Dude ranch?
 

Does anybody have a recommendation for a family (kids age 8 & 11) dude ranch stay? We want fishing, horseback riding, campfires, etc.

Thanks,
Allison

I've not been to one, but you might check out this web site for the Arizona Dude Ranch Association: http://www.azdra.com/

Two families I know rave about Rankin Ranch in the foothills east of Bakersfield. Depending on where you live in Calif. this might be a good alternative.

The most recent visitors went in August and were a upper-middle class family of five. Mom, Dad, and three boys (ages 15, 12, 7). Believe me, these are not "campground" kind of people, and they have already planned their return trip for next summer. The 15 year old went with a typical teenager's sneer that it was going to be lame. He told his parents afterwards that even if he had a job next summer, he'd find a way to get a week off to return!

http://www.rankinranch.com/

I believe they reopen in April.

There are a ton of dude ranches in the Texas Hill Country (central Texas). The areas around the towns of Fredericksburg, Kerrville, New Braunfuls, Hunt, Bandera, Medina, etc. abound with nice ranch-type places to stay

Some off the top of my head:
Lazy Hills Guest Ranch
Flying L Guest Ranch
Mo Ranch
The Y-O Ranch

All have web sites... unfortunately, I don't have time to look them up right now...

You might also want to try looking in http://www.texasmonthly.com for places.