Bar Ten Ranch, rafter's retreat
The Bar Ten is a working cattle ranch on the rim of the Grand Canyon. Located on the remote Arizona Strip between Grand Canyon and Interstate 15, the expansive property has some of the best trophy deer hunting in America. Today, the Bar Ten is also a key player in today's Colorado River rafting adventures.
The ranchers realized decades ago that there was a business opportunity coming almost to their doorstep: hundreds of "river rats" floating by in the canyon. They tried bringing up tourists on mules, giving them a taste of western hospitality, then returning them back to the rafts. It was a hit. Visits to the Bar Ten became a staple of river trips. (The mules were since replaced with helicopters.)
Today, the Bar Ten is a busy place! Some rafting groups take out here, and others put in here. The upper river trips fly up from a tiny helipad at Whitmore Wash, then fly in 16-seater planes to Las Vegas. In their place, a new batch of tourists from Las Vegas helicopters down to raft the last 100 miles of the canyon. That 7-minute flight from ranch to river is a thrill.
While staying at the Bar Ten, guests get to eat lunch and a steak dinner, ride horses and ATVs, go skeet shooting, see a nature museum of desert animals, and sleep overnight in indoor bunks, a covered wagon or out under the stars. The property includes an attractive western lodge, hot showers and a well-stocked gift shop. The friendly ranch hands put on a kickin' western show in the evening that's loads of fun.
Bar Ten Ranch, rafter's retreat
The Bar Ten is a working cattle ranch on the rim of the Grand Canyon. Located on the remote Arizona Strip between Grand Canyon and Interstate 15, the expansive property has some of the best trophy deer hunting in America. Today, the Bar Ten is also a key player in today's Colorado River rafting adventures.
The ranchers realized decades ago that there was a business opportunity coming almost to their doorstep: hundreds of "river rats" floating by in the canyon. They tried bringing up tourists on mules, giving them a taste of western hospitality, then returning them back to the rafts. It was a hit. Visits to the Bar Ten became a staple of river trips. (The mules were since replaced with helicopters.)
Today, the Bar Ten is a busy place! Some rafting groups take out here, and others put in here. The upper river trips fly up from a tiny helipad at Whitmore Wash, then fly in 16-seater planes to Las Vegas. In their place, a new batch of tourists from Las Vegas helicopters down to raft the last 100 miles of the canyon. That 7-minute flight from ranch to river is a thrill.
While staying at the Bar Ten, guests get to eat lunch and a steak dinner, ride horses and ATVs, go skeet shooting, see a nature museum of desert animals, and sleep overnight in indoor bunks, a covered wagon or out under the stars. The property includes an attractive western lodge, hot showers and a well-stocked gift shop. The friendly ranch hands put on a kickin' western show in the evening that's loads of fun.