Water galore! Five wells provide 2 water towers with enough water for potentially 80 homes. The water towers are in place and so are underground water pipes to 40 surveyed lots, along with electric, gas and phone. +2 fire towers w/hydrants. The lots are subdivided along the county roads to the north and SW. <br/><br/>Why would a rancher cut up his ranch like that- A lesson was learned from the previous owner, who had to sell the whole ranch due to sudden health problems and nothing could easily and fast be split off without going through the song and dance at the county commission. So the new owner thought this is not going to happen to him. If he gets in a bind, he could just sell off some lots, which thankfully has not been done. The ranch is in pristine condition and well guarded by the caretaker who lives in the old homestead, an updated farmhouse with three bedrooms and one bath, but less than 900sqft. <br/><br/>Actually this ranch could be easily made into an exclusive equestrian estate, with all those riding trails throughout the old growth section which even features a couple of ponds in wet years. The equestrian estate near Red Lodge is selling building sites for over $500,000, charging $750 a month HOA and $400 a month to board a horse. They have 200acres of open meadow to ride in. Or... you could put a runway in and make it a ride and fly airpark! Actually the municipal airport with a 3,814ft runway at 3,574ft elevation is only 3 miles from the ranch. <br/><br/>The beautiful canyon has several springs which feed some of the many stock tanks and all those choke cherry bushes. I never heard so many birds in a pine forest! The whole ranch is fenced and cross fenced for cattle, with cattle guards installed across Shane Ridge, the county road in the SW corner of the ranch. <br/><br/> Neighborhood Description The Stillwater, a blue ribbon trout stream with fishing access, is just a couple miles to the west of the Black Forest Ranch. The fishing is especially good where the Stillwater runs into the Yellowstone; a hot tip from an insider. The Stillwater is also a ton of fun for white water rafting. You can rent a rubber boat in Absarokee and float down the river to the Yellowstone; the hardy ones get to jump off a small cliff into a swimming hole. The Black Forest Ranch has the mildest winters in all of Montana with lots of sunshine! No kidding! They get the warm Chinook winds from the eastern slopes of the Rockies, but not the clouds and moisture. They don't get the desert extremes from the east either; they sit right at the edge between mountains and plains and get the best of both. Farther north its colder, farther south it's colder, farther east its desert extremes, farther west the winters are long and cloudy. It's just a short and sweet winter here. If you like more snow, drive 45 minutes to Red Lodge and enjoy, then come home and get back on your horse to appreciate your private forest, where the birds make a racket even in November around noon!
This property is off market, which means it's not currently listed for sale or rent on Zillow. This may be different from what's available on other websites or public sources.
