The dude ranch type of ranch oriented towards visitors or tourism. It is a phenomenon of the romanticization of the American West after the official closing of the United States frontier in the late 19th century. The Western adventures of hardy aristocrats like Theodore Roosevelt were made available to paying guests from cities or the East, called "tenderfeet" or "dudes" in the West. After World War I, the transcontinental railroad network brought these paying visitors to the local depot, where a wagon would be waiting for them. Some dude ranch visitors expected a somewhat edited version of the "cowboy life", while others were more tolerant of the odors and timetable of a working ranch.

Dude ranches have become a feature of the Australian Outback.