El Rancho Trading Post-Celebrating Our 23 Year Family-Run Store Anniversary!

 
El Rancho Trading Post
23 years in the family!
Open 7 days a week!

Welcome to the
El Rancho Trading Post
The Gift Shop of the Rockies
303.526.0050

Elevation: 7,696 feet

Now Tweeting on Twitter!


Holidays:

Father's Day-June 21
Summer Begins-June 21
Independence Day-July 4
Friendship Day-August 2
Labor Day-September 7
Patriot Day-September 11
Grandparent's Day-September 13

Shop Green
We love to carry lots of Colorado-made items and a unique, ever-changing selection of locally made goodies from our own and surrounding communities!
Hundreds of gifts under $20 & $10-Something for everyone in our store!

visa mastercard discover logo
Feature Article:
60 year Anniversary 2 page feature article with historical pictures in City and Mountain Views Magazine, pages 36-37 winter edition
More Green...
This Web Site is Now:
- Climate Friendly!
- Wind Powered!
- Certified RECs!

El Rancho Trading Post is listed with Denver's "A-List" for great Gift Shops
4 page El Rancho article in The Canyon Courier newspaper
Check out the online article (less photos) or come in to see the full layout!

Historic El Rancho Restaurant, a Colorado icon, celebrates 61 years!  Established in 1948
Enjoy the mountains on a beautiful drive - weeks and weekends -
And us at El Rancho, a great point on the historic Lariat Loop!

Your local vacation stop...and easy on the gas tank (online, too)!


El Rancho is #101 on "101 Thing to do in JeffCo Before You Die!"
City & Mountain Views Magazine, Summer 2008 issue

Your Southwestern Gift Headquarters!
- Free gift wrapping with $10 purchase! (And a new green alternative!)

Home Products  About  Us Hours &
Location
Resources
& Links
Tourism Fun Facts & Events
El Rancho Drink Recipes Out of Stock Products Going
Green
Contact
Us
Touché! Cartoons
Dating And Hand Grenades Humor

Cam & Ché With friends Peg, Tom & Jerry Past El Rancho Family Owners John, Linda & Carl McEncroe
 
Welcome to the Rockies!
The seasons are always changing up at 7,696 feet.
The weather switches constantly in the Rocky Mountains. Be prepared with layers, gear, great food and spirits at the Historic 60 year old El Rancho. Bring in your ski ticket for a bar special. And come have a blast at our 22 year family run store!
Here's some other seasonal ideas to take advantage of:
Hike, snowboard, sled, horseback ride, hit the nearby Echo Mountain Park, visit Red Rocks outdoor amphitheater, or catch some rays or snowflakes-often in the same day! Don't forget your sunscreen. And always drink lots of water!
Remember, El Rancho Trading Post is one-stop shopping for your new comfy sheepskin slippers, t-shirts, sweatshirts, Stetson hats,cozy soft gorgeous reindeer hides from Finland, sheepskins, and some of the best new local items that you can't find anywhere else! We've always been economical and ecological-long before it was a cool bandwagon thing. Please come on in and say "hi." 
 

 

Enjoy your time  in the Rockies!photo by Mathew Jonas from The Canyon Courier
Come celebrate &
Get all the gifts you need here...Red hat ladies, kids, grandparents, spouses, best friends, house-sitters,  colleagues, and more!

Need great ideas?
Our gift consultants can help, plus...
We Ship!  And Can gift wrap!

Great Gift Ideas:
- NEW! Shady Brady Crush-Resistant Straw Hats with Custom, made in Evergreen Hat Bands! (Never show up to the same party with someone else's hat style ever again!)

-
NEW! Red Hat Ladies Jewelry and porcelain dolls
 
  Real Aspen Leaf Jewelry 
- Cozy Sheepskin Hats and Slippers
- Hand-Carved Walking Sticks
- Trail Guides
- Real Stetson Hats
- Woven Rugs and Wall Hangings
- Navajo Squash Blossom Earrings
- Hand-made Evergreen Philosopher Mugs and "Mug Rug" Coasters
- Colorado-Made Metal Sculptures
- Dream Catchers
- Rockies Hats and Shirts
- Locally Beaded Earrings-Lots of gorgeous clip earring selections!
- Sterling Silver Ear Cuffs
- El Rancho Long-Sleeve Elevation Shirts
- Andy Marquez Photography Books
- Burl Wood Wildlife Carvings
- Sterling Silver Baby Bracelets
- Turquoise Inlay Pocket Knives
- Mandela Protection Shields
- Horse Shoe Door Knockers
- Zuni and Navajo Bolo Ties
- "Ride the Rockies" His and Her T-s
- Genuine Semi-Precious Stone Rings Set in Sterling Silver
- Authentically Made Buffalo Horn Pipe Chockers by Cree Indian Jack Cardinal
- Homeland Security "Spoof" Shirts
- Porcelain Fairies
- Wrought Iron Coat Hooks and Towel Racks
- Buffalo Horn Chocker Necklaces
- Hand-made Wooden Sled Ornaments
- Black Onyx and Turquoise Pendants
- Glow In The Dark Kids Sweatshirts
- Silver Concho & Leather Navajo Belts
- Hand-Painted Gecko Mirror
-
Hand-colored Comics by Playgirl Magazine cartoonist & Relationship Humorist Ché Rippinger

See more at our Products Page

El Rancho Trading Post & Restaurant
photo by Ché Rippinger


Store owner Cam (right) with daughter Ché (left) at the Evergreen Rodeo Parade
photo courtesy of Kalena Madsen

Barfly Buffalo "Bill" Mascot in the El Rancho Tavern Says "Hi!"
photo by Ché Rippinger

 

Hilarious "Homeland Security
Fighting Terrorism Since 1492"
T-Shirts $18.95; 2XL and 3XL $21.95

photo by Ché Rippinger
 

El Rancho Trading Post

Welcomes The Rolicking
Red Hat Ladies

We have beautiful jewelry, and dolls, too-just for you!
And even your underage members, too!

 



 Thank you  for shopping with us and supporting our locally owned business! Our store and restaurant patrons-both local and visiting, are the greatest!

***


Friends:
Headed back to Henderson, NV tomorrow A.M. but wanted to thank you for the great shop you run and the fun inventory provided. At our age it is not certain we can get back but we sure as heck will try in the not too distant future. Keep up the good work!
Bev and Bob Weaver

Thanks Bev and Bob--we appreciate your kind words and delighted that you enjoyed our store!
Cam


A Few of our Many Happy Customers...
 


Featured Products:
(Check out MORE of our great items!)

Genuine Reindeer Hide from Finland
Gorgeous, very soft, well-tanned, approximately 4'x5' Can be used for wall hanging, couch/bed throw or area rug...especially beautiful accenting a fireplace! Not many left-they went fast! $350

FYI...They're called "reindeer" in Finland (are raised for food like cattle), and are "caribou" in the U.S.


Native American Jewelry
Hand-crafted Zuni and Navajo Indian Tribe designs with stone inlay and settings with turquoise, coral, black onyx, quartz, and opal. Bear claws, crosses, feathers, horses, Kokapeli, and carved stone fetish animals.
photo by Ché Rippinger

Stunning Native American "Pawn" jewelry
Genuine turquoise bracelets set with sterling silver. It is said that the spirit of the artist travels with their pices; prices range $220-$800+

photo by Ché Rippinger


The El Rancho Trading Post is a long-running family-operated business for over 22 year in the family.  Enjoy your shopping experience here. It's different every trip, with one-of-a-kind items, southwestern gifts, tourist collectibles and very special local artisan pieces. We carry such items as jewelry, leather belts, t-shirts, sweatshirts, artwork, cards, carvings & children's toys. All have the unique flair for the interesting, unusual, useful, fun, or beautiful.

Nestled in the heart of the beautiful Colorado Rocky Mountains, visiting El Rancho is a memorable rustic and scenic southwestern experience. Great for stopping for a travel break to relax, unwind and enjoy. The 60 year old Historic El Rancho restaurant is well known for it's buffalo, elk, trout, prime rib, special daily dishes, and scrumptious Sunday Champagne brunch. There is a tavern to enjoy a drink and watch a sports game, as well as the main dining room, garden room, outdoor patio and scenic banquet and picturesque garden grounds.

Stop in for lunch or dinner before a show at Red Rocks Amphitheater-
the most gorgeous place in the world to see a concert!

And...El Rancho is a Colorado icon, one of the best known and most beloved restaurants (by multiple generations!) in the state!

* * *
 El Rancho Restaurant has delicious daily specials, as a local lunch and dinner destination along your adventure travels! Call 303-526-0661 for info or to R.S.V.P. One stop eating, drinking and shopping! Enjoy the hiking the mountain flower-filled trails, autumn quaking aspen leaves, snowy scenery,  panoramic mountain views, and incredible sunsets!

Try the excellent Champagne Sunday Brunch. Just $11.95 ($5.95 for the little ones ages 4-11) between 9am-noon. A great buffet plus a onsite omelet/waffle station with a chef cooking it right in front of you-just how you like it!

And now El Rancho offers their special Early Bird Dinner Menu: Salad or Soup + Early Menu Entree choice + Dessert + Soft drink or coffee, all for only $15 (+tax & tip). Offered from 5-6 pm Monday -Friday, and Sundays from 3-5pm, on all non-holidays.

Also, the 90 room Quality Suites Hotel next door has a pool, hot tub, spectacular mountain views, and even 6 rooms with jacuzzi tubs!

Links to these on our Resources Page

* * *

    


Did you know...

· We’re very easy to get to in Colorado, just take the I-70 highway westbound into the mountains, and get off at the Evergreen Parkway exit. Or I-70 eastbound towards Denver and exit at El Rancho.

· We are located in the same three-level log building as the 1948 historic El Rancho Restaurant--a favorite spot for local and international visitors spanning several generations.

· There is a Quality Suites hotel just across the parking lot from El Rancho.

· There are some other businesses on the 2nd floor, including a great hair salon.

· El Rancho is a tourist information area.

· There is a nearby local buffalo herd at the Genesee exit.

· You can get one of the most beautiful pictures of the Continental Divide from El Rancho.

· El Rancho is part of the famous historical and scenic "Lariat Loop." A great drive with museums, trails, historic stops, buffalo, mountains, Red Rocks, and a brewery (you've heard of Coors, right?).

Current Colorado Department of Transportation (CDOT)
weather conditions in Evergreen, CO camera

Che's MySpace

Site Archive

 

Do you have pictures, stories, wonderful memories, or bits of history to tell us about your visit to El Rancho? Please e-mail us for our retrospective collection and help us celebrate the 60 year anniversary. Thank you! (please no spam or sales-thanks!)
We gladly accept*: visa mastercard discover logo
*$10 minimum order. Sorry, no checks. 

El Rancho Trading Post store 303.526.0050
© All web site materials other than links are copyrighted and cannot be used without permission.
© Photos by Ché Rippinger. For permission, linking or usage, please contact: che@elranchotrading.com
Web site is hosted by CherishedHosting.com.

Humor work by Ché Rippinger:
Relationship Humor Writing and Illustration www.DatingAndHandGrenades.com
 Cartoons www.ToucheToon.com