If you’ve ever felt like you wanted a little corner of the world to yourself, a place where you can find absolute peace, now’s your chance.
In August, Pathfinder Ranches in Wyoming, one of the largest ranches in the Rocky Mountains, hit the market. The property stretches on for a stunning 916,076 acres, accounting for about 1 percent of the state’s total landmass—larger than the entire state of Rhode Island.
“Pathfinder offers a rare combination of scale, water, wildlife, and history. Devil’s Gate and Independence Rock anchor the landscape, while segments of the Oregon, Mormon, California, and Pony Express Trails weave through the property,” Swan Land Company, which is handling the ranch’s sale, explained in its listing.
Swan Land Company
Exterior view of the Grand Lodge.
The property, which spans Natrona, Carbon, Sweetwater, and Fremont Counties, is made up of four properties, including what Swan Land Company calls the “heart” of the property, Two Crosses. It encompasses 25,000 acres of its own, including the 6,579-square-foot Great Pathfinder Lodge, which has nine bedrooms and seven and a half bathrooms. It also has seven additional ranch houses for employees and a massive indoor riding arena for training horses all year long.
There’s even a 3,556-square-foot hunting lodge on this property, complete with six bedrooms and four and a half bathrooms, ideal for taking a vacation on your own land.
Swan Land Company
Cattle with Pathfinder Reservoir in background.
Then, there’s Dumbell Ranch, which has a main house, a bunkhouse, a mobile home for employees, several historic barns, and corrals, and even a few working shops. The Turkey Track Ranch has three of its own ranch houses, while The Wooden Rifle Unit features a main house, a bunkhouse, a shop, a storage building, a barn, and corrals.
These units, Swan Land Company explained, are currently leased out as separate operating units, which help support its “robust” livestock program. (New owners can choose to keep these leases or terminate them with appropriate notice.)
Nathan Han
The Grand Lodge living room.
Nathan Han
The kitchen and dining area inside the Grand Lodge.
“This kind of scale is almost impossible to replicate in the modern era,” Scott Williams, the broker on the property, shared in the due diligence. “From one end to the other, it’s a 90-minute drive. When people ask how big it is, I tell them: ‘You can stand on one mountain range, look to the next, and everything between is Pathfinder.'”
And here’s the best part: Large portions of the land are under a conservation easement through a U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service agreement meant to protect the sage-grouse, a small bird, as well as land covenants intended to protect its use in the future. That means the land will look the same as it did in the 1800s, well into another millennium.
Swan Land Company
An area of Pathfinders Ranches.
“The easement won’t get in the way of day-to-day ranch operations. We can still build fences, run livestock, and make improvements that don’t conflict with the conservation values,” Ryan Lance, the current president of Pathfinder Ranches, added. “It mainly ensures that this portion of the ranch stays undeveloped and intact. The easement is also backed by an endowment that funds future monitoring and removes ongoing cost from the landowner.”
Now, the part you’ve been waiting for: the price. All this can be yours for $79,500,000. Still, if fresh air and cowboy living are your things, this is a dream come true. As the listing noted, “This legacy ranch represents the Old West with exceptional grazing opportunities and seemingly endless acreage for hunting, fishing, boating, and exploring Wyoming’s unspoiled beauty.” See the full listing details at swanlandco.com.
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