Dates and Prices 2023
Spring Round Up:
- Arrive in Sheridan on May 21st
- We pickup in the morning of May 22nd
- We return to mode of transportation May 26th
- Trip Price: $3,600
June/July Cattle Drive:
- Arrive in Sheridan on July 1st
- We pickup in the morning of July 2nd
- We return to mode of transportation July 8th
- Trip Price: $4,250.00
Semper-Fi:
- July 22nd - July 29th
Early August Open Range Drive:
- Arrive Sheridan August 12th
- We pickup the morning of the 13th
- Return to mode of transportation Aug. 18th
- Trip Price: $4,195.00
Late August Open Range Drive:
- Arrive Sheridan August 26th. We pickup the morning of 27st
- Return to mode of transportation September 1st
- Trip Price: $4,195.00
September Cattle Drive:
- Arrive Sheridan 16th
- We pickup the morning of the 17th
- Return to mode of transportation September 23rd
- Trip Price: $4,290.00
Clean Up Ride:
- Arrive September 30th
- We pickup the morning of October 1st
- Return to mode of transportation October 6th
- Trip Price: $4,120.00
Prices include ground transportation to and from Sheridan, all food, soft drinks, saddle, tack, horse lease, and guide service.
We also offer single tee-pee occupancy during the week for $400.00. This does not include single occupancy at a motel the night of the banquet. The last night's lodging is included in the trip price.
RECOMMENDED GRATUITY is $150.00 per guest.
Booking:
A 25% DEPOSIT IS REQUIRED AT THE TIME OF BOOKING. The nonrefundable balance is due 90 days prior to the trip. Due to enormous pre-trip preparations all monies are nonrefundable. We take VISA and MC, money orders, or a personal check. WE STRONGLY RECOMMEND YOU PURCHASE TRIP CANCELLATION INSURANCE. 1-800-826-1300 TRAVEL GUARD 1-800-348-9505 CSA TRAVEL.
Standby:
All monies are nonrefundable. WE STRONGLY RECOMMEND YOU PURCHASE TRIP CANCELLATION INSURANCE. 1-800-826-1300 TRAVEL GUARD 1-800-348-9505 CSA TRAVEL.
For availability, please call: (307) 655-9539 or (307) 655-9463 or email: [email protected] or [email protected].
Double Rafter Cattle Drives is operating under a special use permit on the Bighorn National Forest.
Double Rafter Cattle Drives is an equal opportunity provider.
July Cattle Drive
6 Days/6 Nights
Horsemanship Clinic
2-3 Camp Moves
Depending on the Spring conditions, we generally trail the herd to the top of the Big Horn Mountains during the fourth week of June or the first week of July. This 6 day/6 night trip begins in the green rolling foothills of East Pass Creek and covers 45 to 55 miles.
During this trip, we trail the mother cows and their calves high to their summer range. In addition to a family crew of 10 to 12, we generally have 20 guests on this drive. In keeping with our ancestor’s tradition, the lodging will be 1800s style canvas wall tents and tepee tents. All meals are prepared using cast iron skillets, Dutch ovens, or at a pit barbeque. I know all outfitters think their cook crew is the best, but that is a lie. Our cook crew is truly the best. In addition to being phenomenal chefs, our chuckwagon crew is a bit on the lively side and has been known to play a prank or two. You’ve been warned.
Open Range Cattle Drive
5 Days/5 Nights
Horsemanship Clinic
0-2 Camp Moves
On the Open Range Cattle Drives, we gather the cattle and move them to the next pasture in our rotation. Sounds pretty simple, but it is anything but that. With over 60,000 acres inside the boundary of our mountain allotment and only 7 pastures, it should tell you immediately that getting the cattle found in any one pasture is a major undertaking by itself. These trips take place entirely on the mountain in some of the most beautiful remote countries you have ever seen. The advantage to these trips is that the weather is generally the most stable, and since we have no humidity, the temperatures, in all likelihood, will be in the 80s. Since we have the cooler temperatures, we don’t have to have breakfast at 3:00 am like we do on our July Cattle Drive. This actually makes for a more restful trip. We can have breakfast in the neighborhood at 6:30 am and plan on being out of camp around 8:00 am. Like all of our trips, the day ends when we get the cattle to where we need to get them for the day. The riding on the Open Range trips is as challenging as any trip we do, and the hours in the saddle will equal any trips we do. I promise when you ride “Screamer Hill” or the “Oh sh*t Trail, you will not feel unchallenged! On one of our Open Range Trips a couple years ago, we took a GPS reading in the pasture, where we started gathering the herd. We then took a reading when we got to the destination at the end of the week. As the crow flies, it was only 4 miles, but the route we had to take, because of the canyons that we can’t get across, we trailed the herd 25.5 miles. You could walk the 4 miles by foot, but you couldn’t lead a horse across it. It is that rough. The 25.5 miles we trailed had us trailing through all kinds of terrain, from heavy pine timber stands to high alpine meadows and swampy areas that could bog your horse down. And like all of our trips, it is a go each day unless we were to have white-out blizzard conditions! That has only happened twice in 25 years, and both times, it was in the fall.
September Cattle Drive
6 Days/6 Nights
Horsemanship Clinic
1-3 Camp Moves
During the month of September, we will gather the high country of the Big Horn Mountains. Since ranching is a business, there will be some cattle taken off the mountain, but how many depends entirely on range conditions and economics. But that is why we are the number 1 cattle drive out there because ours are completely real! It could be the entire herd, or it could be the yearling heifers. If we take off any number less than the entire herd, it takes an entire day of cutting cattle on horseback. With the instruction from our top cattle handling people, you will be instructed and shown how to do it properly. If you are into team penning, you will learn more than you can imagine. It’s amazing, but half the people out there who own cattle don’t know the proper way to do it either. A cow never does anything without telling you what she is going to do before she does it. Are you cowboy enough to read it, then send the message to your horse fast enough, to either encourage or discourage what the cow just told you she was going to do? Come find out and improve your skills! These skills will also help improve your marriage!
Clean Up Ride
6 Days/6 Nights
Horsemanship Clinic
2-3 Camp Moves
Things To Bring & Travel Suggestions
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We also offer some of the above items for rent/sale if you don’t want to be bothered with finding what you need. You can either purchase or rent these items on the first day of the trip.
Please note: Not all items are kept in stock. Kindly give us a 3-week notice. 6% WY sales tax to be added to all items.
Travel Suggestions
- Mid-day arrivals and departures work best for you.
- You need to arrive in Sheridan, Wyoming the day before the trip starts.
Local Motels
- Sheridan Center Best Western (downtown) (307) 674-7421
- Ramada Inn (307) 672-8931
Both of these hotels have airport shuttle