R-Ranch at the Lake

Experience with R-Ranch in Napa?

Sept 2009

My husband and I are interested in purchasing a grant deed for the R-Ranch in Napa. According to the website, owners are allowed access to over 14,000 acres and can swim, ride their horses, and camp in their cabins. Sounds like a wonderful respite on the weekends! Can anyone share their experiences there? We'd love to hear feedback from either owners or guests who have spent time at the R-Ranch.

Thank you!
Cowgirl at Heart

I've been an owner at the Ranch for about a year and a half. I had been there as a horse-crazed pre-teen 25 years ago, and always had fond memories. About 10 years ago, I looked it up, but at $12k or so, it wasn't in my college student budget, so I filed it away. I kept it in the back of my mind, though, and looked it up every few years. The price kept going down, and we bought our share for $2k, I think. You can probably get one now for next to nothing.

Annual assessments ($1050 last year) are due soon, and there will surely be owners who would rather just unload their share than pay the assessment. So, all in all, its a great deal--you do get the huge acreage, the horses, trails, cabins, pool, snack shack, dances, dinners, and events. HOWEVER...the place is getting a bit rundown, and there has been tremendous drama since we bought in. The Board...I don't even know where to start. There was a lot of discord and disagreement, and I don't even know who was ''right'' anymore. There were lawsuits and a lot of yelling and bad behavior. I've just decided to stay out of it, for better or worse.

It's a great place to escape to, and feels really remote for being just over an hour away from Berkeley. If you are coming from Berkeley, you should be aware that the majority of your co-owners are not the tree-huggin' Berkeley types. I never knew that ''Yee Haaahh!'' was a call to be answered, but apparently it is, and with gusto! There's definitely a cultural shift, but I always felt comfortable and welcome there, even as a bi-racial and same-sex family. If my long-winded response here leaves any questions, feel free to contact me to chat more about it.