Coffee Creek Ranch

I spent the best summer of my life working as a wrangler/​horse trainer at Coffee Creek Ranch and was also lucky enough to come back as a paying guest twice since! It is one of the only authentic guest ranches on the West Coast (I have worked at others since that claimed 5 stars and never once had as much fun as I did at CCR). The trails and mountains are beautiful, the horses well behaved and healthy, the food is AMAZING, and the cabins are adorable!
I was even able to be there recently for the Thanksgiving holiday to reunite with or meet just about every member of the Hartman family! It was pretty incredible to get to enjoy the ranch and the gorgeous Trinity Alps in the winter for the first time too.
I cannot even believe some of these scathing reviews I just read! I can understand frustration if you feel like your expectations weren’t met in a situation where you paid money, but this particular experience was such an isolated one that it simply doesn’t speak for the ranch/​accommodations/​etc. quality as a whole.
Coffee Creek Ranch is a family-​owned, family-​friendly mountain resort where people go to get away from the chaos of their daily lives and spend a few days (at least) and try out some of the many unique activities offered. It’s not a place to travel all the way too if you are going to rush or try to fit too much into only a few hours. In the entire time I worked there I don’t remember seeing one guests leave dissatisfied — except perhaps if they didn’t catch a fish, or over-​slept for the Breakfast Ride, or ran out of time to do karaōke on their last night or something like that!
I just reached out to Ruth again last week to schedule a romantic weekend getaway for myself and my boyfriend in May and I absolutely can’t wait!

My boyfriend and I spent a week there last summer and our time was Fantastic, especially the food. Amazing dinning experience everything was delicious and homemade the chocolate almond mousse cake was my favorite. Our cabin was clean and the scenery beautiful and quiet like we were all alone in the forest, which was nice considering home is Pasadena. The hayride was my favorite activity considering my boyfriend has had a rough year health wise, horse back riding was out of the question. Breathtaking scenery and a fun and more than an accommodating staff made this the best trip ever. Thank You All so much looking forward to visiting again soon.

i had a blast while I was there with my girlfriend! The food was pretty darn good (steak was done perfect) we went horseback riding and I was a little sore after a short ride but Ruth gave me some ice to ease my pain (I have a bad back but it looked fun so I had to do it). The staff were a nice especially Ruth the owner! I recommend this to any family or group it was a good time for sure.

I was part of Tom M. group. I choose to forgo the horse ride but I have a serious issue with the quality of the accomodations. The cabin we were assigned was at best described as filthy, no hot water, the bed sheets had been used by previous guests and we spent a good part of the night fully dressed and chasing spiders. We didn’t expect the Savoy but a modicum of cleanliness, particularly at those prices, was a reasonable expectation. No such luck!

I too was part of Tom M’s group and had a chuckle at reading the response from Coffee Creek Ranch. Tom’s critique was pointed and factual, the response was not. The 3 month delay in responding speaks to truth of the matter. In fact the only reason the online critique was posted was due to the lack of response to a private letter to the owner. I would also point out, this is a management issue as the young staffers had little to work with but did so with smiles and big hearts. We stayed in the «Grove» cabin and pictures on the website do not quite match what we experienced. What also is missing is the pic’s of the exterior’s peeling paint and weathered decks.

I brought 18 couples to the ranch as part of a car tour. I had promoted the opportunity to take a trail ride which was one of the primary reasons we choose to come to Coffee Creek. 22 folks signed up for the ride and it was scheduled WEEKS in advance for 3 pm. When we got to the stables, they only had enough horses for 10 – 12. The rest of the horses were on a multi-​day trip and were to have returned by 1 so as to be ready for our ride. It took nearly an hour to get the 12 remaining horses ready (most of their equipment was on the other horses so they were piecing things together). The rest of the folks gave up after OVER and hour of waiting never getting the ride they had paid for.
The rest of us gathered around the pool. Despite our arriving around 2pm, the pool area was full of pine needles on the furniture, decks, chairs, and in the pool. While there was one fellow starting to clean it, it should have been done before we arrived.
Many of the cabins are literally ready to fall down. There was a blue tarp on one of the roofs to keep water out. Many of the decks on the cabins had extensive rot. My cabin floor was so slanted that the doors would swing open unless latched. The carpet had large holes in it from it as if bugs were eating it. Others in our party expressed similar quarters.
Communication was very poor. At check-​in, no one was advised that dinner would be on the other side of the river, a fair distance from the actual dining hall. The only folks advised of the location were the folks who were waiting for the horses that did not arrive. The rest of us showed up at the dinner hall.
Weeks in advance of our event, the owner had offered to include a hay ride after dinner along with a bonfire with desert after dinner and I had promoted this to the group as another feature during our stay. Upon arrival, I inquired and was told by one of the ranch hands that he knew nothing about that and that it was unlikely as the draft horses were ‘not in good shape.” It did not occur. Nor was there any communication to us as to whether the bonfire event would happen. After dinner, most of us returned to the cabins. After most had left, they told the remaining folks about it. End result: Most did not participate.
After dinner, I expressed my dismay to the owner regarding the lack of horses and that I expected a refund to compensate those who were not able to ride and that we would discuss in the morning.
During breakfast, the owner was collecting from those who had purchased a beer the earlier night. One couple told her that they had NO hot water in there cabin. Her response was that they must have missed turning the heater on, but she proceeded to insist on collecting for the two beer and a glass of wine. Wouldn’t you think an apology and a comp for the $ 12 beer tab been in order as token of regret?
When I tried to find the owner before our departure to discuss the partial refund for the horse disaster and a rebate to the couple who had no water, she disappeared and the staff could not find her. I followed up with a letter requesting a refund of $ 100 for each person who did not get their ride and $ 100 for the folks with no water… a very reasonable request in light of the fact she had charged us $ 600/​couple for the one night. She never responded!
I will be encouraging our club members to write their own reviews so as many prospective guests will be made aware of the incompetent and unethical operation at Coffee Creek.

Thank Ruth! You and your staff gave our group of 70 a night to remember! The steak dinner and all the trimmings were absolutely amazing! You went above and beyond with the live music and we all had so much fun. You put so much work in to making us happy and we have decided to definitely make this a tradition! We will be back and thank you for making it such a special night!

We had been here three times in the past and loved it; from the horses, the staff and the food. This time it was very disappointing. Could not check-​in till 6pm, only 3 wranglers, no nightly activities. Terrible for the price and compared to our other experiences. We had always recommended Coffee Creek but not now. We know that Ruth has a hard life currently but people should know the difference now. The visit was in early August, high season.

Went here last summer. Was great. Got the big cabin and it accomodated me, spouse, and our four children. We had little white maltipoo dog and they were ok with us having him with us too but we had to keep in the room restricted and not running around outside cuz something might eat him.
Rooms: nice, no issues with cleanliness nor with hot water. Everything was just like a ranch should be.. . Drive right up so unloading bags was easy.
Food: outstanding. Home-​cooked goodness. dining room is very bonanza-​like — loved it.. Did I mention that the food was outstanding? BTW.. the food was outstanding. Everything fresh…even they made thanksgiving dinner for us and it wasn’t even thanksgiving.…did a beef rib cook out with all the fixing’s !.. . great fruit, salads, etc. . bfast was all you could eat goodness. .eggs, pancakes, waffles, cereal fruit, sausauge bacon, potatos, coffee, etc. etc. etc.. juice you name it.. .lunches equally good and packed lunches for the trail in saddlebags were outstanding.. .. . chuckwagon breakfast trailride was good eating. .. desserts and cookies all homemade awesome goodness. .
horses: awesome corral and tack facility.. kids learned to groom, pick hooves, saddle and bridle.. . lots of freedom on the trail plus trot/​canter/​galloping lessons in the corral too.…
flyfishing in the creek: walk out cabin, cross the road, there is the stream (20 – 30 foot wide freestone stream) caught six 7−12″ wild trout in the creek within a 30 minute span.. . awesome dry fly stream with opportunistic feeding fish that are not picky. . threw them all back of course using barbless hooks.. bring your own gear.
rifle range. . shot .22lr with my kids at the range.. awesome fun. brought our own little target .22 rifle for target shooting everyone loved it.. they have .22lr as well but better if you bring your own and bring your own ammo. .. .
archery — wanted to try with kids but no time…opted to ride horses instead during 4 day /​3 night stay
hayride — lotsa fun. . giant horses to pull the wagon…and came with a little giant colt too !
pool — heated swimming, nice patio area, kids had fun
internet — yes ! TV — no ! :)
staff — mark, norman, casey, ruth, yes. . all awesome, hospitable, down to earth hardworking honest folks doing 100% their best and what they love God bless them all for wonderful family experience.
scheduling. . pretty much you make your own schedule and do what, when, where whenever and wherever you want. . very accomodating folks.
will come back again when able
P. S. we drove up from Orange County, California and it was worth every mile.
one last thing„ , the food was awesome !

My sister and I asked my mom what she wanted for her birthday. She said that SHE wanted to take US (me, sis, bro-​in-​law and 2 kids) to a Dude Ranch for a week. Who were we to refuse?
Well, we tried 3 times to go to Coffee Creek, and we finally made it! The first time we were scheduled, Northern California caught on fire, and although the ranch was not affected, we decided to postpone our trip. With 2 kids and an asthmatic wheezebag (me) in the group, we thought a destination full of smoke and ash just wasn’t a good idea. We rescheduled for another date, but then one of the owners had to have surgery, and they closed a little early for the season. So we finally got it all together, and we went in July 2009, and had a fantastic time.
The ranch is set up really nicely, with lots of cabins kind of nestled in the woods. Some are close to the main building, and some are a little further away, but only about a 5 minute walk. (They put my family all the way out, that was probably a good idea!) There’s a pool, a game room, a bar, a river, lots of horses, a pond with paddle boats (don’t fall in, the pond is kinda yucky), skeet shooting, archery, a hoedown, a rodeo, seriously, so much to do! It’s like summer camp for kids and adults.
Tim and Erin were our wranglers, and they were awesome! Super nice people, just like all of the staff there.
Just watch out for the food, it’s pretty heavy cowboy fare. I was in veggie withdrawal the whole time.