'Cowboy experience' gets popular in unexpected travel destinations
Resorts and hotels are increasingly tailoring to guests looking for a Western experience.
With the cultural hype of all things country and cowboy continuing to hold strong through 2025, travelers are increasingly seeking out trips during which they ride horses, sleep under a starry night sky, and otherwise mirror the romanticized aesthetics and lifestyle of the American West during the last decades of the nineteenth century.
A recent report from flight-booking platform Skyscanner found that 44% of polled U.S. residents had shown an interest in "cowboy core" travel.
The travel style that is also commonly referred to as "frontier" and "Western" tourism has been singled out as a rising trip direction that is only set to increase in the coming years.
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A Western dude ranch experience in central Florida
While cowboy core travelers have traditionally sought out historic destinations such as Scottsdale in Arizona and Cody in Wyoming, destinations in very different parts of the U.S. have also been accommodating travelers looking for a Western experience.
Located an hour-and-a-half south of Orlando in Florida's Polk County, Westgate River Ranch Resort was originally built in the 1960s by local land development company Gulf American Corporation.
Repurchased by Westgate Resorts in 2001 and reopening its doors as a dude ranch for tourists, the property has in the modern age become perfectly positioned for travelers with all things cowboy on the mind.
It offers a long-running Saturday Night Rodeo, fields with grazing Ankole-Watusi cattle known for their long distinctive horns, and accommodation ranging from "glamping" tents with beds and electricity to luxury tipi-style houses and covered wagons mirroring the types once used by pioneers.
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Spanning 1,700 acres, the ranch also offers traditional rodeo activities such as horseback rides through the forest, line dancing, buggy rides, and a shooting range, as well as more generalized ones like boat rides and a newly-opened water park.
The rodeo taking place weekly on Saturday nights lets visitors watch competitive riders perform activities such as bareback tricks, roping and barrel racing at the 1,200-seat arena. Image source: Westgate River Ranch
Looking for cowboy core internationally? It also exists
While Florida has its own history of cattle herding by everyone from local Seminole tribes to Spanish colonists and eventually American cowboys, it has almost all been relegated to the long-forgotten days of yore.
The ensuing decades brought Florida in new directions as a theme park, beach, and retirement destination. As such, Westgate River Ranch Resort currently holds the title of the largest dude ranch east of the Mississippi River and is a choice destination for East Coast residents looking for a Western experience closer to home.
Although cowboy core is most commonly associated with traditional Americana, hotels mirroring the Western aesthetic also exist all over the world. With its own extensive ranch history dating back to the Spanish colonial period, Mexico is home to luxury dude ranches like Rancho Las Cascadas and Baja Rancho La Bellota just south of San Diego in Baja California Sur.
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Australia's Byron Bay coastal town is home to the boutique resort Sun Ranch, sitting on 55 acres of farmland and built in the bold colors and natural texture design style of the 1970s.
In the Transylvania region of Romania, Bethlen Estates allow guests to immerse themselves in centuries-old history. They can traverse the Transylvanian Plateau and Carpathian Mountains by horse and stay at three 300-year-old guesthouses in the remote village of Cris.
Vistors can explore "the last great wilderness in Europe" with activities such as horseback riding, carriage rides, fishing, and walks through the surrounding forests.
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