At Wyoming’s historic UXU Ranch, fantastic food competes with majestic mountains.
Bordered on the north by the blue-ribbon trout-fishing North Shoshone River, the historic UXU Ranch sits within breathtaking sight of the Absaroka Range from its lodge. From higher up, you can see the Beartooth Mountains. The place began its life as a sawmill as early as 1898 and started operating as a dude ranch in 1929. Listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2003, the 40-plus-acre spread — with structures from the ’20s and ’30s made of lumber milled on site — continues its life as a reinvigorated dude ranch under the hardworking team of John “Grief ” Hoskin and chef Vincent Fiore.
Hoskin, who is originally from Calgary, Alberta, Canada, grew up riding horses and helping out on ranches in the area. He was managing a resort in Arizona, when he visited Wyoming on a wildlife photography trip in 2020 and fell in love with the state’s wide-open spaces, people, and wildlife, and, of course, Yellowstone. He spoke with his future partners about the beauty, vastness, and possible opportunities in Wyoming. Feelers were put out and, when they found out the UXU was available, they bought it. After some logistical hiccups, Hoskin went to work restoring the lodge and guest cabins.
In another instance of Wyoming seduction, award-winning celebrity chef Vincent Fiore initially arrived at the UXU for a preseason two-week consulting gig. His engagement ended up lasting nearly the entire season and made the Brooklyn-born, Texas-based chef an integral part of the UXU’s plan for the future.
Ditto love-at-first-stay for me and my adult son on our visit early last summer. My son had bribed me with a big trip out west if I could successfully empty storage units, clear out and sell my house in the Dallas area, and move my downsized self nearby to him in Houston. The centerpiece of our momentous celebratory vacation would be a trip to the UXU, which I’d learned about from Hoskin after staying in touch following an article I wrote about him and his award-winning photography.
Brooklyn-born celebrity chef Vincent Fiore took a two-week consulting gig at the UXU Ranch and ended up staying the whole season (PHOTOGRAPHY: Andrew Rossi, Courtesy of Cowboy State Daily).
Bright yellow and periwinkle blue wildflowers dotted the drive into the ranch when we visited early last June, just four days after the ranch’s official reopening. We crossed a private bridge (for much of the ranch’s history, the only access to the lodge and cabins from the road was across a footbridge) and continued up the winding trail, the stress and road noise from the 1,500-mile trip melting away as we breathed in the cedar-scented air. Rustic cabins, log lodge, horse corral, friendly staff, and a handful of grazing mule deer marked our arrival.
The inspiring and restful view from our cabin’s porch instantly enthralled us. A constantly surprising revelation of mountains and forest (the Shoshone National Forest) in all kinds of light with deer, bison, and the resident fox coming for visits, it was breathtakingly unlike our urban Texas norm.
But the biggest surprise came in the dining room, where Fiore, who learned to cook growing up in a big Italian family, brought in platter after platter of specialty foods we’d never eaten before. At a communal family-style table, Chef Fiore kept up the congenial banter familiar to viewers of his Prime Video TV show, The Wiseguy Kitchen. As on that show, most of the dishes have a distinctive Italian base, but in Wyoming, he’s given the menu a Western twist, such as replacing the traditional beef and pork with elk meat and adding trout dishes. His biggest hits here are the Parmesan-crusted trout, prime rib, bison, and ribeye. And it seems no one — certainly not me and my son — is able to resist seconds of the Cowboy Mac & Cheese.
After meals like this, it’s a tough call whether to head for the lodge deck to continue socializing with newfound friends or to decamp to your private cabin deck to digest quietly in the peace and beauty of the alpenglow. As any dude here will tell you, either way, it will be the perfect way to cap off another glorious day at the UXU Ranch.
Going To The UXU
A member of The Dude Ranchers’ Association, the UXU offers a five-day, fun-filled dude ranch experience featuring lodging, three meals a day, unlimited horseback riding, cutthroat trout fishing, whitewater rafting, photography lessons from award-winning photographer John Hoskin, shopping in Cody, a visit to the Buffalo Bill Center of the West museum, a Cody rodeo night, and Yellowstone, which is just 17 miles away. The 2024 season runs June 2 – September 15. On weekends, the ranch is open to the public for “the Weekender” experience: trail rides, log-cabin stays, fine dining, and pool and piano in the Bad Bear Bar Saloon & Grill. For more information, visit uxuranch.com.
Take in the Wyoming view from the front deck of the UXU (PHOTOGRAPHY: Courtesy Angry Bison Media).
From our July 2024 issue.
