Colorado is the No. 1 state for travelers looking for the best Wild West experience, a new study says.
Three cities and one town in Colorado finished in the top 5 of Wild West destinations, according to a study done by InsureMyTrip, a travel insurance comparison website. The study analyzed 50 cities and towns in seven states that were once part of the Wild West and compared them based on various criteria, including average cost of ranch-style accommodations, number of hotels with horseback riding and number of nature and wildlife parks.
Steamboat Springs, a small skiing town in Yampa Valley about 155 miles northwest of Denver, ranked first. It has 142 hotels that offer horseback riding and about 20 nature and wildlife parks in its small town, according to the study.
Steamboat rated highly for ranch-style accommodations but at an expensive price: Nightly lodging averages $579 during high season. The town also has an average summer temperature of 63.9 degrees, which can be ideal, InsureMyTrip says, because horses prefer exercising in 53.6-66.2 temperatures.
Colorado cities in the top 5 are No. 2 Durango, No. 3 Estes Park and No. 4 Colorado Springs. The non-Colorado locale in the elite five is No. 5 West Yellowstone, Montana. Besides Colorado and Montana, the study evaluated cities and towns in Arizona, California, Idaho, Texas and Wyoming.
“With more travelers looking to tap into their inner cowboy and explore the Great West, we wanted to make it easier to find the best spots for a true Wild West experience,” says Sara Boisvert, InsureMyTrip’s marketing director. “These destinations offer something special for anyone chasing that frontier feeling: horseback riding, ranch stays or just soaking in the scenery.”
Durango, about 335 miles southwest of Denver and 220 miles north of Albuquerque, New Mexico, scored highly for number of lodgings with horseback riding, average cost of ranch-style accommodations and average temperature. The city is among the most affordable for lodging.
It is known for its Victorian-era architecture and the scenic Durango & Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad. The city has been a backdrop in more than 145 Western films, including The Revenant, The Mask of Zorro and Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid.
Estes Park, about 65 miles north of Denver and the gateway to Rocky Mountain National Park, scored highly in the study because of its ranch-style accommodations, affordable lodging and 10 nature and wildlife parks.
Following No. 4 Colorado Springs and No. 5 West Yellowstone in the rankings are No. 6 Tucson, Arizona; a 7th-place tie between Granby, Colorado and Harrison, Idaho, and an 8th-place tie between Douglas and Cody, Wyoming.
According to a March story in Vogue, “a renaissance” of Western fashion and a Wild West travel trend have emerged. The magazine said the emergence can be atributed to Beyoncé’s Grammy-winning Cowboy Carter album, the popularity of Western melodrama Yellowstone, Netflix’s Dallas Cowboys cheerleaders docuseries and other factors.
“Dubbed cowboy-core, an increasing number of travelers are saddling up to visit destinations where 10-gallon hats are as common as caps and where ranches and rodeos reign,” the Vogue story said.