Day Visits
Take a day trip to our dog-friendly ranch in the Sierra foothills near Sacramento. Guests can bring their pups to run off-leash and explore 60 private acres of fully fenced land on miles of trails with beautiful scenic views.
When you arrive at the hilltop house, the ranch owners/hosts will provide a brief orientation tour about the many fun things to do on the ranch including the dog-friendly swimming pond and private hiking trails. Next you and your dogs will get to meet the barn animals (horses, mini donkeys and chickens). After animal interactions have been safely enjoyed, you have free time to explore the ranch with access to the guest house (bathroom, kitchenette, and covered patio) and game room people-amenities too.
Our Day Visit online availability/booking calendar is always up-to-date so just select your preferred date/time to come visit. We only permit ONE FAMILY/GROUP AT A TIME so no worries about running into other guest dogs on the private ranch (there is a locked gate to prevent drop-ins). All friendly dogs welcome including all breeds and sizes!
More Info about your Day Visit
Day Visit guests get access to the many activities that previously overnight farm-stay guests have enjoyed on our private 60-acre ranch for many years. After a brief welcome orientation tour (with opportunity to use the guest bathroom, get water for the dogs, put lunch in fridge, etc), guests have time to hike the trails, swim in the pool-like pond, relax in the hot tub, and play various games such as foosball, ping pong, darts, basketball, pickleball, horseshoes, cornhole, and more. Our ranch is extremely dog-friendly so almost all of our guests bring their dogs to enjoy the ranch with them, though you're welcome to come without dogs and enjoy playing with our dogs and barn animals.
To ensure safety, we do barn animal intros soon after guests' arrival. We've had 100's of successful interactions of guest dogs with our barn animals who have learned that guests/dogs mean special treats! Many dogs get their curiosity appeased after getting close to our barn animals while others who aggressively bark/jump may need to remain on leash in the barn area. This is also a time for people to enjoy petting and feeding treats to our horses, mini donkeys and chickens (please ONLY give the special treats we provide).
Day Visits: Availability, Rates, and Booking
NOTE: After 11 wonderful years, 2024 was our final year of overnight rentals at the Ranch and our calendar booked up quickly! More info in our Jan 1, 2024 phase-down-to-retirement announcement e-newsletter including our plans to continue Day Visits for hopefully a few more years.
Day Visits make a fun day trip from Sacramento or the SF Bay Area: drive to Jackson in the morning, enjoy your afternoon at the Ranch, and then drive home in the evening with dinner along the way. OR spend the night in Jackson before or after your visit and have time to explore the Gold County. We've provided info on nearby lodging with distance to the Ranch, dog-friendly, etc.
- Book a visit for your family/group of up to 8 people and their dogs. NO big parties/events but small family celebrations are fine (e.g. family lunch with a birthday cake and a few friends).
- Choose between 3-hr mornings (9am-noon), 3-hr afternoons (1pm-4pm), or 5-hr midday (10am-3pm) visits. Or book BOTH 9am and 1pm visits to enjoy a 7-hr day (9am-4pm) at the Ranch.
- 3-hr visits cost $60/adult and $40/child. Midday timing means you're our only guests for the day so these 5-hr visits cost $90/adult and $60/child. Please note FAQ about children.
- "Book Now" shows available times for selected date, and provides a total quote for visit hours chosen. Booking online with secure Stripe payment provides instant confirmation.
Watch the video below for an aerial tour of the 60-acre property and get a feel for our dog-friendly ranch experience, including the miles of trails, swimming pond with dock diving, and more. Note that we still have horses and chickens, but no longer have llamas nor cattle at our ranch. Since this 2018 video, we've added 2 friendly mini donkeys who are very popular with our guests.
