Dude Ranches

During the late 19th century, the Wild West was famous for being a place where people could seek their fortune. Stories were told about cowboys, outlaws and gold mines.

People in Europe thought it sounded exotic and wanted to try it for themselves. Some clever cowboys found a good way to make money: tourists paid to spend a week on their ranch and experience life as a cowboy. These tourist ranches were called ‘dude ranches’, because a dude was the slang name for someone from the city who wore fancy clothes.