FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS (FAQS)

What should I bring?

Actually, you don't need to bring much to enjoy yourself at Marble Mountain Ranch. Our "all inclusive" rates include up-scale dining 3 meals a day and beverages/snacks as you need. Cabins come with all bedding and linens, and a personal kitchenette with refrigerator at a minimum. Depending on the activities that you choose to participate in, you will need clothing appropriate for that activity. In general you will need ranch-wear, river and fishing clothing, and riding clothing.

Ranch Wear and Gear: Bring a sweatshirt or light jacket for the cooler morning hours, and light-weight shirts and pants for the warmer afternoons. Aside from your personal toiletries and clothing you should have mosquito repellent, a flashlight, sunglasses, sunscreen, and hat. Optional items might include a musical instrument, good book, journal, photography gear, small binoculars, drawing/painting supplies, and photos from home to share!

Fishing during our Guest Ranch events will require a California fishing license, and the same clothing you will use during your rafting activities. We provide all the rods and tackle.

Rafting during our Guest Ranch events will require the following gear.

1. Sun-Screen and sunglasses with retainers
2. Camera (inexpensive, disposable waterproof 35mm camera) NOTE: we take professional quality photos during your stay and provide each family the option of purchasing a photo CD ($50) of your stay.
3. Tennis shoes (will get wet) or TEVA style river sandals. Our Ukanom Falls hike during one of your river days will be more comfortable if you have maximum foot coverage.
4. Bathing suit, shorts and hat

If you are here during a rainy or cold day, we will provide a poly-propylene sweater, splash jacket, or wetsuit as needed. This is included in your trip fare. Spring runs on the Cal-Salmon or Scott also include this gear as part of your fare. Please do not wear river sandals if you are doing an advanced level run on the Salmon or the Scott AND flip-flops are inappropriate on any raft trip.

ALL OVERNIGHT WILDERNESS RAFT TRIPS OR TRAIL RIDES REQUIRE THE FOLLOWING GEAR:

1. Sleeping bag, pad and ground cloth
2. Tent is recommended in early season
3. Change of dry clothing for evening and a towel
4. Polypropylene sweater or other cold weather gear for Spring
5. Insect repellant
6. Toothbrush and personal toiletries
7. Small flashlight
8. OPTIONAL deck of cards, book, frisbee, fishing rod, journal

Trail Ride
For adults joining us on a trail ride, you will need to weigh less than 240 pounds and you must be able to get on and off a horse by yourself. There are separate requirements and programs for youth, please contact us directly to plan for your youth. We require equestrian helmets for all minors and provide them for your riding pleasure and safety.

Horse riders need to bring the following:

1. Sturdy shoes-ideally with smooth soles that easily slide out of stirrups
2. Long pants
3. OPTIONAL GEAR includes sunglasses & bandana

Should I take riding lessons before coming?

- Coming with some basic riding skills is an investment that will make your dude ranch experience here even more enjoyable, but lessons are not required. We offer lessons and trail rides for novices and experienced riders. When you arrive, we will do a preliminary round-pen evaluation of your horsemanship and direct your first rides onto skill appropriate trails or lessons. Our minimum standard is that you are not overweight and can saddle-up without assistance. Also, our weight limit for mountain trail riding is 240 pounds. Most importantly, you should have a minimal level of physical conditioning and balance and a desire to learn.

If I have a spouse, child or friend who does not ride, will they be happy at the Marble Mountain Guest Ranch?

One of our strengths is activity diversity. If you want a riding opportunity each day but also are interested in rafting, kayaking, fishing, trap house sporting clays, hiking and group activities such as Karaoke, ranch crafting, and camp fire activities, then come here. Yes, we have a great riding program with lessons, beginner rides, advanced rides, and wilderness pack trips, but our signature is in offering "mixed activity days" to meet interests of whole families and mixed groups. Sometimes we use the term "saddle/paddle" vacations or "raft and ride" vacations in our descriptions of Marble Mountain Ranch vacations. The truly amazing thing about this product diversity is that we are able to do it all "in house." We do not hand-off to a third party outfitter for the rafting, or drive you three hours one way to get to a kayak trip or fishing guide. It is done by our in-house staff and done without the long shuttles.

Can you accommodate special diets?

Our normal meals are diverse enough that most vegetarians and special needs diets are easily satisfied. We do appreciate advance notice of a special need so that we can adjust a menu as needed. However, we are not able to meet the needs of a vegan diet.

Will I feel comfortable coming as a single?

Many of our guests are single people and are quickly adopted into our ranch family. Making friends is easy here with opportunities to bond through shared adventures and common interests.

"To the Cole Family,
I just wanted to say thank you for a great week at Marble Mountain Ranch. As a single woman, I wanted to find a place I could vacation, doing things I enjoy and still feel safe. Marble Mountain Ranch was perfect and met every need. The horseback riding, rafting, hike to the waterfall, fishing, and everything else was great fun and I thoroughly enjoyed myself. The food was really good too. Thanks for making me feel at home and comfortable there. I will definitely tell my friends and family about the ranch.
Thanks again,
Charlotte Wooldridge"

I have younger children who cannot ride. What opportunities are there for them?How old do my kids need to be to go rafting, riding or shooting?

Children enjoy the sense of freedom and ability to wander anywhere without danger of traffic or strange people here on the ranch. Your children will also enjoy fishing in our pond, visiting with the many domestic animals, the goats, bunnies, chickens and other animals in the small animal petting zoo. The newly added zip line is now perhaps the single most popular attraction for the youth on the ranch. Of course, we also have the standard swings, slides, and playground equipment familiar to your child. Our plan is to keep the young buckaroos busy and involved!

Our wranglers will also take your children on short rides and provide arena riding games to teach good horsemanship. Parent sharing is an option for infants and toddlers too young to participate, and arrangements can be made to get baby sitters (Currently $10/hour/child) during activities that exclude them. We also have VCRs and an extensive video library available for your use.

Minimum ages vary depending on the maturity of each child and on previous training such as youth riding lessons. As a guideline we offer the following minimum ages. Arena riding lessons, teaching basic horsemanship, and "on ranch" rides are appropriate for most children at 5 years of age. At around 7 years of age we find children are often comfortable riding longer easy trail rides. The Wednesday advanced full day ride is reserved for our intermediate to advanced riders. We have a full day rafting/kayaking option available for all other guests that can not join the Wednesday advanced ride. On Wednesdays, we have a rafting trip that is appropriate for children under the age of 5. We suggest you contact our office about the specifics of your child's needs. On all other rafting trips, the children should be a minimum of 5 years age. Shooting can begin at 6 years of age utilizing bb and pellet rifles with emphasis on teaching firearm safety. We welcome the discussion about the particulars of your children and aim to include participation at the maximum safe level. Our prime directive is safety, recreation comes in at second position in decision making.

What are the closest airports to the Marble Mountain Guest Ranch?

The most commonly used airport is the Arcata/McKinleyville) airport (Code ACV) just North of Eureka California. It is a 2.5 hour drive from the Marble Mountain Ranch and is serviced directly from LAX as well as from San Francisco and other origins.

The Medford Oregon airport is also a 2.5 hour drive, but is North of us. We offer free airport shuttles to and from either of these airports for those who purchase our 5 night ranch package. Some of our guests have found that flights terminating at Grants Pass Oregon save considerable expenses and allow extended driving vacations along the Pacific North Coast. Similar itineraries can be planned with flight terminations at San Francisco and with driving itineraries through the Napa wine country and Coastal Redwood Forests.

What group sizes can you handle?

We have beds for 50 in 10 cottages and two deluxe homes. Our average occupancy is about 30. However, we have catered groups as large as 400 with camping and RV additions and special ranch charters. There is no minimum booking size, but we have an “in-season” minimum stay of three nights and four days.

Can I bring my dog? My python? My horse?

No, no, and sometimes. The ranch is located in a wilderness setting and is not appropriate for household pets. However, we do accept personal horses during our "shoulder seasons" that fall outside the Memorial Day through Labor Day peak-season window. You will need to bring a veterinarian's certification that your horse's inoculations are current. Horse boarding in private corral space is $25/night/horse with grass alfalfa hay provided. Sorry, in our main season, we need to make sure all the horses in the string are well past the need to re-establish the pecking order with the new horse.