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We’re often asked what it’s like living on Lakeview OR Guest Ranch, in Oregon’s “outback,” where each day is linked to the land, the seasons, the rustic way of life. What’s it like to go for days without the sound of a vehicle, to ride among the cattle checking for newborn calves, to gather fresh eggs for a hearty breakfast, to feel peace with the rising sun in the morning and wonder at the blanket of Oregon stars each night?
Well, browse through our Lakeview Oregon Dude Ranch site for a sampling of the sights at Willow Springs an Oregon Bed & Breakfast, and while you browse, try to imagine a sky so blue it looks like a jewel, the pungent smell of juniper and sagebrush on a warm mid-day breeze. Here it’s easy to believe that the sweet scent of wildflowers is the same fragrance enjoyed by the Native Americans who once walked this country. We like to think of our Oregon Family Guest Ranch, Willow Springs as a place where the essence of days gone by intertwines with the moments of our lives today. |
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| Your hosts: Patty, Keith, and Sarah Barnhart. |
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It is our intent that you have the most enjoyable and relaxing stay possible at our Oregon Dude Ranch. From our comfortable cabin rooms to our specialty campfire cuisine to our slow-paced lifestyle, we wish for you to immerse yourself in the hospitality we provide.
Need a suggestion of how to spend a day? We’ll give you plenty of options for your Oregon Guest Ranch Vacation and Oregon Dude Ranch Vacation . Prefer to sit on your front porch or luxuriate in the wood-fired hot tub? We’ll provide the scenery of rimrocks and meadows. If you are celebrating a special occasion, let us know when you make your reservations and we’ll come up with something special to commemorate the event. |
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The snow-capped peaks of the Fremont National Forest are a backdrop for ranch headquarters in early spring. This is big country, where a hiker or rider can go for miles and never see another soul. Standing on the top of rim rocks or on a mountain pass, you can almost feel what it’s like to be an eagle. An eagle's view of the Oregon Guest Ranch headquaters. |
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| An eagle’s view of the ranch headquarters. |
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Willow Springs is not just an Oregon Dude Ranch. We operate a real working cattle operation. The stock is moved from pasture to pasture, from lower meadows to those at a higher elevation. If you happen to be here during one of the times of transition you are welcome to join in. Riding behind a herd of cows with their babies trotting along side is peaceful ranch work.
You have time to enjoy the local flora that seems to change with every rise in elevation, the squirrels that scamper beside the trail, a myriad of birds that inhabit the ranch. It’s not unusual to glimpse mule deer and antelope on these journeys. And we always have time to stop and allow the camera buffs to capture a memory. |
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| Cattle drive to the upper meadows. |
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| Antique horse-drawn mower. |
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Visit the “Sagebrush Museum” at this Oregon Ranch headquarters. There you’ll find a collection of horse-drawn equipment displayed, historic evidence of man’s partnership with the land and the equine. There are many places on the ranch where you can find vestiges of former inhabitants: the old homestead, part of which is still standing; a sheepherder’s campsite, caves in which dates from the early 1900’s are etched along with the names of those who did the etching. If you listen hard enough you can almost hear the whisper of ancient voices. |
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