Bar SZ Ranch

We just had our wedding at Bar SZ Ranch this May, and it was wonderful! Not only is the ranch beautiful, but the family that runs the ranch is incredibly helpful, friendly, sweet and accommodating (even the kids were helping — thanks!). They’re constantly adding new amenities and responding to the needs of guests, and were very responsive to questions leading up to the event. Thanks so much for all your help, James and Tim! As the bride, I was pretty occupied on the day of the wedding, but I hear you guys were superheroes. And I hear from guests who went on a horseback ride that they had a great trip led by Michelle.
The Art House was a great home base for the wedding party, and also ended up being a warm retreat that fit a ton of people when the weather was colder than expected for outdoor activities (we moved everyone there for pie after our BBQ on Friday night). Although we had planned to have dinner and dancing in the arena and near the bar, with the unseasonably cool weather (it was hot the weekends before and after!), the barn was a perfect backup to keep everyone totally comfortable and warm — it ended up beautiful, and actually more intimate and cozy.
Best part: the tiny kittens! The baby goat was a close second.

Tim and Michelle are consummate hosts. Affection-​spoiled Ringo the cat and JPEG the corgi (not a full-​sized dog but a compressed one, Tim explained) were a pleasure, as were the numerous kittens and bunnies around the place. Lucky the horse gave me a nice easy ride, despite my inexperience. Sitting by the fire pit (which T&M kept well-​stocked with firewood) in front of Doc’s Bar as other of the weekend’s wedding party came and went made for a delightful evening.
Lovely drive in and out through Bear Valley. Waking to a beautiful panoramic view of the hills was a treat. One morning, an easy 10-​min drive took me into Pinnacles National Park for a hike with friends staying there.

We rented Art House and the Cabin for two nights. It was an amazing weekend! We had so much fun and activities. Tim and his wife were very kind and cheerful! We were glad that we stayed there. Also, don’t miss the opportunity to buy local eggs from their ranch.

Just returned from a corporate retreat hosted at Bar SZ Ranch. It was the perfect setting for relaxing, team building and learning new skills (roping!, horseback riding!) together. Tim, Michelle and the rest of Bar SZ staff are so accommodating and hospitable. The accommodations are clean, comfortable and unique. Everyone on our team had a fantastic time. Looking forward to returning!

Thank you for the best wedding experience ever! Tim and Michelle, you are absolutely wonderful and I am still in awe of how much you did this past weekend and in the weeks leading up to the wedding to help us out. You made our wedding a dream come true and we are so happy that we found Bar SZ Ranch and met you and your amazing family. Thank you for everything! We will definitely be back to visit!

I’m sitting at home now just remembering all the fun I just had last weekend at this ranch and wish I was still there. Best place by far for a wedding. My friends had there wedding there and thanks to Tim and his wife (the stewards of the property) they made a lot of great memories for 70+ people that will last a lifetime.
The place is beautiful and a real ranch with happy animals all over the place. They have fancy luxury tents for large groups, plus a really nice house or two to spend a weekend relaxing. They do horseback riding, skeet shooting, camp fires, hay bale rides, and more. Plus pool table, horse shoes, darts, animal petting, etc. For side entertainment.
Thanks to Tim for being such a great host and a true hero. He runs marathons for charity to help raise awareness for a rare children’s disease ataxia-​telangiectasia (A-​T), a rare degenerative children’s disease that combines the symptoms of cerebral palsy, muscular dystrophy, cystic fibrosis and cancer. Not bringing this up just to give a good review of the place but more to raise awareness.
I will be back!

Thanks again for a fantastic weekend. The staff raves are still rolling in! (The kittens were the biggest hit of the retreat by far! The Buckets of Kittens won the show on Friday evening!) Tim and his crew were VERY attentive to all our needs and provided a very personal and comfortable experience for our 54 retreaters! The location was perfect, clean and comfortable. A special Thank You for allowing us to help feed the animals and a very special Thanks for the line dancing lesson! We’re already looking forward to next year!

Wow what an experience! We just went for a school field trip. Camping overnight at this awesome ranch! The kids have decided they are coming back every year. Thanks to Tim and Michelle for the awesome experience on a dude ranch in our own back yard!

Spent Memorial Day weekend at Bar SZ for an equestrian retreat. The facilties are great, the views beautiful and Tim and Michelle made us feel right at home. A great place to get away from it all.

What a great experience! The people who run this place — Tim and Michelle — are fantastic hosts. Their kids live on the ranch with them and they are great hosts too. This ranch only recently started allowing guests to stay overnight which probably explains why there are so few reviews.
This ranch is like a Dude Ranch where you can sleep over, and learn about all things related to ranch life, including riding horses, saddling them, brushing them, feeding them, learning to throw a lasso rope, and driving cattle. We had a great experience horse back riding. We learned how to prepare the horses and saddle them for the ride. After the ride, we learned how to take the riding gear off and wash down and brush the horses. We got to do a «cattle drive» moving them from one fenced area to another. Felt like a scene from City Slickers.
You also can shoot guns They have flying clays or targets to shoot at. They also have archery and other activities. We sat out at our own campfire right outside our house, roasted marshmallows and watched the stars. There also is a fire pit in a larger group area where you can meet other guests and the family that runs the ranch.
This ranch is the closest place I know of near Pinnacles National Park where you can stay overnight. 8 mile drive from the ranch. But we were so busy at the ranch, we hardly had time to visit the Pinnacles.
Prices are more than reasonable. What a great experience for the whole family — you will do and learn things you can’t do anywhere else.
The Ranch is also a wedding venue and a place for family reunions and corporate events. I hope to plan a family reunion there in the near future. Nothing else like it that I know of so close to the Bay Area.

I am sitting here at beautiful Bar SZ Ranch near the Pinnacles National Park and I feel like a different person than when I got here a few days ago. It is only a couple hours away from my busy life in the Silicon Valley, but worlds away– almost a bygone era. Over the course of the past couple of days, as I experienced the magic of this place, I began to unwind and enjoy all that this unique place has to offer. On day one, we settled into the «artist’s Studio;» not really a studio at all, but a grand, 2 bedroom + loft house with a giant great room with 2 story picture windows with a spectacular view. I can see why Thomas Kinkade built this house to inspire his paintings. It is clean, comfortable, kind of rustic and has modern appliances. Warm, refreshing breezes float throughout assisted by ceiling fans. It is light and open. What made this place truly special to me, though, were the one-​of-​a-​kind activities that my husband and I were able to participate in. This is a working ranch and they just happened to need to move some cattle that day, so before we went on our trail ride, they had us help them drive the cattle to different areas of the ranch while we were on horseback– I could practically hear the old western music playing as I watched my husband riding herd! The trail ride was unique in that their whole family went with us and we all told stories and saw beautiful countryside. They took pictures of us up on a hill on our horses. Part of this experience was educational; we learned how to prepare the horses for riding and to «saddle ‘em up» as well as how to wash and brush them when we were done. There was something so therapeutic about it all. After we had dinner with them, my husband and I took an evening hike to watch the sun set on the golden mountains from the top of a hill. Very romantic. The next few days were filled with shooting guns at their shooting range, interacting with various animals, going to the Pinnacles National Park, hiking, hayrides, picnicking at the creek, strolling around the grounds, more trail rides and getting to know the Borland’s lovely family (operators of the ranch) and other guests from England. At other times of the year guests can help brand the animals, ear tag them, train them, participate in the ranching and have many other unique, authentic experiences. We are definitely returning and bringing our family next time.

What a great experience! We went with a large group of dads and daughters (ages 6 – 11) and had an amazing time. Tim and Michelle and their kids are a wonderful family that took great care of us.
We all had a blast with the activities they offer: horseback riding, skeet shooting and hay rides. There’s plenty of farm animals for the kids and we were fortunate enough to be there when one of their cats AND rabbits had babies. Not sure if they can guarantee that experience for everyone though ;-)
It was just great to be able to drive only 90 minutes from Silicon Valley to what seemed like a different world. Of course there is wi-​fi and some Verizon wireless coverage if you need it, but hopefully you can shut it all down when you get there. Even though the activities were fun, it was just nice to be able to relax and take everything in.
Together, with their ranch hands, Tim & Michelle made it an experience that we’ll never forget. We’ll definitely be back to check out the other homes on their ranch and do some hiking!

Our group of 10 airbnb’d their ‘Bar SZ Ranch #2′ house for a weekend and loved it. Michelle and Tim are some of the sweetest hosts you’ll ever meet — extremely thoughtful, friendly, and dedicated to making sure their guests are comfortable.
The house is very well maintained and comfortably fit our entire group. Guests should make arrangements for their own meals, but the full kitchen made preparing food a breeze. Everyone loved horseback riding and skeet shooting, though my favorite part of the trip was getting to play with the kittens lounging around outside. Stargazers — the sky is SO clear out here! Made for some amazing night views.
Overall, our stay at Bar SZ was an amazing value for the price and I wholeheartedly recommend it for group getaways.

Went with a church group and camped in this spacious place. With over 600 acres to explore, there are virtually no boundaries. Went on guided horseback riding, archery, and hikes. They also had hayrides, swimming and a playground for the kids.
Michelle and her crew do excellent with getting horse newbies of most any age competent and comfortable with these large, powerful and beautiful animals.
Tim and the ranch hands are very anxious to make your stay pleasant and enjoyable. And it was.
Weather you are a group of 10 or 100, I recommended checking out the Bar SZ.

Amazing place with an amazing staff! THE PERFECT place for a retreat or a getaway. Lots of things to do like skeet shooting or horseback riding but also a great place to relax and do nothing! And lodging is SO affordable!!! Can’t wait to go down again! Thanks Tim!