settled in Wolf Creek Canyon in nineteen oh four, Sheridan County became one of the great centers of the American dude ranch industry. By the nineteen twenties, dozens of guest ranches operated in the Bighorn foothills, advertising in Eastern magazines and booking through the Burlington Railroad, which promoted Wyoming as a destination with the same energy it gave its farm-freight routes. Ranches like HF Bar, Spear-O-Wigwam, and Paradise Guest Ranch drew writers, politicians, and families wanting the experience of open country without the hardship.
The industry helped stabilize the regional economy through cycles when cattle prices fell. Several Sheridan-area dude ranches still operate today, some on the same ground they occupied a century ago.
