Dude Ranch near Bay Area

Our weekend at SZ Ranch was PERFECT !!!

We were 2 families with 6 children (ranging from 9 to 2 years old), sharing the Art House. The house is beautiful, what an amazing view to wake up to!!! It is fully facilitated (all we needed to bring was food). It was so comfortable and spacious. We had some guests over on Saturday and we all fitted comfortably in the house.

Tim and Michelle are very nice and hospitable couple. They accommodated our every need and were more then happy to help with the animals (explaining and activity wise) and hiking around the area.

Our children were happy to roam free in nature and learn about farm life, as were we.

The place is very peaceful and quiet, we enjoyed the fresh air and endless nature (hiking was fun).

We highly recommend this place - great house, wonderful people, amazing nature and endless fun.

With family members living far apart, it was a good environment to catch up and get to know new members. There are many things to do, so every one could enjoy themselves. Good place to learn how a ranch works is you have never been on a ranch before. House is spacious and has all the facilities. No tv, but is not needed. Good internet. Great hosts.

We city folks arrived to Tim and Michelle's beautiful, visually stunning ranch property and like other reviewers have said, did NOT want to leave. The "Artists Studio," sitting in a valley of golden hills, along a winding picturesque country road, was perfect for our group of 10, with plenty of group or private spaces to hang out. The peaceful back deck on the house underneath a giant oak was were we ate our meals, played board games, and just took in the fresh air, punctuated by the sounds of an occasional cow lowing from across the valley. In the distance, we might catch the faint sound of a horse whinny. Yes, really! At night, a virtual canopy of millions of stars had us speechless. We strolled over to the main ranch house and happened upon a delightful yet probably typical day-on-the-ranch tableau. In the clean, spacious, covered horse arena, Michelle was teaching six 10 year old girls about how to teach your horse to walk. In the barn, Michelle and Tim's daughter was fresh from the county fair that morning with her own lamb (to me, this lamb looks like a GIANT SHEEP, bigger than a large dog) that she would care for during the year. As she stroked her lamb, she patiently stood and answered all of our questions about life on the ranch, animals, and going to school in a one room school house down the road. Tim was working with a couple of ranch hands moving wood in a tractor. Yup. A REAL farmer's tractor, just like in the story books. Everyone works hard but will stop what they are doing to make sure you have all you need and answer any of your city-kid questions. Meanwhile, the lamb escapes. I want to panic. The work hands deftly steer their horses so as to corral the lamb without frightening it. Tim lopes over, picks up his lasso, spins it, and has the lamb gently captured as his young daughter expertly slides in from behind the lamb and grabs its leash.... bridle?? Does it get any better? Oh yes it does! At night, we again stroll to the main house after hearing rumors of roasted marshmallows being available. 6 or 8 young ranch hands are sitting around the campfire. Tim and Michelle are out on an anniversary date. Before we know it, these young kids are playing guitar and singing for us. They each tell how inspirational Tim and Michelle have been in their lives. We sing along under the stars. What a magical place. We realize that all weekend, we never logged in to check our emails. THAT says it all. Book this place. You won't regret it!

What a great experience. The people who run this place - Tim and Michelle - are fantastic hosts. Their kids live on the ranch with them and they are great hosts too. This ranch only recently started allowing guests to stay overnight which probably explains why there are so few reviews.

This ranch is like a Dude Ranch where you can sleep over, and learn about all things related to ranch life, including riding horses, saddling them, brushing them, feeding them, learning to throw a lasso rope, and driving cattle. We had a great experience horse back riding. We learned how to prepare the horses and saddle them for the ride. After the ride, we learned how to take the riding gear off and wash down and brush the horses. We got to do a "cattle drive" moving them from one fenced area to another. Felt like a scene from City Slickers.

You also can shoot guns They have flying clays or targets to shoot at. They also have archery and other activities. We sat out at our own campfire right outside our house, roasted marshmallows and watched the stars. There also is a fire pit in a larger group area where you can meet other guests and the family that runs the ranch.

This ranch is the closest place I know of near Pinnacles National Park where you can stay overnight. 8 mile drive from the ranch. But we were so busy at the ranch, we hardly had time to visit the Pinnacles.

Prices are more than reasonable. What a great experience for the whole family - you will do and learn things you can't do anywhere else.

The Ranch is also a wedding venue and a place for family reunions and corporate events. I hope to plan a family reunion there in the near future. Nothing else like it that I know of so close to the Bay Area.

This was a great getaway, but close enough for a relaxed weekend. My wife and two kids (ages 12 and 14) came here for a few days and didn't want to leave. The ranch is nestled in a narrow valley with beautiful views in all directions. The artist's studio has this huge wall of windows that look out across the valley, so you can just sit back and take it all in without leaving the couch. But when you want some fun activity, there are so many options, horseback lessons and trail riding, hayrides to the back country, clay pigeon shooting, and even a nice local hike up the hills with a spectacular view including Pinnacles national park. Of course, Pinnacles is just minutes away and if you have not visited, it's a must see too. But I would agree with other reviews that you could spend a whole week here relaxing, riding, and enjoying the other activities on the ranch. The family that runs the ranch is very welcoming and always available if you need something. The one recommendation I would make is to be sure to bring all the food and drink you want if coming just for the weekend -- the closest real shopping is at least 30 minutes away and you'll not want to break up your stay with a shopping trip.