I'm a New York city slicker but had the time of my life at a dude ranch. It cost $5,000 per person and I didn't ride a single horse.

I'm a New York City-based travel writer who's been to every continent, including many remote corners of the world. But as someone who's lived in New York City or Rome for most of my life, cities and cosmopolitan places are typically my favorite places to visit.

Before the pandemic, jogging around the Central Park reservoir was enough fresh air for me. However, after being locked-down in my New York City apartment for so long, my perspective changed. I discovered a newfound appreciation for nature and the outdoors and when it was time to return to travel, I started dreaming of wide-open spaces, craving room to roam.

Usually, my family and I vacation in Europe each summer. But when I was ready to book our holiday, a negative COVID-19 test was still required to re-enter the US and I didn't want to risk not being allowed back in. Staying in the states was a priority.

As I researched options and spoke to friends, several acquaintances highly recommended Flathead Lake Lodge in Montana, a 2,000-acre dude ranch in the shadows of Glacier National Park. I had never been to Montana, liked the idea of going somewhere new, and it seemed a fitting choice for a week-long nature-filled family vacation.

It turned out to be a pandemic silver lining as my kids and I had a blast — even though it was a dude ranch and we had no desire to ride any horses.

I was sold on my friends' recommendations for Flathead Lake Lodge because despite the fact that it was a dude ranch centered around equestrian activities, it had so much else on offer, too.

From hiking to water sports, yoga and art classes, days are filled with as much, or as little as you want to do.

With so many activities, many guests never leave the premises. The farthest we ventured was cycling a few minutes into the tiny village of Bigfork for ice cream cones.

I also found the staff to be uniformly friendly. I met several employees who initially came to the ranch on vacation and enjoyed the experience so much, they applied for a job.

Flathead Lake Lodge hosts guests from June to September and guests must book an entire week, starting on a Sunday and ending on the following Sunday. I reserved nearly a year in advance and suggest booking early, as return visitors tend to book the same week year after year.

A vacation at Flathead Lake Lodge is costly. I paid $5,439 per person, per week. Everything is included, from activities to meals to adult beverages. There are a few sports that incur a charge, like sporting clays but my kids and I participated in many activities without ever paying an extra cent. The only additional cost was tipping the hardworking staff.

Unlike many resorts, there's no low or shoulder season where you'll find a discount rate. While Flathead Lake Lodge is clearly very expensive, I've paid more for a holiday at top resorts in Europe, where I paid for everything à la carte. The price of a family vacation abroad quickly balloons when each soda costs 10 euros or more. At Flathead Lake Lodge, there were no costly surprises when it came to paying the bill.

My kids are in their 20s and live in Los Angeles. My son, Alec, is a filmmaker and my daughter, Madeleine, is a yoga teacher. They'd never been to Montana either.

I coordinated our flights so that we'd all meet at Kalispell Airport in Northwest Montana. We were met at baggage claim by a ranch employee who drove us to the property, which is also included in the price.

In 35 minutes, we were in a pine-scented Western paradise complete with American flags flying and a covered wagon parked in front of the main lodge.

Because they only accept reservations for a seven-night stay, and with a complete turnover happening every Sunday and all guests departing and arriving on the same day, I expected check-in to be as hectic as a Times Square subway turnstile. But I was pleasantly surprised to find everything was very well organized.

My children and I were dropped off at the main lodge building where check-in took place just outside the front door. It had been a long flight from New York with a connection in Denver for me, and we were all hungry. The kitchen staff had prepared an outdoor buffet with do-it-yourself sandwich fixings and a few fresh salads to feed us right away.

Our spacious two-bedroom cabin was a short stroll from the main lodge where our bags were dropped off.

I found our accommodations to be rustic but upscale, with wood floors, cozy area rugs, beds with firm mattresses adorned with country quilts, knotty-pine log furniture, and window boxes overflowing with colorful flowers. I thought the chairs on the front porch made for a scenic perch for soaking in views of Flathead Lake.

The master bedroom had a king-size bed, en suite bathroom, and an outdoor patio. There was a second bedroom with a bathroom and two twin beds for my kids. A large living room and a third bathroom meant lots of space for the three of us. Flathead Lake Lodge is a place to disconnect, so there was no television but Wi-Fi worked like a charm.

Guest accommodations are cleaned daily. An unexpected surprise was laundry service, which was offered several days during the week at no extra charge. We left our dirty clothes in a designated bag and housekeeping delivered them back neatly folded.

Chase Averill, the owner, grew up at the ranch and now runs it, the third generation of his family to do so.

He lives on property with his wife and three young children, and sporting Wrangler jeans, a plaid shirt, and a cowboy hat, he greeted everyone personally before giving us a brief overview of ranch life and the many available activities.

Chase treated us like welcome houseguests rather than customers, even sharing his cell phone number in case anyone had a problem late at night when the main office is closed.

I noticed that he already knew many guests, which I later learned was because they return year after year. His dad, Doug Averill, who used to run the ranch, also lives here and often helps out.

Chase walked us all over to the barn for a tour. Horseback riding is at the heart of the dude ranch experience and the wranglers provide lessons and trail rides for all ages, from beginners to expert equestrians. Guided trail rides and lessons are offered from early in the morning until dusk, and guests may ride as much as they like. Many guests spend a good part of each day in the saddle.

The ranch has an extensive network of riding trails, from back country where serious riders let loose, to a popular daily breakfast ride to a wooded campsite where a hot morning meal is enjoyed around a campfire.

I noticed several horse-crazed tweens who spent their days alongside the wranglers learning the essentials of horsemanship and basic rodeo techniques. The grand finale was a kid's rodeo where they performed the tricks they'd learned during the week.

Since no one in my family rides horses, nor did we even have the slightest desire to learn, we felt a bit like square pegs in a round hole at first.

All dude ranches have extensive riding programs, but from what I've heard from friends and family who have vacationed at other dude ranches, there's often not much more to do. The reason I choose Flathead Lake Lodge was because of its lakefront position, for while we don't ride horses and didn't want to learn, my active family loves water.

I wasn't prepared for the lake's beauty. Nestled in mountains, the ranch offers every imaginable water sport, including kayaking, sailing, water skiing, stand-up paddle boarding, and canoeing. The staff was available for private instruction and small group lessons or we were free to take kayaks and canoes out on our own. I thought the water was so clear it sparkled, enticing us to jump in our kayaks and paddle away.

My kids water skied every day and we all had good time balancing on standup paddleboards. The ranch has numerous sail boats, including two historic racing sloops built in 1928 and 1929 as prototypes for America's Cup boats. I went out on these single-mast sailboats with the staff, which was really fun when the wind picked up each afternoon.

I'm a swimmer, and though the lake was too frosty in June for my taste, I swam daily laps in the heated lakeside pool.

There are two daily guided hikes offered, one in the morning and one in the afternoon. I joined the hikes every day, except once when it was raining. They usually took place off property, and varied in length and difficulty, the shortest being an hour and the longest lasting four hours. I thought it was a nice way to get acquainted with the region's majestic flora and fauna as well as fellow guests.

There was also daily morning yoga, which attracted a small but loyal following. As my daughter is a yoga teacher and I've been practicing yoga since I was a child, so we had high expectations. Class was held on an elevated platform a short hike from the lodge, with unbeatable views of the lake, and always taught by an excellent instructor.

We also joined art classes taught by a local painter, and like nearly all activities, it incurred no extra charge. My daughter and I tried a morning class called paint and sip. I assumed coffee or tea would be the beverage of choice given the early hour, but instead, unlimited mimosas got us all in a good mood.

We also played tennis, pedaled mountain bikes, and rode in an all-terrain Pinzgauer vehicle to see the resort's 500-acre elk preserve, where herds roam freely.

With so much to do, we never got around to trying archery, line dancing, or boot camp exercise class, though they sounded appealing.

Three hearty meals were served each day and everything I ate was made from scratch using seasonal and often local ingredients. I found the baked goods to be particularly luscious and chose to leave my diet at home.

During our stay, breakfast was a buffet with a hot entrée such as pancakes or scrambled eggs, plus an assortment of cereals, yogurt, fresh fruit, muffins, and scones.

Lunch was also buffet-style served either outdoors on picnic tables or in the dining room. I ate dishes like pasta and tacos accompanied by a salad bar and freshly-baked goods for dessert, including my favorite, sugar cookies.

In the late afternoon, a daily happy hour served light bites with cocktails, beer, and wine, all poured at the bar, which spills out onto a panoramic deck with a lake view.

For dinner, we sat down to an indoor, sit-down meal each night at 6:30 p.m. sharp. We filled up on baked chicken, grilled fish, sausage, and roasted lamb with vegetable and potato sides. Homemade bread was warm from the oven, served with a crock of flavored butter, and I thought the nightly wine pairing enhanced dinner nicely.

We ate this way every night except on Wednesday, which is the weekly steak fry. On this night, we rode horses or traveled on an antique fire engine to a serene spot in the woods where the staff grilled steak for a chuck wagon-style meal with live music.

My daughter is a vegetarian and Chase, the owner, suggested that she go straight to the kitchen and let the staff know. They couldn't have been more accommodating, bringing her a veggie burger or other meatless dish each evening.

Some nights, our family ate at our own small table. Others, we sat at larger tables and mingled with guests.

We also had access to a snack area with round-the-clock hot coffee and tea, granola bars, homemade pastries, and fresh fruit.

I noticed many families with children and kids ate lunch and dinner at a supervised buffet, freeing parents up for a leisurely dining experience.

If you're a fan of glitzy nightlife, you may be disappointed by the family-friendly evening activities at a dude ranch. There was one each night, and I found them to be wholesome and finished by around 9 pm.

Our first night was a welcome dinner followed by a family trail ride, while other nightly entertainment included events like a beach bonfire and sing-a-long, a staff rodeo, the aforementioned steak fry, amd a barn dance and live mouse race.

Yes, the mouse race is just what it sounds like, where big-eared country mice are lined up in lanes racing each other towards the finish line. Guests bet on the winner, and just like at a horse race, winner takes all. I was surprised to see bets in the thousands. If I hadn't already noticed that most guests had full wallets, this would have given it away.

While I admit me and my kids all did some work remotely, we also kicked back. Communing with nature nudged us to ponder deeper, existential questions that we are usually too busy to discuss. The fact that initially, we were all out of our comfort zone also had a bonding effect.

I needn't have worried that we'd be out of our element. We met fellow guests like us who were from big cities and journeyed to Flathead Lake Lodge for many of the same reasons.

We befriended families who were also vacationing with young adult children and quickly found our tribe. We still send each other texts and there's already talk meeting back at Flathead Lake Lodge in the future.

A week at Flathead Lake Lodge is expensive, perhaps prohibitively so for many, but if you can afford it, I think it's one of the best places to go to immerse yourself in nature with a taste of western culture.

While horseback riding is a big draw, I found plenty to do without getting in the saddle. The lakefront location allowed us to sail, kayak, water ski and more. And being with my kids in a stunning natural setting was worth every penny.