James Ranch Farm and Harvest Grill

In the high-altitude Animas River Valley 10 miles north of Durango, cattle graze contentedly, oblivious to the visitors munching grass-fed burgers at a nearby food cart. Everything on the buns— from meat patty to pickles to cheese to bacon to onion and lettuce— is raised here on the ranch. So are life-of-luxury pigs that are fattened up on the whey from the James Ranch cheese.

Simply parking yourself at a picnic table near the green pastures and the red-rock bluffs to enjoy some true farm-to-table cuisine is a road-trip treat. But this sustainable and holistic operation started by the James family in 1961 offers visitors more. Agritourists can reserve a tour of this 400-acre farm on an electric cart or an old-fashioned wagon. Magical twilight tours can be arranged to coincide with catered dinners under the towering cottonwoods. For the kids, the ranch offers friendly goat and docile cow petting, and families can enjoy music under the ranch’s covered stage.

The sweet little James Ranch Market is a stopwidely known for meat and cheese shopping. But there are also chickens and their

Canyons of the Ancients Guest Ranch

The road leading to Canyons of the Ancients Guest Ranch is known variously as Robbers’ Path andmormon Road. Earlymormons trundled over it on their difficult journey to Utah. And legend has it that Butch Cassidy hid some of his stolen loot along it. Visitors now know it as the path to a gorgeous ranch getaway.

Ranch owners Garry and Ming Adams have an eclectic mix of luxury cabins in the cottonwood groves and pastures of a ranch tucked into an area with more than 5,000 documented archeological sites. You can feel akin to the Ancient Ones by renting the pueblo-stylemokee House. Feeling more in the Gunsmoke mode? The historic Elden