Men and women who eyed horsies with trepidation as toddlers now take their own children to Alisal Ranch, tucked into the foothills of the Santa Ynez Mountains. Families who’ve staked out the same table in the dining room for decades have bragging rights, but neophytes and Western-crazed Europeans in brand-spanking-new cowboy hats also appreciate the time-capsule charms of this classic ranch. Visitors are following in the hoofprints of golden-age movie stars like Doris Day, Clark Gable, and Gregory Peck, who used to ditch the Hollywood frenzy to lope on Alisal’s trail horses among tawny hills dotted with sycamores and valley and live oaks. Today, men still wear dinner jackets in the ranch’s dining room, and your waiter will stash your leftover half-bottle of wine for the next night.

Done up in a simple Western theme, guestrooms stoically resist the chic and edgy in favor of the familiar and enduring. The rooms don’t have TVs or phones, and cell phones, though not seized at the door, are frowned upon in the dining room. Our favorite quarters are the suites overlooking the pasture, where you can lounge on a recliner out front and watch the horses frolic and graze in the afternoon as the breeze picks up.

Off-season is the time to visit, as rooms fill up far in advance for the summer. It’s also a bargain: unlimited golf (Alisal has two championship 18-hole courses), tennis, and fishing are included with riding in the room rate, along with all meals. You’ll find a tennis or golf partner easily if you don’t have one—the old-timey friendliness here makes the ranch feel like a small town, and guests who’ve been around for a few days quickly notice new ones. Guided rides on the well-trained, carefully groomed horses are categorized by experience level, so you’ll always find an excursion that suits you, whether you have a death grip on the saddle horn or are practically a horse whisperer.

Meals are as hearty as you’d expect at any ranch, but fancier—starters include rock shrimp pasta in lobster cream sauce and frisée with grilled shiitakes; there’s a selection of five or so entrées at dinner; and eggs Benedict and more are offered in the morning.

If you can’t live without electronic equipment, Alisal does provide a TV and a computer with Internet access in the lofty library stocked with westerns, but why not skip the technology and teach your kids to fly-fish for bass and bluegill at the ranch’s pristine mountain lake (a short shuttle ride away), paddle a canoe, or keep their heels down in the stirrups on a long ride? Or, if you’re a woman looking for a little adventure sans menfolk or children, try Cowgirl Bootcamp, with roping and barrel racing for the brave and line-dancing lessons for the coordinated. However you decide to spend your days at Alisal, you’ll find yourself reminiscing about the easiest time in your life, when your only job was to chase fireflies and listen to crickets.

-Peggy Nauts

RATES RUN $465–595, DEPENDING ON THE TIME OF YEAR. 1054 ALISAL RD., SOLVANG, 805-688-6411, ALISAL.COM.