A Diamond in the Rough! If you want to take your children or grandchildren to a "real" ranch, K-Diamond-K is the place to go ! The ranch was founded by hard-working Stephen & veterinarian June Konz in 1961. The present gorgeous large log cabin lodge and all its furniture was self-built by the Konz family between 2000-2008, and is now run by their eldest daughter Kathy (Konz) McKay, husband Brian McKay, and son Stephen McKay. This is the real deal when it comes to western ranches. They raise their own longhorn cattle. You couldn't ask for more ! My wife and I took two of our grandchildren to the ranch planning to spend three days from Thursday, July 31st 2025 to Sunday August 3rd 2025, and ended up extending our stay to August 4, 2025 because our grandchildren had so much fun. What can kids do at K-Diamond-K ? Read the signs and look at the pictures included with this review. This is "real" ranch life with a host that is brimming with smiles and spirit. Kids can rise at 7 am (Don't worry, your excited kids will be waking you up !) to feed the baby animals and gather some fresh eggs from the chicken coop. Then they can accompany owner, Kathy, on her ATV to the ranch's lower valley to milk Kathy's cow Rosebud. Rosebud delivers 3 gallons of milk every morning and every evening, and you will become an expert milker after a short time. Then around 7:30 am, the kids can accompany Kathy on her ATV to round up the ranch's ~50 horses that have been grazing in the lower valley overnight and herd them back to the corral by the lodge. Breakfast is served at 8 am. After breakfast, your kids can brush and love-on a horse and go for a horseback ride on the ranch's 1,600-acre property at 9:30 am or enjoy a completely different ranch activity. Lunch is served at 12:30 pm. Each day is spent doing "exactly what you want to do". The ranch has all the facilities and gear you need for any activity you desire (riding boots, hats, gloves, ropes for roping, biking, fishing, archery, a pickle ball court and a basketball hoop, or just plain relaxing on one of the ranch decks, or on the front lawn lounge chairs). You get three delicious meals a day and will never be hungry. Kathy, cook Chloe, and wranglers Madeleine and Evelyne truly worked as a team during our visit. By the way, the cream in your coffee and the ice cream dessert you enjoy at meal time all come from Rosebud ! So, if you haven't made ice cream before, you can see how its done ! Our grandchildren immediately loved feeding the miniature pigs, milking Rosebud twice a day (they had never milked a cow before), and accompanying Kathy on her daily ritual of herding the horses to the corral in the morning and back to the valley in the evening. They also very much enjoyed the large outdoor trampoline in front of the lodge. We went horseback riding, fishing at Swan Lake, visited the ranch's abandoned gold mine, panned for gold, spent time in the petting zoo, and enjoyed mountain biking. We also played many fun games in the lodge. The kids particularly liked scrabble and the foosball and air hockey tables in the basement. Every evening after dinner, the kids would go to the outdoor trampoline, play games, and sit around the large outdoor campfire to make smore and identify the planets and constellations with the help of our phone's "Skyview" app. Our grandchildren also made some new friends at the ranch and exchanged emails with them to hopefully see them again on a future visit ! read more

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We came as a large group during a lull part of the year and allowed to take double rooms as singles. Halfway thru our stay another large group came without reservations and wanted to stay, we were asked to go back to the original room assignments which we did. During our stay, food was mediocre at best, as the weeks progressed, less and less of it was cooked at dinner time, good choices decreased. At check out time, the owner then decided that the negotiated price for the stay was not enough and tried to raise our final payment. This due to the fact that for half our stay we used twice the rooms. The main hall was dusty and there were a lot of flies. Garbage cans were rarely emptied. Disgusting place. I did notice that Yelp deleted my original review of this dump so I had to post again. read more

My daughter and I spent the week here and tomorrow we leave with sad hearts... when we came we were exhausted and over 2020 but we are leaving feeling loved and rejuvenated... Kathy and Brian opened up their hearts and home to us and there is not enough words or stars to emphasize our gratitude.. this place is beyond beautiful.. from comfy beds and private rooms to tons of activities to keep you busy...every day we had something new and fun to do... From feeding cows to chopping wood .. horse back riding to hiking ... you name it and they do it.. its a working ranch but lots of time to play and relax... we will be back. read more

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What an absolute rip off for valentines dinner! My sister and I made reservations wayyyy in advance but they serve anybody. So the people who had made a reservation didn't eat first so they ran out of food. The prime rib wasn't even their beef and they ripped you off for $35 a plate!! We drove over 2 hours to have a ladies night and our prime rib was cooked to death and smaller than a hamburger patty and almost as thin. This was our first and last time there for a meal. They even ran out of vegetables and rolls! Why make a reservation if it doesn't guarantee you get what you reserved for?? Every other couple at our table were also highly disappointed and said they will not eat there again and they live locally and this was their first time there too. The atmosphere was great but nothing else read more

Hmmmm. Where to start? I wanted to stay at a guest ranch, and we'd checked this 1700 acre place out years ago when we were still RVing and were impressed at the time with the facility and people. Here's something for all of you business owners to remember: a personal touch in marketing really pays off. We'd signed the guest register at the time and for the past ~14 years have gotten a card every Christmas. We felt sort of a kinship with the family who has owned this place since the 60's, so it made sense to give it a try. The owners are experiencing the same struggle as businesses everywhere, as it's dicey getting quality staff to hire, so co-owner Kathy is doing much of the work herself during the weekdays. This provided me/us the opportunity to really (and I mean REALLY) experience life on a working ranch. We were the only guests there mid-week so we had the run of the place. If you are an experienced horseperson, regardless of your discipline, prepare to set aside your personal knowledge/opinions about horses and certain aspects of riding. This is a working ranch and these are working guest ranch horses - not your arena trained dressage mounts or western pleasure show horses. With 45 head of horses (about 35 actively working) their training is geared toward riders with limited experience and you must follow the ranch's rules about riding. So many places are no longer offering horseback riding, as the insurance has gone through the roof, so we as customers have to respect that. I was impressed with how sensible the horses were and while no horse is "spook proof" these horses were pretty close. Even well-seasoned backcountry horses would have shied at some of the stuff we rode around and these horses didn't. I also liked the fact that Kathy has about a million saddles so I could ride in one that actually fit me. Cattle work isn't officially offered as an activity anymore, but I had the good fortune to be there when a second horseperson was sort of essential to getting the herd from point A to point B. I won't go into details, but I'd never thought my first experience on horseback around cattle with giant horns (and bulls) would have been on an Arabian mare. She was unflappable around the cattle, and turns out this was her first ride of the season so I was impressed. After our work was done we rode up one of their local mountains (foothill) and got a view of the river and surrounding territory. My second ride was a short one just before we left, on a different horse, and I was able to see more of the lower river terrain this time. It's beautiful country. In addition to cattle work I fed the runt piglet multiple times daily, visited the sow and her kids, fed the mare and her new foal and was there to turn them out for the first time in the pasture (cute!), helped move horses on foot (mine and theirs) to their evening pastures, and learned how to respect cattle and still get them to go where they should - which isn't on the front lawn! We helped to eyeball hooking up one ton fertilizer bags to their forklift so they could be dumped in the spreader for use on their pastures. My husband kicked back, monitored the cattle, and hung out with the friendly cats while I was out riding. When we arrived, a large group was there for a buffet dinner so we dined really well and made some new friends. We chose to eat leftovers for our few remaining dinners there since they were so good! Monica had started working in the kitchen and lodge recently and she took good care of us when Kathy had other chores to do. The lodge is absolutely beautiful, rooms were comfy, and despite the sorta soft mattresses we slept well every night. The large TV in the lodge area (none in rooms) resulted in us meeting a nice guy from Walla Walla one morning and we discussed some of the challenges in Eastern Washington resulting from extensive wolf predation. It was eye opening for us folks from "the coast". This was a new experience for us but we'll be back. It was way more fun and interesting than either of us expected. Super place to take your kids, and there is a room set up on the main floor for good disabled access. Pretty sure they are busy in the summer (we were there for the 85-90 degree heatwave in early May) so you may want to book ahead as they often host large groups. Remind Kathy to turn off the sprinkler at night (private joke there). read more

A fun weekend! Pros: -Staff was incredibly welcoming and friendly -So many activities to partake in, from horse riding to cow milking to gun shooting to just relaxing. Not too many dull moments, never feel pressured to do anything. If you want to sit back and relax with a drink the whole time you're there, you may. If you want to go nuts and do dozens of different country things, you can do that too. -Fun for all age groups with activities designed for older and younger folks. -The location and ranch was absolutely beautiful and very clean. Cons: -Kathy, the owner, just kinda passively aggressively gets mad at people for stuff they had no one tell them they shouldn't be doing. For example, we turned on the lights in a room at 11:30 at night and she got upset with us when there was no way we would known the rule. -The staff is pretty disorganized. They are very nice and helpful when they can be, but some of the employees don't seem to know what is going on. When we asked to do some activities, some of the staff was just like "yeah I don't really know whats going on with that." -ABSOLUTELY NO COVID RESTRICTIONS AT ALL. No one wearing masks, no social distancing. I was very upset with this given there is an ONGOING PANDEMIC. When I asked one of the employees why this was the case, she told me that Kathy, the owner, is "pretty much pretending everything is normal". Not okay at all. Overall, a very fun trip, but would never have gone if I had known they were just disregarding pretending coronavirus wasn't even happening. read more

My family and I had a wonderful Labor Day weekend at K Diamond K Ranch! We stayed two nights at the ranch and were always made to feel welcomed and like family by Kathy and everyone at the ranch! I went on my first solo horseback ride ever (and I'm 28) but Kathy still made time to make sure I felt comfortable and safe :) I even got to ride their amazing Clydesdale, Erik, who was a complete sweetheart. There are near endless possibilities of things you can do in and around the ranch. We loved horseback riding, panning for gold, spending time with/feeding the animals, and just enjoying the beautiful and peaceful environment in and around K Diamond K. There are so many wonderful animals to care for and spend time with (which I loved), and I also loved the opportunity to really be involved hands-on with a lot of what goes on in the everyday life at K Diamond K Ranch. Thank you Kathy and all the amazing workers at K Diamond K! I had a great time and will gladly return! read more

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Amazing ranch! Great people, great food, great fun! There is never a dull moment, always something to do from horse riding to river floating! You can help out on the ranch as much as you want or sit back and relax! You get breakfast, lunch, and diner with your stay prepared by their amazing Executive Chef Barry w. Bennett, and a trail ride everyday! You can not go wrong with the K Diamond K! read more

K-Diamond K Ranch - Guest Houses Near Me - Republic, Washington

This place is genuine, friendly, and provided me and my family a great vacation. We rode horses with Kathy, the owner, ate breakfast with the ranch hands, had dinner with the original founder, June, Kathy's mother and the ranch vet. I highly recommend this place for anyone who is looking for a fun family vacation on the ranch and who is looking for that good old hospitality to go with it. Also, the good is amazing. read more

This is an amazing place. We brought our kids here to experience what ranch life is like and we defiantly got that and more! It is truly a family run business and you get to spend time with guests and the family. We left exchanging contact info with people we stayed with and with a perspective on a a part of the country we didn't know much about. The staff were all extremely nice and knowledgeable. The food was fantastic, in fact my wife is vegetarian and was surprised how good it was. They went out of their way taking care or her needs and anything else we needed. We got to experience so many things like trial rides, exploring old homesteads, herding cattle, milking cows, and caring for the animals. Most of our fun came from helping on the ranch and getting to do chores. My kids can't wait to come back, when we were driving home my youngest said " this is the first vacation where we felt like we met family". I can't recommend this place enough, it was an unparalleled experience!!!! read more

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I loved my 4 nights at this place. Nice big room with high windows and lots of light. The windows are double-paned, too -- not that that helps with the roosters, but I got used to them after the first night. You leave your door unlocked. I'm a city girl, and that wasn't something I thought I'd like, but once I was there, it seemed natural. Everyone knows everyone, and everyone's working together. It's like family. The food was really good (a little too plentiful, says my waistline) and they would accommodate any requests cheerfully. The lodge is big but feels like a home. There are two fireplaces on either end of the great room with couches. There are loads of boots and gloves and jackets for borrowing, and saddles and chaps and ropes all over. And cowboy hats, of course. The wood floors are shiny and clean all the time, too. Don't know how they manage that! Lots of animals around, both inside and out -- black lab, black & white kitty, bunnies, billy the goat, lucky the deer, chickens, ducks, horses, longhorns, alpacas, llamas... and just down the road, a little goat farm with baby goats (in April). So sweet. There was skeet shooting, horseback riding, fishing, hunting (in season), ranch work to help with (feeding, herding, branding, etc), hiking... lots of options, and also the option to just relax and enjoy the views and peacefulness of the place. I made some new friends there, too. That's always nice. :) And for all that's included, which was everything, I thought the price was very fair. Thanks, y'all! I may be back sooner rather than later! read more

I went there for my birthday last year because a friend of mine was one of the staff. I needed some R&R from busy Los Angeles. All I can say is I LOVED my stay there! It was so serene being in nature, everyone was friendly, the food was tasty, and my room was super duper comfortable! I went horseback riding, cattle driving, and met some really cool people. It's a lodge so no you can't lock your room door but I felt safe so I didn't worry at all. I brought my Mac laptop with me on the trip and no one bothered it or even went into my room for that matter. I would recommend this ranch to anyone I know. It's like being at home away from home and you get to pick from a large selection of cowboy hats and boots to wear around the ranch. I got to be a real cowgirl while I was there! read more

What a great place! The area is beautiful, the staff is friendly, and the activities were numerous. The horse riding was great, the food was good, and drinking at the bar was loads of fun. Our teenagers loved the camp fire and karaoke. All the guest were having fun---the littlest kids played with 3-day old chicks and the pig. The near-by lake was really fun to swim in. The ranch lent us inner tubes to take to the lake. Oh ya, and we all got to shoot a 22 at pop cans---something we never get to do living in the city. The previous reviewer had the unfortunate experience of seeing an injured animal. I must say, we are vegetarians and always concerned with animal welfare. K Diamond K is a ranch---animal births and deaths are inevitable. I witnessed only good care given to the animals---and there's a Vet Clinic right on the ranch where locals bring their animals for care. And I appreciate that Laura made us vegetarian food and Tyler didn't cook the eggs in bacon grease. :) read more

My weekend experience at the Ranch exceeded my expectations tremendously. Even though our getaway to the ranch was over a week ago, my boyfriend and I still reminisce about how much fun we had! There were so many great activities at our fingertips, and we both got to try new things. The staff was incredible, helpful and very knowledgeable. I got to learn so much about horses! My boyfriend and I are seasoned travelers, and I have to say that the hospitality we received from the moment we arrived was amazing, and totally made us feel like we were family. The lodge itself was like a work of art. The woodwork was so pretty, and our room was very clean! I've personally managed hotel staff for many years and have really high standards in cleanliness, and again was very satisfied. Waking up to a rooster was pretty cool too! I am also a vegetarian with meal restrictions, but this was never an issue, and they went out of their way to prepare meals that I thoroughly enjoyed. Kathy (the owner) also had her staff surprise my boyfriend with a birthday cake! He absolutely loved it! What I loved most was that we actually got to experience what it was like to live on a ranch and care for the animals! There are so many different animals running around, it was like a fantasy petting zoo. The ONLY complaint that I have, is that we don't live closer so we can't enjoy this every weekend! I just posted our pictures on FB last night from the ranch, and already my friends and family are blowing up my phone wanting to know where this gem is, and loved the pictures! We seriously can't wait to return! read more

8525 Birthday trip for my wife Review of K-Diamond-K Guest Ranch Pending review We decided to take a trip to a Dude Ranch this year. I did a lot of research online before I booked our trip to the K Diamond K. It was a GREAT choice. We arrived around 3:00 and met Kathy. She's the owner and is a wonderful hard working person. She makes sure that the guests are happy and comfortable. While there my wife and I rode and herded horses and some cattle. We fished, shot trap, shot bow and arrows and had a blast. The property is very beautiful and was enjoyed by all the others guests also. If you have children and are looking for a great vacation- this is it. Kathy gives special attention to the kids. She makes memories for and with them. I saw a couple of kids that did not want to go home. The room was pretty basic, but comfortable with a nice shower. Our room had a queen and a twin bed with pictures for John Wayne on the walls. We also had a balcony with chairs so we could sit outside and enjoy the views. Food was also good, and plenty of it. Breakfast- lunch and dinner were a little different every day. I loved the biscuits and gravy. Drinks at the bar are also included in the daily rate. Don't miss going there. You will love it. Your kids will love it. It's better than taking the family to...More read more

Initially when I pulled up to the ranch, I was impressed with how gorgeous the lodge is. I also appreciated the friendliness of the staff. Then I learned that though I was sharing a room with two colleagues, the staff could only find one room key, so we had to keep our room unlocked the whole time. There were also bright lights just outside our skylights that kept the room lit up all night, and we had no way to dampen the light. That was annoying. After eagerly anticipating a trail ride for the first time in over 10 years, I found the experience disappointing. I requested a mellow horse and explained that I was a nervous novice. Instead, the guide (Kathy) paired me with a stubborn, grouchy horse who kept wandering off the trail, picked fights with other horses, and took me through numerous trees so my feet fell out of the stirrups and branches stuck in my clothes and my hands bled. Also, the saddle was not properly fitted and kept listing to the side, so I'd have to try to adjust it every few minutes while I was riding. Not fun. But my strongest memory of the trip was the horrible situation of a calf laying on the front lawn. When I arrived, I learned that it belonged to a neighbor and had fallen off a cliff days ago and had not responded to medical treatment - it was paralyzed. All it could do was lay there in its own waste, and could not pull itself up on its chest to eat or drink. It had no protection from the elements and got rained on for several days, and flies crawled all over him. Every day I asked the manager if the calf would be put out of its misery. Several veterinarians were staying in the lodge at the time and offered to do it. But she said she wanted the neighbor to do it, and he was too busy to come over, and she didn't want to pay for disposal. When I left, the calf was still alive, and it had been laying on its side in misery for a week and all it would do was groan. I felt awful about his suffering and can't understand why the ranch wouldn't put him out of his misery out of compassion and to be humane. Because of how they allowed this calf to suffer so much for so long, I will not return to this ranch. read more

Apologies if you have to take your pet to their octogenarian veterinarian...took over an hour of us waiting in our car for her to come out and literally order us around her office. Without so much as a hello, she TOLD (not asked) me to "grab a dog bone" for some dog I was not familiar with that was in a crate in the room, and expressed an obvious lack of patience when I didn't know at first where they where. My mistake for not being familiarized with the location of items and supplies in THEIR office. Minutes later, I was told to "grab a file from over there..." And when I picked up the wrong stack of papers was told "C'mon that's your left, I said on the right." I understand that this woman is elderly and perhaps has valued experience but there is no reason to speak to ANYONE That way, let alone someone you are providing services to. For someone to make us wait over an hour and then be so bossy, rude and act so entitled because of their ancient status is absurd. Though I am thankful she was there because of the remote location of where I live, had I any other choice, I would have avoided this place. The visit was awkward and uncomfortable for the most part, left the office fairly offended and uncertain as to whether or not my dog got proper care. read more

The first time I experienced K Diamond K was a little over four years ago. I was looking for a fun vacation for my my daughter and I, my daughter being 12 years old at the time. We have always loved horses and the outdoors and thought of checking out a Dude Ranch. I simply googled for them in Washington and happened upon "The Ranch". I chose them after the first phone call, inquiring about a stay. Every call into the Ranch was met with warm, upbeat and informative people. We were given great information, but were pretty much heading into the adventure blind as we had never even seen a ranch before. As my daughter and I got closer to the ranch in our rented car, we began to bounce in our seats as we saw the large wooden sign that looked like it was branded by hand. We pulled into the driveway and gasped as our eyes met a large A-framed log lodge, brightly and warmly lit. We had no idea that everything, down to the beds in each guest room was hand made; every single log peeled by hand. We had never seen anything so beautiful. Even the wood stairs had horseshoe imprints!! We were greeted and instantly felt at home. The rooms are comfortable, bright, and one of a kind. Not only are the beds hand made, but the bedspreads and quilts also. I could probably write a novel about The Ranch as it is now our second home, so will skip to the highlights! We have visited every year since, and sometimes more than once or even twice a year. I think what we love most about being at the Ranch is how it provides the best of both worlds: a full scale vacation with relaxation (the saloon, the lakes, skeet shooting, panning for gold, and so much more) or a working vacation, herding cattle and helping in the vet clinic. We definitely think of the staff at K Diamond K as family. We couldn't imagine every visiting another guest ranch, and recommend it to anyone at any age. read more