Hi I'm wondering if anyone has any ideas for ranch or farm vacations?

I am travelling up to Florida from the Virgin Islands in summer with my 2 children and would like to find somewhere to go afterwards for a week or so, anywhere in the US or Canada, really. Nowhere too massive, some of the ranches seem to have hundreds of guests at a time, which is not really what I'm after. More a family-run kind of place, I guess.

The kids will be aged 6 and 3 when we travel, so I'd like somewhere that lets even the little one ride (lots of them seem to not allow riding before age 6).

Any suggestions gratefully received

Check out The Griffin Ranch, Ft. McCoy, FL. They have a facebook page and a website, www.thegriffinranch.com. A friend of mine lives there and she posts some great pics, doesn't seem like a huge resort type place but they have horses and animals and there are trail rides, etc. I hope this helps.

Thanks very much, SarahJane. I will have a look. I've also found a great looking place called the Sweet Grass ranch in Montana, if anyone has heard of or been there?

Tortolian--I don't want to offend you, but you know that Montana is a whole loooooong way from Florida, right? You're going to fly from Florida to the ranch? I think you're going to have a hard time finding a place that accomodates your wish for the very small children to be able to ride.

He he thanks Carol, no offense taken! Yes, we were thinking of flying from Orlando to Billings.

The Sweet Grass ranch only takes 20-odd guests at a time and will allow children of any age to ride, as long as they can sit up and hold the reins. That's one of the appealing things to me.

OK, no problem. <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/Smile.gif" alt="" /> A friend of mine here in Ohio had a friend who was born on ST. Maarten come to visit him in Ohio. The Sint Maartener wanted to know if they could take a drive to see the Grand Canyon, as he'd always wanted to see it. <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/Grin.gif" alt="" />

Best wishes with finding a neat place to visit!

Rocking Horse Ranch

Mohonk Mountain House

======================
Two popular resorts in the same general area...

Thank you Bobcat. I will look at those too.

I was totally like your friend from St Martin when I first went to the States, Carol - I traveled around by train in a giant circle round the 'edge' of the lower 48 from, and back to, Miami before I finally began to understand the scale.

The kids think 30 minutes in the car is a loooong journey, so this could be interesting <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/Yikes.gif" alt="" />

OK, should be a really fun and educational trip for the kids!!! <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/Smile.gif" alt="" />

Montana is amazing. We try to get up there every other year or so. Truly beautiful country. Colorado is also pretty nice with lots of ranches that would meet your needs. Colorado is also a little bit easier and less expensive to get to if that is a concern. There is an association of ranches that can be found at www.coloradoranch.com Happy trails!