Rocking Horse Ranch

Time: Weekend Get Away

Who: Families of tweens and younger only

Cost: Special Occasion

First things, first.

If you are a child free adult considering Rocking Horse Ranch, stop reading. This is not the place for you. As much as this place is a child’s paradise, it would be Dante’s 7th layer of hell for child free people. Parents, carry-on.

Abby and I visited Rocking Horse Ranch (RHR) for Girl Scout weekend and it was lovely. It is a place that guarantees your child will never say “I’m bored” and fun will be had by all. The resort is all inclusive except for adult beverages and souvenirs and can be as active or inactive as you choose. It was reminiscent of the resorts in the Catskills that were featured in “Dirty Dancing”. Every girl scout on the trip loved it, but it is not without its drawbacks.

Cost

I begin this section by saying that this portion of the review is not criticism of RHR; this section is for you to be fully aware of what kind of costs you may be incurring by going here.

I struggle with Rocking Horse Ranch because of one thing and one thing only, the price. This place is not inexpensive and we were only able to afford it because it was Girl Scout weekend and a discount was available. When I priced out an average room for a two-night weekend the cost was over $1,200. Is this a good price for all that is included? Probably, it just feels like a lot to pay for what felt to me like a glorified hotel vacation. I know why the cost is there, the care of the horses, unlimited food during meals and insurance, but I am not sure I would spend it without the discount.

Now, in all fairness, the rooms can accommodate up to 8 people with a cot so this may be a great time to take a joint family adventure and split the cost. By traveling with another family everything does fall into an affordable range, but keep in mind, each room only has one bathroom.

How Do You Get There?

• Drive (See google maps for directions) From NYC the drive is about an hour and a half.

• Take a train to Poughkeepsie. The resort will pick you up from the train station.

The Experience

The amount of activities available at RHR is impressive and all inclusive. This description will be touch long to get to everything we did.

We began our time there by checking into our rooms so the girls could get ready and jump into the center piece of the lobby, the indoor pool. They are in the process of remodeling the rooms and it is needed; nothing looked worn down but it did look dated. The pool itself is fine, standard indoor water park pool that wasn’t too different from a Great Wolf Lodge. There was also a small indoor splash pad and water slide that the kids could access as well. What I did not like is that due to the layout your kids could easily be out of view unless you either sat in one area or followed them around the pool. Yes, there are life guards, but I do not recall seeing one near the outdoor hot tub section which is accessible from the indoors.

After swimming we went to dinner which gave three options to choose from and a kids menu. There was also a dessert buffet available as well even thought smores were being made later in the evening. I struggled a little bit with the dinner entrees, but I could have also ordered an additional entrée simply because the first one was gross and it would not have been an issue. Breakfast was the highlight and I was grateful for the picnic lunches because the dinners were lacking. Again, everything is all you can eat.

The next morning we went mountain tubing, which we also did at some point the night before, and that was a blast. Kids and adults alike will enjoy it. To see videos of the experience, see our Instagram page and soon to be YouTube channel. Since horseback riding was scheduled after lunch, we opted for the dry activities first. These were laser tag, bungee trampolines, mini golf, ping pong and the rock wall climbing. Basketball was also available.

After lunch, we went horse back riding. It was available on all days of the trip; you just needed to sign up or hope for standby. One thing I did appreciate is that they make everyone wear a disposable shower cap under their helmets. The horses were great and the ranch hands were right there making sure every one was safe. Friendly reminder that you need to bring pants and tennis shoes for horseback riding. You might also be taken off guard by how high up you are once you are on a horse.

After horseback riding it was back to the pool. On day one the weather for the outdoor pool was too cold, but they got to enjoy it on day two. The indoor/outdoor hot tub was luke warm but it is like this at most hotels as well. If anyone knows of a hotel hot tub that is actually hot, please drop me a line. Day two was more of the same and somewhere during the weekend karaoke and a magic show were available. Canoeing and a ride on a banana boat were other included options. In the winter, the focus changes to snow activities with skiing and sledding.

Packing List

This packing list is a little bit tricky because it will change based on the time of year you go so, I am focusing on must-pack items specific to RHR.

• Pants for horse back riding

• Tennis shoes or boots for horse back riding. No crocs

• Multiple bathing suits

• Ziploc bags for wet clothing.

ADA Information

• I did not see anything specific on their website, but the hotel is wheelchair accessible. I didn’t see anything that was specific for kids with ASD, visual or hearing impairments.

Would I go again……….

There are some experiences that make me ask myself, “How much money would you have to make for this price to feel okay?” RHR was one of them. Ultimately, for us, the pool and the playground were the most utilized parts of the stay—and I can book those for a lot less. For that reason, it’ll probably be a one and done for us, and other resorts with similar models will likely be skipped as well.

However, if you’re a family looking for a lot of activities in one place, or if this is meant to be your main vacation, then this can be a great fit. Aside from the dinner, I really don’t have any complaints. The space is thoughtfully designed, the staff were lovely, and the showers were hot. The beds had the best hotel pillows I’ve ever slept on—an unexpected bonus. It’s quiet and slow, which can be a refreshing change from the pace of the city and makes for a relaxing getaway.

Is it for everyone? Clearly not. But it might be for you. Drop me a line if you have questions or want feedback about a specific feature—I’d love to hear your thoughts.