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Lowdown

  • Established

    1900s. Guest ranch since 1999
  • Owner

    Jerry and Tammy Rowse
  • Tel

    1-308-346-5530
  • Open

    May-Oct, Dec
  • Nightly Rates (per adult)*

    $300
  • Minimum Stay

    3 days
  • Maximum Guests

    10
  • Works with travel agents?

    Yes
  • Great For

    Romance, Action & adventure, Peace & quiet
  • Memberships

    Dude Ranchers Association
* Rates will vary based on Season and Accommodation selection. Please contact the ranch directly for Date Request, Availability and exact Rate quote/proposal

We invite you to come share our way of life. Experience the romantic vision of the Old West - learn to work cattle, ride the range and experience life as a real cowboy on a real working cattle ranch. Coming to Rowse's 1+1 Ranch, you'll ride with us.

Wide open spaces, no crowds, no traffic, no hassles, and no nose to tail trail riding. Guests here actually participate in all ranch activities, especially riding and cattle work.

You can expect up to 6 hours a day in the saddle and depending on the time of year you visit, there are cattle to drive, roundups, brandings, team penning and roping. Rowse's is also adults-only, meaning you can spend time with friends, family or loved ones without any distractions.

Guests don’t travel out here to learn to fix fences, but instead to satisfy the cowboy in themselves - riding the range and working cattle. This is an experience you’ll remember forever.

Good time to go

May, September, and October are the busiest times for cattle work with branding, working cattle, and moving cattle. June, July, and August open up with more time for roping, sorting, and team penning in the arena. June and September are the nicest months with typically beautiful weather.

Children at the Ranch

Great for children aged 18 and over

1+1 Ranch is an adults-only orientated ranch - 18 and older.

Environmental & Social Practices

Community

The 1+1 Ranch also concentrates on supporting the local economy by shopping at the local grocery store, western store, lumber yard, gas stations and Pharmacy. The 1+1 Ranch believes all stores in a small town are essential to the community.

Conservation

The Sand hills are a very delicate terrain, better land management and grazing practices by the ranchers of the Sand Hills have led to less erosion over time, which has kept the natural landscape of the Sand Hills mostly intact. Rowse’s 1+1 Ranch utilize several conservation practices rotational grazing, planting shelter belts, and cross fencing. These conservation practices are also beneficial by creating wildlife habitat.

Ranch History

Our 1+1 ranch started on family land 75 years ago and now covers more than 7,000 acres in the heart of the beautiful sand hills of Nebraska. More than 800 cow/calf pairs and 60 horses have a home here. In fact, our quarter horse breeding program is award winning.

Our name came about when one of our retiring neighbors gave us his brand, 1+1, when we married, and we added that to our own to create Rowse’s 1+1 Ranch. We were honored and touched by his generous gift, a true sign of adoration and respect in the ranching community.

The plant-anchored dunes of the Sand Hills surrounding the region were long considered to be irreclaimable desert. Fortunately, in the 1870s cattlemen began to realize their potential as rangeland for longhorn cattle and this ranching area was born.

Lowdown

  • Enjoy

    Ranch-style
  • Meals served

    family style, buffet style, everyone eats together
  • Alcohol

    BYOB
  • Enjoy dining in

    nature settings, dining room (casual attire)
  • You'll definitely love

    ranch-raised beef, farm fresh eggs, ranch garden, locally grown produce, fresh daily bread, fresh daily desserts
  • Dietary restrictions catered for

    lactose intolerant, vegetarians

The best food is home-made food. Everything at the 1+1 Ranch is home-made.

Meal times are for gathering around some hearty fare and sharing the company of friends, family, and strangers alike. At Rowse’s 1+1 Ranch, you’re likely to find Tammy, Erin, and Traci in the kitchen putting together a feast. Everything served on the ranch is homemade. You can almost taste the extra attention added into each dish. Their cookie jar is always full. As a cattle-producing ranch, beef is an essential component of most of the meals, and much of the produce is grown on site and in season.

If you’re looking for food that sticks to your ribs, these ladies will serve it up! Even guests who show up near dinner time are invited to stay. As Tammy grew up, anyone who showed up at dinner time was more than welcome - hospitality is rooted in our blood and everyone is always welcome around the table.

When you’ve had your fill of good old-fashioned ranch food, savor one of our renowned desserts and wash it down with the best drinking water you’ll taste—right out of the tap—courtesy of the Ogallala Aquifer on which the ranch was built.

Guest Favourites

  • Chicken Fried Steak with Mashed Potatoes and Gravy
  • Steak Fajitas
  • Picnic Lunches in the Pasture

Your Chef, Tammy Rowse

Tammy & Traci can all be found in the kitchen putting special time and effort into each and every aspect of your meal!

I do use some of my moms, her moms (my grandmother Boags), and my sister Linda's recipes. They are and were excellent cooks. Not like gourmet cooks just solid, delicious ranch cooking. They know how to cook to "fill a person up". I grew up with hospitality at the forefront - I was also brought up that if someone showed up at your place at meal time you always invited them in to eat with us. Our cooking practice was always to make more than plenty just in case someone extra showed up. Several of my guests have asked me, "Do you always invite people to eat with you if they are here at meal time?". My answer is Yes! that is just how I was raised. There is something about the western heritage and hospitality that runs strong in our family. We love sharing our livelihood and enjoy sharing our traditional and fabulous ranch fare.

So, rest assured, your bellies certainly won't go without and we'll welcome you in just like family. We serve excellent home-cooking and plenty of it. If you have a special request, we're happy to accommodate. Just ask!

Lowdown

  • Address

    46849 833rd Rd
    Burwell
    Nebraska
    68823
    USA
  • Remote Location

    Yes
  • Elevation

    2300 ft
  • Private Land

    5000-10000 acres

Nearest Town - Burwell

Burwell has a population of 1200 (approx), and is situated 10 miles / 15 mins from the Ranch.

Facilities in Burwell include: grocery store, pharmacy, church, school, post office, medical clinic, bank, atm, gas station, museum.

For shopping Burwell offers: small hometown necessity shops, western wear.

Nearest Airports

Grand Island Regional Airport , Grand Island

Distance

90 miles / 1 hour 30 mins

Ranch shuttle

$200.00


Kearney Regional Airport

Distance

90 miles / 1 hour 30 mins

Ranch shuttle

$200.00


Epply Airport, Omaha Nebraska

Distance

200 miles / 3 hours 45 mins

Rental car

Required

Lowdown

  • Type of Riding

    Western Riding
  • Riding opportunities for

    Beginner, Intermediate, Experienced
  • Most riders are

    Intermediate
  • Rides are grouped by

    Ability, Pace of Ride, Everyone rides together, Rides dictated by ranch work
  • Max riders per ride

    6
  • Wranglers per ride

    1
  • Pace of ride

    Walk, Trot, Lope
  • Guest Horses

    20
  • Horse Types

    Quarterhorse, Geldings, Mares
  • Hours in the saddle

    Morning - 3 hours
    Afternoon - 4 hours

The Setting

Private Land (5000-10000 acres)

With 7,000 acres of private hills and valleys, our vast wide open spaces make it ideal for riding. There is a lot of beauty in the landscape of the Sandhills - a region of mixed-grass prairie on grass-stabilized sand dunes in north-central Nebraska. The Sand Hills is designated as an eco-region - distinct from other grasslands of the Great Plains. According to an assessment, as much as 85% of the Sand Hills eco-region is intact natural habitat. This is the highest level of anywhere in the Great Plains. This makes it a very productive cattle ranching area, supporting over 530,000 beef cattle. The Sand Hills sit atop the massive Ogallala Aquifer; thus both temporary and permanent shallow lakes are common in low-lying valleys between the grass-stabilized dunes prevalent in the Sand Hills.


Our Riding

Guided rides

All rides are guided, because we are working together on ranch operation.

Good to know

After the first ride with Jerry, he will assess your riding abilities. If you need further assistance before trotting or cantering, Jerry will request that you work 1 on 1 with one of the wranglers.

Weight limit for riding

Up to 225 lbs

Riding considerations

no riding experience needed, We recommend a good level of physical fitness

Hours in the saddle

Hours in the saddle can range here on a real working ranch!


Why our riding stands out

  • True quality ranch horses. Born, raised, and trained right here. They've been ranched on.
  • Real working cowboys work with guests on their riding and communication with horses.
  • Guests will experience a wide variety of purpose oriented riding - roping, sorting, pasture rides, team penning

Sample Riding Itinerary

7:00 am Breakfast at the Main House

8:00 am Catch horses, saddle & ride out.
Depending what needs to be done, we may be moving cattle, checking cattle, sorting, doctoring, branding, or working cattle.

12:30 pm Lunch

1:30 pm Ride out
Pasture/cattle work, checking windmills, roping/riding lessons, team penning/sorting lessons.

6:00 pm Dinner

7:00 pm Relax by the camp fire and socialize. On Tuesday nights enjoy watching our neighbors as they "show how it's done" while roping in our arena.

 

Riding Lessons

Throughout the summer, we rope and doctor in the pasture in the mornings. Sorting, team penning and arena work tends to take place in the afternoons after our pasture check. In the arena, guests can have fun team penning and sorting. But they also get to experience stockmanship where we teach them to understand how to successfully move and work with cattle. Just keep in mind, however, that being an actual working ranch, cattle work always takes precedence. Therefore, if we have a pasture-load of cattle that need to be sorted, we'll need to take care of that first.

Details

lessons come with package, basic riding lessons

Given by

wrangler, ranch owner or manager

Location

on the trail, in the arena

Cattle work - pasture gathers

Guests have direct opportunity to ride through cattle daily. On our working ranch, you will be able to ride and work cattle 'til your heart's content. With mother cows and calves, we are consistently riding herd to check health and we move cattle as grass and water dictate. In the spring and fall, there are plenty of cattle drive opportunities. Throughout the summer, we ride daily checking pastures and with that, guests have a lot of opportunity for gait changes. The last 2 weeks of May we're gathering cattle, sorting, and moving to appropriate summer pasture. Summer time is checking pastures and doctoring and we offer an occasional cattle drive throughout the summer. We cannot, however, guarantee dates and time for this as it is dictated by grass. We sort cattle and drive them back to the corrals around last week of August to precondition our calves. We take in additional cattle throughout the summer; therefore, the last two weeks of October we will round up cattle and drive them back into the corrals to ship out. Since we take in additional cattle, ranches ship cows to us in February. We calve their cows, keeping them close to home. In May we drive our pairs, as well as these additional pairs, to grass.

When

May, Jun, Jul, Aug, Sep, Oct

Frequency

Daily

No. of cow/calf pairs

850

Interaction

Guests participate

Branding work

Branding takes place the first two weeks in May. We brand approximately 700 head at ranch, and about 4000 head total in the first two weeks of May, sometimes stretching into the 3rd week, so please contact us as it depends on the year. You can gather cattle as well as get involved in the branding.

When

May

Frequency

Daily

No. of Branding

850

Interaction

Guests participate

Arena Work

Jerry assesses your abilities. If you are proficient with controlling your horse, you will have opportunity to rope our mechanical steer. Every Tuesday night neighbors visit and rope in the arena. Guests enjoy watching this activity.

Type

outdoor arena

Activities

penning, sorting, roping from the ground, roping from horseback

Lowdown

  • Nightly Rates (per adult)*

    $300
  • Minimum Stay

    3 days
  • Preferred Arrival Day

    Weds, Sun
  • Preferred Departure Day

    Sat
* Rates will vary based on Season and Accommodation selection. Please contact the ranch directly for Date Request, Availability and exact Rate quote/proposal

Rowse's 1+1 Ranch can cater for up to 10 guests. See below for details and indicative rates.

Cabin | Comfortable Ranch Cabin

Rates (Per Person)*

$217 - $234
* Rates will vary based on Season and Accommodation selection. Please contact the ranch directly for Date Request, Availability and exact Rate quote/proposal

Minimum Stay

3 nights

Description

The 1+1 Ranch offers six beautiful log cabin rooms that have the rustic cowboy-homey feel. Each room features a different hand-made head board, individual bathrooms, refrigerator, microwave, coffee pot, and front porch access. The rocking chairs on the front porch are a favorite for watching the vibrant Sandhills sunsets. High speed wireless internet and laundry facilities available at the Main House.

Rooms

6

Bathrooms

Private bathroom

Amenities

fridge, microwave, air conditioning, washer / dryer


Booking Policy

A deposit of 30 % of the total reservation is required. Reservations will be considered firm only when the deposit has been received. Reservations cancelled more than 60 days in advance will be refunded if full, less $100 handling fee. Deposits not returned may be applied to any stay within the following 12 months. Payments accepted: cash, checks, credit cards (Visa/Mastercard)

Included in your stay

meals, activities, lodging, tax, Riding

Extras

Gratuity

This is up to the guests if they want to do or not.

Other

Tickets to Local Events ~ Gratuity is optional up to guests

Lowdown

  • You can borrow

    Saddle bags
  • Communications

    Wireless Internet/Wifi, telephone, free long distance.
  • Cell Networks

    alltel, verizon.
  • Business Services

    Conference center, computer and fax hookups, printers, common computer.

Onsite

Shopping

We have a small ranch store, which offers gloves, shirts, sweatshirts, vest, coffee mugs, etc.

Outdoor Activities

wagon rides


Fishing & Wildlife

Wildlife

White Tail, Mule Deer, Wild Turkeys, Prairie Chickens, Grouse, Quail, Bobcats, Fox, Coyotes, Jack Rabbits, Prairie Dogs, a large variety of small North American birds, and Raptors


Additional Services

Corporate Retreats

For groups of 20-30. Small corporate retreats for 10 to 12 people.


Local Attractions

Dry Creek Western Wear

Excellent western store

Distance

10 miles / 15 mins

Ranch shuttle

free


Calamus Reservoir

Large Sandhills Lake with excellent fishing and beautiful sandy beaches. The lake is 7 miles long and 1.5 miles wide.

Distance

16 miles / 30 mins

Ranch shuttle

free


Burwells Big Rodeo

An excellent pro rodeo here locally. Several events and added special attractions at the rodeo. We provide our horses for all the queens to ride and help put the rodeo on.

Distance

10 miles / 15 mins

Highs

  • As an adults-only ranch, it's the vacation where you can really get away and enjoy time with your partner, friends or family with no distractions!
  • Fabulous riding and riding freedom, from beginner to experienced, with authentic cattle working opportunities. Responsive and high quality ranch horses
  • The lodging is far from rustic – relax in beautiful, comfortable, hand-crafted cabins with Tammy's special detailing
  • Excellent homemade meals with the freshest ingredients and home-grown beef. The Rowse's take great care over every aspect of your stay

Lows

  • Limited activities beyond riding and ranch life, but from riders to non-riders, the Rowse's will work to accommodate you, whatever your requests

Visitor Reviews

Dont just take our word for it, see what visitors like you say...

First visit to a dude ranch

This was our first time at a dude ranch and what an experience it was!! Tammy and Jerry made everyone feel welcomed and so hospitable to all. Very accomodating to anyone's special needs and what a feast at each meal! They always waited for all to be served first before sitting down to join us and were the best of hosts you could ever have. We really enjoyed all they had to offer to their guests and would highly recommend that everyone go to enjoy fun and see that ranching requires alot of dedication and and hard work. We would give the Rowes's 1+1 Ranch a higher than a 5 star rating!!! Most wonderful people you could meet. Bill & Linda Schmailzl

5 stars

You can find more reviews for Rowse's 1+1 Ranch on TripAdvisor