Rancho Grande has been featured in magazines, ad campaigns, and viral videos seen around the world. Our off-grid ranch and its unforgettable residents—including Albert the Camel, with over 100 million views—have become a favorite for brands, filmmakers, and photographers looking for something wild, real, and beautiful. Explore our media coverage, social success, and how to book Rancho Grande for your next shoot or story.

Rancho Grande isn’t a resort. It’s not a hotel. It’s something more personal, more alive—and our guests feel it. They come for the animals, the nature, and the quiet. They leave with stories they’ll tell for years.

What Guests are saying:

Magical, Peaceful, Welcoming and Rooted.

Rancho Grande is a 200-acre guest ranch and animal sanctuary hidden deep in the Los Padres National Forest. It’s magical—not because it tries to be, but because it simply is: full of baby animals, starry skies, wild landscapes, and spontaneous joy. It’s peaceful—a rare quiet that settles into your bones, where kids roam free, adults reconnect, and everyone finds space to breathe. It’s welcoming—because this is a place built by family, made for anyone seeking wonder, warmth, and a deeper connection to the land. And it’s rooted—in nature, in values, and in the love that keeps the animals cared for and the hills alive. Rancho Grande isn’t just an escape. It’s a return—to presence, to connection, and to what matters. We loaded all the guests reviews from AirBnB and asked AI to tell us what they were saying.

Here it is:

Themes and Highlights:

  1. Connection with Nature & Animals

    • Deep interaction with goats, guinea pigs, camels, alpacas, dogs, chickens, horses, pigs, and turtles.

    • Kids feeding, hugging, and playing with animals—Albert the Camel often named.

    • Guests consistently note how gentle and affectionate the animals are.

  1. Family-Friendly Atmosphere

    • "Great for kids," "family getaway," "perfect with pets" are common phrases.

    • Multiple guests brought three generations, showing strong multigenerational appeal.

    • Popular activities: campfires, smores, pedal boats, hiking, fishing, LEGO building, frog hunting, and rock room games.

  2. Peace, Privacy & Relaxation

    • Words like "magical," "healing," "calm," "peaceful," and "escape from city life" appear across reviews.

    • Balance of community and solitude is repeatedly appreciated.

  3. Hospitality

    • Richard, Linda and Alex,  are praised for their warmth, responsiveness, and above-and-beyond service.

    • Examples: guiding astronomy nights, helping start fires, tending medical needs, welcoming pets.

  4. Lodging Quality

    • Cowboy Cabin: cozy, rustic, thoughtfully curated, and fully equipped.

    • Guests highlight kitchen gear, Turkish towels, antique decor, and spectacular views.

  5. Immersive Ranch Experience

    • Guests unplug, get dirty, stargaze, collect eggs, garden, and live "cowboy" life.

    • Horseback rides, baby guinea pig cuddles, duck feeding, goat walks, and Albert sightings are among top highlights.

Magical

Guests use the word over and over—and not lightly. Rancho Grande feels magical because it surprises people. A baby guinea pig in your lap, Albert the Camel posing like a celebrity, frogs in the greenhouse, goats peeking through your window. The ranch creates moments you couldn’t script—full of beauty, wonder, and pure delight. It’s a place where kids feel like explorers, and adults remember what joy feels like.

Peaceful

It’s not just quiet here—it’s peace. Guests talk about healing, re-centering, and feeling truly present for the first time in a long time. The ranch doesn’t ask anything of you. It gives you space—wide, wild, and calm. Whether you’re reading in a hammock, watching the sunset, or just listening to the sounds of animals in the distance, Rancho Grande lets your nervous system settle. And that stays with you long after you leave.

Welcoming

What people remember most—besides the animals—are you, Linda, Alex, and the team. The kindness, the attention, the way nothing feels like a transaction. From a stocked fridge to fire-starting help to medical support to letting kids bottle-feed a baby camel—every gesture says, “You’re part of this place.” Guests feel held, not hosted. That’s rare. And it’s what brings them back.

 

Rooted

This ranch is not a set or a brand. It’s real. The buildings, the collections, the animals, the dirt, the trees—it’s all been built, grown, and cared for by hand. Guests feel that. They sense the history, the work, the love. Rancho Grande doesn’t float above the landscape; it rises from it. And in a world that often feels unmoored, this place reminds people what it means to belong somewhere.

What People Are Saying

“We lived six weeks of summer camp in one weekend.”

"There’s an aura of calm grounded in authenticity that led to some real healing for our family."

“We feel comfort that our dog Marty was able to return to a place that brought him so much joy."

“Our kids chose this over Disneyland and Legoland.”

“This is such a unique experience because you really are on your own as much as you want to be”

“A part of my soul was healed during my three nights here."

"Rancho Grande was our family's version of City Slickers“