Ranchlands Chico Basin Ranch

I just had a fantastic week at the ranch. A total immersion, within a very nice team, benevolent and happy to transmit its knowledge. A special thank you to Zara who was my privileged contact and who did her best to make sure I had a great stay. If you like horses, wide open spaces, having a glimpse of life on a ranch, go for it!

This place is amazing. It is the real deal, a working ranch, not a "spa" resort. You do need to know how to ride, their other property is more suitable if you can't, or if you don't want to get involved in the work - so just ask them. The experience will stay with you for a very long time and it's a life changer for many.

I wish that I'd known about this place sooner. It's close to Colorado Springs and is such a great place for birding! Three of us logged 61 species in one day (May 17) despite high winds and missing the peak of the migration season. A few highlights include Ash-throated Flycatcher, MacGillivray's Warbler and Northern Waterthrush.

My son and I went for a visit to scout out potential career fields. He is a high school senior and interested in working with animals. Both Samantha, in the office, and Savannah, who did our tour, went out of their way to make the experience engaging for my son.

Exceedingly well run working cattle ranch. Emphasis on long term sustainable health and improvement of the Cholla cactus/Grass prairie. Abundant wildlife, especially birds. The lakes attract migrating waterfowl and the riparian areas attract large numbers of migrating or summer warblers, Orioles, flycatchers, raptors and other birds. Some Eastern species like Brown Thrasher and Blue Jay. Sometimes Greater Roadrunners. Healthy year round populations of Scaled Quail. Pronghorn, deer, horses, cattle.

If you're from the Denver area, it's a long drive, but if you're a birder, it's worth it. A few species that don't get farther north! You definitely will feel like you're getting away from the urban spawl of the front range.

Took my students to see them tag the birds and learn why. They did a wonderful job. Very informative.

Great customer service. Ordering online was very smooth and straight forward. Merchandise was exactly like advertised.

Came here with a wildlife class. We were hoping to use the blinds and to see a lot of wildlife up close. We got here at 6:30 am and left empty handed around 10:00 am. We saw more wildlife on the way to the ranch (antelopes) than inside the actual ranch. The roads are all sandy and NOT maintained. With the latest rainfall we've had they are in poor condition to say the least. We had 4 wheel drive vehicles and we STILL could not access the roads to where the blinds were. The wheel-tracks from previous traffic were deeper than a foot in some areas. Many areas are also not accessible at all due to closed gates. So the driving map that we got at the headquarter was not very accurate. We would drive for miles down a terrible road, just to realize that they had it closed with a cattle gate and we'd have to turn around and retrace our steps. We drove down to May Camp Lake. We still did not see any wildlife except the omnipresent jack rabbits and one lonely antelope at the horizon line. We also drove northeast of the HQ as there is a quadrant marked as 'prairie dog town' (13). We did not see any prairie dog, we did see a hummingbird moth though, which was pretty much the most exciting specimen of the trip. Disappointed, we drove back to HQ where we asked the cattle ranchers where to go to spot anything. They sent us to the Holmes Park where we walked about the ancient lakebed and got eaten alive by mosquitoes (despite having showered with OFF deep woods). The only wildlife in sight were a few doves perched high on the trees. We did love the enchanted forrest made of willow trees and tumbleweeds. That was pretty cool. But again, no animals to observe or photograph. We gave up around 10 and drove away. On our way back into town we did spot a cute barn owl on a field's fence. That was about it for the trip but was not ON the ranch. So there. If you are looking for a place to view wildlife this is not it. There is not that much here to view. Just drive pre-dawn in any prairie area, and you'll see more antelope for free. PS: not sure if they usually charge you to just drive on the ranch land, but our instructor did collect $10 from each of us for the ranch. So yes. $10, no wildlife. Ugh.

Incredible experience!!! The tent camping, delicious food was eaten on a long table set up beautifully, and great horses is an experience of a lifetime! Hurry- don't miss it!!

If you want authentic ranch experience, and you ride, then this is THE place to go. Last reviewer only went for wildlife. We actually did see a lot but from the back of a horse. Not sure what they are talking about, but hey that's Yelp... Get on a horse and learn, work, herd cattle. This is no spa resort, not for beginner riders - get out of the truck and straight into the saddle. It attracts loyal customers and we had an amazing experience. Nick and Duke were just awesome. The real deal!