Elkhorn Ranch

Many True West readers live in snow country, and perhaps you’re one of them.

Chances are as you look up from these pages and out the window, the ground is white from last night’s snowfall, and your driveway is still waiting to be plowed. Imagine, then, being on the back of a horse beneath a robin’s-egg-blue sky, with the sun warming your shoulders as you ride across the Southern Arizona desert.

That’s exactly what the Elkhorn Ranch offers. Located 11⁄2 hours southwest of Tucson, this 32-person guest ranch sits near the Mexican border in secluded Sabino Canyon. The Baboquivari Mountains provide a picturesque backdrop to the 10,000-acre ranch, which borders the open desert of the Altar Valley.

In 1945, Ernest and Grace Miller came down from Montana, looking to establish a winter dude ranch. Today, the third generation of the Miller family, Charley, Mary and Tom, continue the tradition begun by their grandparents. The Elkhorn remuda has 120 horses, suitable for riders of any caliber. When not riding, guests can also enjoy hiking, tennis, swimming in the 50-foot heated pool or honing their gun skills on the pistol and rifle range. And did I mention food? Try three home-cooked meals a day, including a weekly picnic cooked outside over an open fire.

And now you’d better take care of your snow-covered driveway.

— R.G. Robertson