This is an incredible outfit! Our guide, Sean was experienced and knowledgeable. Elk Heart's Trail…read moreBoss, Lily, knows her stuff and makes sure everyone (regardless of experience) feels comfortable and capable on their horse. She's the best! Everyone and everything was perfect. I can't recommend Elk Heart Outfitters enough.

We had a great time! We had a group of 6. Lilly and Peter were friendly, informative and helped us…read moreget comfy on our horses. The trail was perfect- 2 hours of some easy and some more challenging areas. Definitely use them if you can! We'll be back for sure!

I'm not sure why there's a couple bad reviews for this outfitter. My dad and I just spent 5 days…read morewith them and had the greatest time. Ray is the owner and he met us there to get us all settled in. He would stop by from time to time to check in on us and see how we had done. He even guided my dad the first day himself. He put together a team that works hard to protect the reputation and image of the Milligan Brand. The guides were all very knowledgeable and had great personalities. They made us feel like we were part of the family. We had other hunters in camp that had been coming there for 20-30 years, which speaks for itself. There was no "preferential treatment" to the repeat hunters. We all had the same opportunities at elk. My dad and I both took beautiful bulls, a 6x6 and a 6x7. Big Ben was our camp chef and let me tell you, the man is great at what he does. He has as much passion with the pans as the guides do in the field. If you're looking for a 5 star hotel with suits and ties for guides, this isn't for you. This place is rough around the edges and so are the guides. They're hunters like us with a true passion to be in the woods with us and yes, they are going to have a couple beers when we get back to camp. Nobody was getting stupid drunk like one review I read. My guide was Desi and I don't think I could've asked for a better one. He knew what I wanted and made it happen and genuinely seemed like he enjoyed every minute of it. This was my first elk ever and I think he was just as excited as I was when we walked up on it. He's a very family oriented man. His father is also a guide there. It was pretty amazing to see the relationship they have since my dad and I are the same way. My dad's guide was Patrick, who's also the head guide. He kept everything running smooth with the rest of the guides and hunters. He truly bent over backwards to make sure he had a great hunt. At 76 years old my dad took his first elk, and it was a great bull. The weather was unseasonably warm which slowed the bulls down a bit but everyone in camp had opportunities at bulls and when we left a day early, 6 of the 8 of us had taken bulls. This hunt was everything we pictured in our heads and more. After some terrible experiences with other outfitters in the past, these guys restored our faith that there is some good ones out there.

Let me start this off by saying I don't normally write reviews but this one is warranted. To be…read morevery clear, Ray is an arrogant guy who only cares about getting your money and making sure his higher end clientele are taken care of, where us average/new guys get the short end of the stick. Next, let's talk tipping, (and I have all the original documents, contracts, etc. saved). We looked at the tipping guidelines emailed to us beforehand and it said in writing that "Tips generally run $500-$1000 from a hunter to his guide. Also, the chef averages $125 per client. Our Camp jack is often tipped $25." I went on a 2x1 rifle Elk hunt and my buddy and I each left $600 in tip to the guide, $150 to the chef and $25 to the camp jack. We are not millionaires but thought we received good service so we tipped accordingly, per the guidelines we were sent. As we were leaving, we got a text from Ray saying "YOU AND (MY FRIEND) ARE NO LONGER ALLOWED TO COME BACK AND HUNT WITH US. DO NOT CALL US AND DO NOT TEXT US EVER AGAIN. YOU ARE NOT WELCOME HERE ANYMORE." Are you kidding me?! That text was sent to me on our drive home across the country without any context or any reason why. Who the heck does that?! My friend and I were perfectly good clients, acted properly, said nothing offensive, stuck to the rules and followed all orders so what the heck did we do to deserve that type of treatment?! Did we not tip enough based on Ray's guidelines that he himself wrote and we followed?! Do yourself a favor and avoid this man and his company at all costs. He is not worth your trouble, hard earned money, or time. Now to the review, in case you are still interested... My friend and I were on a 2x1 guided rifle elk hunt and were told we had over 10,000+ acres or more of high-country land to hunt on. Sounds great right? Well, every single morning we went to the same exact spot and saw nothing and maybe heard a bugle or two very far out. Our morning hunt (with the walk included) lasted for about 2 hours, then we came back to the camp, took a nap/had a snack, and went back out in the late afternoon for another 2 hours. Then we came back, ate dinner, and had some drinks. My buddy and I were ready to hunt all day considering we spent almost $9,000 each to make this trip happen and all we got was 4-5 hours a day with A LOT of downtime. Now don't get me wrong, the wilderness was very nice and the chef was excellent but the guides were basically drunk all day and night, drinking beers and slugging crown royal in between hunts and late into the night. The bunk cabins we stayed in were nothing special and the limited number of elk we saw were mostly spikes and young 3x3 or 4x4. We ended up getting a young 4x4 bull and a 3x4 on the 4th day because we wanted to go home with meat. Ironically enough, I got my bull on my own in between hunts during "down time" because I wanted to hunt more so the guide said "Go in that direction" which I did, I sat for an hour and got my shot. After experiencing this hunt and doing my own research on other guide services for the future I would rate Milligan Brand 1 star out of 5 at best, and 1 star just because we liked the chef. Avoid this company and go with someone else!

We went on a 4 hour horse trail ride with their popular and happy wrangler named Tony. A man that…read morereally loves his job. What a great, beautiful and fun ride we had. Looking forward to checking out their elk outfitting they offer. QVC Toni B.

Just finished a five-day horseback ride/packing fishing trip into the Weminuche Wilderness guided…read moreby San Juan Outfitting and it was a fantastic experience. Whether you're an experienced horseman or a novice like me it's an experience you'll never forget. The mountain scenery was beautiful, the camp was comfortable, the food was delicious, and the fishing just doesn't get any better. At one point I was pulling out a trout on every third or forth cast, wow! I could not have done anything like this on my own. San Juan Outfitting handled the logistics, and their knowledeable guide coached us through the entire trip, even advising on where and how to catch the fish. If this is something on your bucket list, like it was mine, or just wanting to fish a new fishing spot, or wanting to experience a new and fun adventure -San Juan Outfitting is your ticket. They delivered what they advertised (http://sanjuanoutfitting.com).

Four old friends gathered this evening for dinner at the Keyah Grande in Pagosa Springs, Colorado…read moreand celebrated our 45th wedding anniversary What a spectacular meal! We were greeted and made to feel at home by Elizabeth, the restaurant and hotel manager, who was warm, charming and hospitable. Because we were early for our reservation, we were introduced to John at the bar whose drink specialties included peach margaritas and a sour cherry that were delicious and delivered with aplomb. Our meal included elk that was beautifully prepared, sea bass which was presented with tomato risotto and Brussels sprouts and was preceded by a delicious beet salad. The food was beautifully prepared and presented and was delicious. We finished the meal by sharing a wonderful cheesecake. Our waitress, Felicia, was professional and warm. Our anniversary was honored with a glass of champagne and the women in our group were given roses. We had a chance to see the French suite, the English room and the oriental room which are beautifully and comfortably appointed and then visited the pools and floating decks ( what a view). The food and service were exceptional only surpassed by the attentiveness and warmth of Elizabeth and her staff. We cannot wait to return and to stay at this gem of a facility.

From the owner: This business is no longer in Natural Retreats portfolio. read more