FUN FACTS ABOUT C LAZY U
The C Lazy U Ranch first became a guest Ranch in 1919.
2019 marked our 100th year as an operating guest Ranch. A book featuring the ranch’s history is available in the store.
Our original marketing slogan was “Horseback riding, Bear Hunting, and All You Can Eat Steak and Apple Pie.” Not much has changed!
C Lazy U Ranch has access to more than 8,500 acres of private land, and is the ultimate mountain getaway, sitting at 8,200 feet in elevation.
More than a vacation destination, the C Lazy U Ranch is an authentic working ranch:
- Producing approximately 300 tons of hay per year.
- Irrigating our hayfields and pastures.
- Caring for almost 200 horses, seasonal cow herds, and 3 donkeys.
- Using traditional ranch equipment including a variety of trucks, tractors, and implements.
The ranch is home to Sicilian Donkeys: Tilly and Wilbur. They are quite famous, making frequent appearances in Denver, and for the Colorado Rockies’ annual season opener baseball game.
Tilly and Wilbur are more than a cute face, they have a very important job at the ranch…protecting the herd. That’s right, little Tillly and Wilbur help keep the horses safe by braying and kicking at any predators that might threaten the herd.
David Craig, our former General Manager, wrote the children’s book “Petey & Wolf” which is a story about a donkey named Petey and several horses in our herd. It is available for sale at the Mercantile at Luis’ Old Place.
Six days each week during our summer season, in the morning and evening, our entire herd of 200 horses “jingles” in and out of the pasture. The name “jingle” comes from a time when ranchers would put cow bells on their horses so they could find them in the early morning hours.
All horses move naturally with four basic gaits: the four-beat walk, which averages 3 miles per hour (mph); the two-beat trot or jog, which averages 8 to 12 mph; the three-beat canter or lope, which averages 12 to 15 mph, and the gallop which can average up to 25 to 30 mph.
The Town of Granby is the most populous municipality in Grand County, Colorado. Granby is situated along U.S. Highway 40 about 85 miles west of Denver, Colorado and southwest of Rocky Mountain National Park. The town was founded in 1904 along the route of the Denver, Northwestern, and Pacific Railway.
The C Lazy U is the only Ranch in the world to have ever achieved both the “Five Star” and the “Five Diamond” Resort designations from Mobile and Triple A respectively and to do so for 25 consecutive years.
We are an Orvis endorsed Fly Fishing Lodge, and offer instructional and guided fishing trips on and off the ranch.
The Mercantile at Luis’ Old Place was originally a donkey barn many years ago.
All remodeling projects on the ranch are completed using Beetle Kill wood that has been cut down from standing dead timber and milled right here at the ranch.
Dexter Meadows still has the remnants of an old stagecoach turnaround.
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FUN FACTS ABOUT GRAND COUNTY
On July 1, 1908 President Theodore Roosevelt established the Arapaho National Forest. Almost totally encompassing the town of Granby.
Rocky Mountain National Park was established by Enos Mills on January 26, 1915, and proclaimed the tenth national park by President Woodrow Wilson.