Paintrock Canyon Ranch
July 5 - 10, 2026
Join us for a five-day workshop of writing inspired by Wyoming’s landscapes and daily horseback rides, with instruction on prose, character development, and the area's human-animal relationships.
The Program
Join writers Laurel Braitman and Larissa FastHorse for a five-night retreat at the Paintrock Canyon Ranch. This workshop will be generative, with participants writing new work in response to prompts inspired by the sage-scented meadows, rushing rivers, stunning canyon walls, and the multitude of creatures and awe-inspiring views on the ranch, as well as past experience and personal memory.
Laurel and Larissa will offer instruction on the art and craft of writing with a focus on compelling prose, character development, evocative description, script format and dialogue. Explore the dramatic ranch vistas while learning about ranching as a conservation tool and writing in ways that ignite your creativity and unlock new insights about yourself and your surroundings.
About Laurel Braitman
Laurel Braitman is a NYT bestselling author and teacher who writes about emotional wellbeing for all of us—humans and other animals—as reflected in her narrative nonfiction book on nonhuman minds, Animal Madness, and her memoir What Looks Like Bravery, about resilience born from loss (both published by Simon and Schuster).
Laurel is Director of Writing and Storytelling at the Stanford School of Medicine and holds a PhD in Science, Technology and Society from MIT. She is also the founder of Writing Medicine, a global community of writing healthcare professionals and their loved ones. Her work has been featured on the BBC, NPR, Good Morning America and Al Jazeera. Her writing has appeared in The Guardian, on Radiolab, The Wall Street Journal, Wired, National Geographic and other publications.
She loves stories that surprise and delight and remind us that life is as full of wonder as it is of pain. Laurel lives on her family’s citrus and avocado ranch in Southern California where she is learning to ride a cowhorse.
About Larissa FastHorse
Larissa Fasthorse is a MacArthur Fellow, Guggenheim Fellow, professor of practice (literature) at Arizona State University’s Department of English, award winning writer/choreographer, and co-founder of Indigenous Direction, the nation’s leading consulting company for Indigenous arts and audiences.
She is also a Broadway playwright who works in film and television. Larissa’s revised book of the beloved Jerome Robbins Broadway musical, Peter Pan, toured nationally and internationally. She made her Broadway debut in the 2022-2023 season with her satirical comedy, The Thanksgiving Play, making her the first known female, Native playwright to be produced on Broadway. The Thanksgiving Play is one of the most produced plays in America and abroad with over 300 separate productions. She develops work with the top theaters in the nation including Center Theatre Group, The Public, Second Stage, Yale Rep, Cornerstone, and Arena Stage.
Accommodations
The accommodations at the Paintrock Canyon Ranch are designed to put you as close to nature as possible, but with all the comforts of home. Large, private safari-style tents are stylishly furnished with full-sized beds, bedside tables, dressers and chairs. Tents are located next to the Paintrock Creek at the entrance to the spectacular Paintrock Canyon.
Meals
All meals will be creatively prepared by a private chef, featuring Ranchlands beef and local produce and dairy whenever possible. Meals at the ranch will be seated, but casual and friendly and accompanied by wine and beer. We are happy to accommodate all dietary preferences with advance notice.
Location
The ranch, located near Hyattville, is 1 1/2 hours from Cody, Wyoming, and 3 hours from Billings, Montana. Both cities have airports with multiple daily flights from major airports. Roundtrip shuttles from the Cody airport to the ranch can be booked via Explore Cody Transportation.
Paintrock Canyon Ranch
The Paintrock Canyon Ranch sprawls across northern Wyoming and is made up of rolling meadows and streams carving through high alpine valleys. The ranch’s landscape is characterized by the Paintrock Canyon, which starts at the ranch headquarters and meanders for 8 miles, opening into the Paintrock Basin at the foot of Cloud Peak, the highest peak in the Bighorn range. The Canyon itself is shaped by steep limestone slopes that climb thousands of feet high above the trail. Red sandstone cliffs, whose color transforms from deep orange to burgundy red with the changing light, rise above the meadows surrounding the ranch’s headquarters. The ranch is located 1.5 hours from Cody, WY, and 3 hours from Billings, MT where the largest commercial airports are. Shuttles through a third party are bookable to the ranch from Cody. Car rentals are also available from both airports.
Rates
$4,675 per person includes all activities, instruction, amenities, and meals. Tax and optional gratuity not included. All tents are private.
Please reach out to us with any questions at: stay@ranchlands.com or 719-641-2089.
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