Paintrock Canyon Ranch
October 12 - 17, 2025
Join the renowned author of “Cowboys Are My Weakness” and “Deep Creek” for a week of writing inspired by the creatures and setting of the Paintrock Canyon Ranch.
The Program
Join author Pam Houston for a five-night generative workshop, with participants writing new work inspired by the surrounding ranch and using this physical world to help access our emotional world. Pam will guide you in discussing elements of craft and accessing the ranch and all its creatures and components as metaphor.
Enjoy riding in the varied landscapes of the Paintrock Canyon Ranch. All riding levels are welcome.
About Pam Houston
Pam Houston is the author of the memoir, Deep Creek: Finding Hope In The High Country, as well as two novels, Contents May Have Shifted and Sight Hound, two collections of short stories, Cowboys Are My Weakness and Waltzing the Cat, and a collection of essays, A Little More About Me, all published by W.W. Norton.
She teaches in the Low Rez MFA program at the Institute of American Indian Arts, is Professor of English at UC Davis, and co-founder and creative director of the literary nonprofit Writing By Writers.
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 viaExplore 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.
Rates
$4,260 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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