Los Ranchales

On the way to the lake

Los Ranchales is at kilometre 4 of the Laguna Negra road, on the way out of Vinuesa. According to its entry in the Turismo de Castilla y León register, it is a one-fork restaurant with 25 table seats, rustic in style, with a garden and terrace, parking and air conditioning, which forms part of another tourist establishment. It accepts dogs and credit cards.

It is a small dining room, so with 25 seats it is normal for it to fill up as soon as people head up to the lake. Its main advantage is its location: it is on the way, without having to go back to the village centre, and it has somewhere to leave the car.

What you eat

The restaurant has no website of its own and does not publish a menu or prices, and its official listing does not detail dishes. What you can expect in this part of Soria is Pinares cooking, with mushrooms in season and meats, but what they serve each day is best asked about by phone. Its price level, one fork in the official classification, corresponds to a simple establishment.

Before you go

It does not publish its hours: call 975 37 83 24 to book, especially if you go on a Sunday outside summer, when many places in the sierra open less, or on the days of greatest crowds at the lake. If you go with a dog, confirm that it can come into the dining room or that there is room on the terrace.

What to combine

The Laguna Negra is about 18 kilometres from Vinuesa on the road leaving the village. At Easter, on long weekends and in summer the Junta usually regulates access: the upper car park is closed to private cars, you leave the car in the paid Paso de la Serrá car park and go up by shuttle bus or on foot by the Senda del Arroyo, 1.7 kilometres with 218 metres of ascent. Each year's dates and rates are confirmed at the Casa del Parque (975 18 22 68).

Before or after eating you can stop at the Casa del Parque, also on the lake road, which explains how glaciers carved the Urbión cirques. In November 2026 it is open on Friday and Saturday from 10:00 to 17:00 and on Sunday from 10:00 to 14:00, and in July and August every day from 10:00 to 19:00. If you want to walk without going up to the lake, the PRC-SO 43 leaves Vinuesa and returns in 2.9 kilometres passing the Casa del Parque.