The Dude Ranchers’ Association: A Cody Treasure

In downtown Cody, Wyoming, the Dude Ranchers’ Association has its offices and a small museum on 12th Street across from the Irma Hotel. This building also serves as the office for their Dude Ranch Foundation, the fundraising arm that is growing into much more.

Dude Ranch Beginnings

Dude Ranching began with the Eaton brothers, who moved west and established a horse and cattle ranch in North Dakota in 1879. Their friends from the East received letters of life out West and came to visit, enjoying extended stays on the ranch. Though eventually they realized the costs involved and asked to pay their way so they could stay as long as they wanted. They charged $10 per week, which would be about $275 in today’s dollars.

After a wildfire and harsh winter, they took a look at the numbers. Welcoming visitors to their ranch made sense, and they turned it into a business venture. Seeking out a new location to provide better riding terrain, they built Eatons’ Ranch outside of Sheridan, WY, in 1904. By 1917, the ranch could host 125 guests and had 7000 acres, 500 horses, and several hundred head of cattle.

From those humble beginnings, an industry grew that continues to this day. By 1926, existing ranches decided to band together to form the Dude Ranchers’ Association. They had five objectives and ended with six:

1. Establish cooperation among ranchers and railroad officials
2. Discuss the transportation and proper care of guests
3. Create advertising and publicity for the association
4. Standardize practices
5. Create an efficient sales organization
6. Protection of fish and game

Larry Larom of Valley Ranch outside of Cody, WY, on South Fork, became their first president, and 26 ranches signed up as charter members. Their headquarters were located at the Northern Hotel in Billings from 1928 through 1940, when the hotel tragically burned, along with all association records. Their headquarters remained in Billings until the 1970s, when they moved to Cody.

Today, there are about 90 ranches in the association that follow strict hospitality standards. They still provide a home away from home, with unique opportunities to connect with nature, friends, family, and yourself.

Bryce Albright grew up immersed in the industry and stepped into leadership early, becoming Executive Director of the Dude Ranchers’ Association at just 22 years old. A former Dude Ranch Foundation scholarship recipient, she took the helm amid the fallout of the covid pandemic and has helped guide member ranches through a renewed surge of interest in the dude ranch experience.

The 7D ranch in Sunlight Basin. Photo Credit: Janet Jones, SnowMoon Photography

Seven DRA Ranches in the Cody Area

• Rimrock Ranch
• 7D Ranch
• Crossed Sabres Ranch
• Hideout Lodge & Guest Ranch
• UXU Ranch
• Shoshone Lodge and Guest Ranch
• Blackwater Creek Ranch

Dude Ranch Foundation Beginnings

Giving Back Through Scholarships

In the late 1980s and early 1990s, the association sought a way to give back to the ranching community. It was decided to form a 501(c)(3) organization to gather tax-deductible funds for scholarships. These funds support the future of the dude ranching industry with financial assistance and encouragement to students pursuing an educational program that will lead to a career preserving our Western way of life.

Since its inception, the Foundation has awarded nearly half a million dollars in scholarships, including $30,000 to young people in eleven states across the country last year alone. In addition to its core scholarship program, the Foundation partners with Durango Boots to present the $30,000 National Day of the Cowgirl Scholarship to one exceptional young woman each year. Durango Boots formally presents a check to the recipient on the arena floor at the National Finals Rodeo each December in Las Vegas.

After leading the DRA for nearly twenty years and staying on as the Foundation’s first director, Colleen Hodson recently retired. Josie Hedderman has now stepped up to take the reins as the current director. With a background in non-profit event management, hospitality, marketing, and packaged travel, Hedderman thrives in connecting people with history through elevated experiences.

Foundation Grows to Include More

Horse Safety Programs

As the Foundation has grown, so have the key initiatives. In addition to the scholarships, they offer Horse Safety Programs that certify ranches and wranglers, assuring that the horses, the heart and soul of dude ranches, are receiving the best care possible. A wrangler training is hosted at the UXU ranch on the North Fork each spring.

Educational Outreach

In addition, the Foundation focuses on education. This is where the museum located in Cody comes into play. Open six days a week in the summer, this free museum showcases many items from its archives.

In celebration of the Dude Ranchers’ Association’s 100th anniversary, the current exhibits will be replaced by a landmark portrait photography exhibition featuring the work of photographer Scott T. Baxter, drawn from his body of work in the companion coffee-table book, “100 Years of Dude Ranching,” available in hardcover now. Watch for more on this as we get closer to the May 2026 opening of the exhibit.

A peek inside 100 Years of Dude Ranching book featuring the images of Scott T. Baxter.

Coupled with the museum, the Foundation plans to expand to include a research archives area. This will give researchers another resource for deeper research into the history of dude ranches. Volunteer, Mary Lappan, is already digging into their archives to organize them better, and down the road, the Foundation will consider accepting items for accession into the collections.

Out of this has also come the resurgence of their magazine, Lariat Legacy. A delightfully refreshing peek into the lifestyle that is the dude ranch. Pick up a copy of the magazine at the office in Cody.

Preservation of Ranchlands

More recently, the Foundation has taken on the role of helping to preserve the ranchlands that are so vital to this way of life. Their goal is to help ranchers actively manage their lands for the next 100 years through information and resources.

The Foundation achieves this goal through many means, including helping ranchers navigate the hundreds of programs available to acquire a conservation easement. Some Association member ranches have already navigated these waters and secured conservation easements, but more are interested in doing so.

Furthermore, they help ranchers manage range lands, rivers, and local ecosystems by providing information and connections to local and regional resources. They do all they can to help ranchers, from consulting with foresters to finding tax deductions for lost soil nutrients. They share information on regenerative grazing practices, no-plow tilling techniques, and more.

2025 Accomplishments

Here are a few of the Dude Ranch Foundation’s accomplishments in 2025:

• Received a transformational $250k contribution to a growing endowment
• Raised $37k in one day during WyoGives, placing 33 out of 432 nonprofits statewide
• Collaborated on a stunning coffee-table photography book celebrating century-old ranches
• Worked with Wyoming PBS to produce a full-length documentary honoring one hundred years of dude ranching
• Built new partnerships focused on the preservation and stewardship of ranchlands
• Administered a second $30,000 National Day of the Cowgirl scholarship alongside industry partner, Durango Boots
• Distributed $30,000 in scholarships to young people in eleven states across the country
• Conducted trainings for 170 wranglers across Wyoming, Montana, Colorado, and Arizona
• Welcomed 500+ visitors from across the U.S. and seven countries around the world to a free museum in downtown Cody
• Received a residential homesite gift from longtime dude ranch vacation enthusiasts

PBS Documentary

The Dude Ranchers’ Association’s centennial celebration convention is on January 26-30, 2026, with many interesting talks and presentations.

A premiere showing of the Wyoming PBS documentary Call of the West, an epic documentary chronicling the rise of the dude ranch, takes place Tuesday, January 27, 2026, at 6:30 pm at the DoubleTree by Hilton in downtown Billings. The event is free and open to the public.

Protecting a Way of Life

In this day and age, when so many see the ranching lifestyle as just for show, dude ranches offer a small glimpse into its reality. It gives people a chance to taste a different way of living – one in touch with the land and each other. Many families visit dude ranches to connect more deeply as they step away from the hustle and bustle of everyday city life.

Cody, Wyoming, is the perfect Western town for the Dude Ranchers’ Association’s and Foundation’s base of operations, fitting well with the town and its values. Learn more by stopping in or visiting their website.

Header Photo credit: Scott T. Baxter photography from the new book “100 Years of Dude Ranching: Celebrating the Centennial of the Dude Ranchers’ Association.”

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