Equine Escape

If your idea of a vacation involves combining a bit of adventure with a hearty dose of pampering, your ultimate getaway might be a ladies-only, weeklong escape at a guest ranch surrounded by 300,000 acres of Idaho Panhandle National Forest.

Red Horse Mountain Ranch, two hours east of Spokane and 10 miles from Harrison, Idaho, has been hosting wannabe cowboys and cowgirls since 2005. But it's ladies only during Women's Week (Sept. 27 through Oct. 3 this year), when girlfriends, sisters, mothers and daughters take over the ranch.

There are no bunkhouses at Red Horse. You stay in a modern cabin suite with pillow-topped beds, down comforters, private bathrooms and authentic log furniture. Your private deck overlooks grazing horses, tidy barns and the surrounding forest.

Wranglers will assess your riding ability, and you'll be paired with a horse to match your skills. Riding instruction and tips are always available. If you get saddle-sore, you can fish for trout in the stocked pond, shoot sporting clays or mountain bike through the backcountry. Or wake up that adrenalin junkie on the challenge course, where you can swing from a trapeze, tackle a 63-foot high climbing wall or whiz along a 300-foot zipline.

End the day with a gourmet seven-course dinner, then head to the saloon for line dancing or cozy up to the campfire and laugh and share the way only women can. The cost is $2,391, all-inclusive.