Cold Creek Ranch

Welcome to Cold Creek Ranch, a 10,000 acre working cattle ranch in Arizona's Mogollan Rim Country. Here, the Schwennesen family, with roots in Arizona since 1921 produces 100% natural grassfed beef. This has not kept us out of the global discussion on land management and the value of productive landscapes. This international sense has welcomed dozens of visitors from around the globe.

Cold Creek lies between the headwaters of the Gila and San Francisco Rivers, high above the lower plains and range lands of Southern Arizona. Our mission is the production of humane and sustainable beef. We know that managing land well can restore the biodiversity that our landscapes are losing at a frightening rate. We are dedicated to improving our watershed. We share our ranch with a variety of wildlife: mule deer, javelina, quail, rabbits and rattlesnakes, to name just a few.

Cold Creek Ranch is a working ranch -- not a resort! The cow business is our mainstay. Planned activities can change in a moment if a fence breaks or a cow gets in trouble. We welcome people interested in a real Western experience to join our daily tasks, which might include: riding, feeding, and shoeing horses gathering, branding, and moving cattle, packing salt and checking water, roping and branding (in season), clearing brush and checking fences, making jerky or prickly pear syrup (our favorite!), and shooting practice.

We live "off the grid" producing all our own electricity from a medium-sized solar system. There is no television reception and to get a cell phone to work you'll have to go across the Black Jack Creek or around the mountain a ways (Jean can show you her favorite "phone booths" with comfortable rocks for desks and juniper trees for shade).

Off Ranch Activities: There are a number of interesting day trips that can be made out from Cold Creek Ranch. Within a 2 1/2 hour drives there are: The Apache Reservation, Mt. Graham and its observatory, the largest copper mine in North America, The Catwalk in New Mexico, several hot spings, ghost towns and of course, Tombstone. In addition, we offer Cowboy Camp.

​Wrangler Package: 2 day introductory session (open to all levels) - $799

This overnight, all-inclusive package provides you a genuine foundation in vaquero skills, stoking your adventurous fires with personally tailored instruction. Package includes:

- Basic horsemanship (from beginners to advanced riders, we’ll work with you to get to the next level)
- Roping clinic (ground roping up to horseback)
- Shooting (handgun, long-gun, archery, and more)
- Fencing basics (wire gates, stringing wire, water-gaps, etc.)
- Outdoor living (saddle care, dutch-oven cooking, etc.)
- Branding/Cattle work (seasonal: brand, castrate, vaccinate, tag)

Cattleman's Package: 3 day advanced session (open to graduates of introductory session or case-by-case basis) - $1499

- Advanced horsemanship (cattle work, hoof trimming, shoeing, roping)
- Advanced Roping (horseback catches, hulihan throws, etc.)
- Shooting (Colt single-action, advanced marksmanship up to 1 mile)
- Fencing basics (Brace building, stay-cutting, “tricks” with wire)
- Branding (flanking, cutting, running-iron brand, )
- Cattle drives (herd management, cross-country moves,