Sundance Ranch on La Marche Creek | Fay Ranches

SUNDANCE RANCH ON LA MARCHE CREEK

Wise River, Deer Lodge, Montana

$7,000,000 | 245± Acres

Sundance Ranch on La Marche Creek | Wise River, Montana

INTRODUCTION

"Once in a lifetime" is a claim too often made, but in reference to Sundance Ranch on La Marche Creek, those are the only words I can think of to do this property justice. Sundance Ranch on La Marche Creek is surrounded by forest service land with unfettered access to the Pintler Wilderness Area. You can literally hike or ride on horseback from the barn into the Pintler Wilderness Area and never cross a road. The Pintler Wilderness Area boasts over 158,000± acres of lush forests, alpine creeks, meadows, lakes, and abundant wildlife.

This ranch truly has it all, with spectacular mountain views, sweeping verdant grasslands, and wildlife galore. This may be the place you've always dreamed of finding, boasting an irrigated alpine meadow, two fishable creeks, and a large pond. La Marche Creek originates high up in the Pintler Wilderness Area and runs through the middle of the ranch, offering over three miles of creek frontage to fish and hunt. Just imagine the unparalleled access to the Pintler Wilderness Area and all it has to offer: miles upon miles of trails to explore, cold creeks, clear mountain lakes that were carved out by glaciers thousands of years ago, and abundant vistas and wildlife.

This ranch is a destination due to its abundant recreational opportunities in all seasons. There are plenty of homesites to build that special cabin and absorb the ambiance of the natural surroundings and vistas. The ranch boasts approximately 245± acres, but the access to the forest service and Pintler Wilderness Area make this property extremely rare. Sometimes it isn't about the size of a ranch but the location and quality that makes it special. This is definitely a must-see property.

QUICK FACTS

• 245 ± Acres

• La Marche Creek has cutthroat and brook trout

• Large pond

• Several beaver ponds

• Main home is log, 1,440 square feet, built in 1980, with 2 beds and1 bath

• Log home is built in 1961, 736 square feet

• Three-room hotel-style bunkhouse

• Alpine Meadow has 130± acres, 33 acres flood irrigated and natural sub-irrigated

• Water rights - 33± acres

• Incredible vistas

ACREAGE

• 245± deeded acres

• 158,000± acres Pintler Wilderness Area

• 3.35± million acres of Beaverhead National Forest

The Sundance Ranch on La Marche Creek is composed of sub-irrigated pastures/alpine meadows, 33 irrigated meadows, a large pond, beaver ponds with fantastic brook trout fishing, and over three miles of La Marche Creek frontage with cutthroat trout. The meadows are lined with Lodge Pole and Ponderosa Pine. The combination of meadows, creek bottoms, abundant water, timber, and beaver ponds create the perfect ecosystem to be home to an abundant array of wildlife.

Sundance Ranch on La Marche Creek | Wise River, Montana

Sundance Ranch on La Marche Creek | Wise River, Montana

SCENIC VISTAS

Whether you are enjoying the crisp morning air or basking in the warmth of an autumn afternoon, there are plenty of vistas that will tantalize you. The wild and untamed landscape of lush forests, alpine meadows, meandering creeks, and snow-capped peaks are dramatic and inspiring. Onlookers might ponder whether the herd of elk has made it down from their resting spot to feed in one of the mountain meadows or if the mother moose and calf are slumbering as they make their way along the creek bottom.

IMPROVEMENTS

At one time, the ranch was known as The Sundance Lodge and boasted a clientele that traveled far and wide to enjoy the comforts and the outdoors, but the lodge burned down several years back. Some of the remnants of the business are still standing, such as the three attached but separate hotel-style rooms and the modest 761± square foot log cabin built in 1961. The main residence was constructed in 1980, a 1,440-square-foot log home with two bedrooms and one bathroom. There are several other structures, including a horse barn, hay storage, and multiple outbuildings.

Photo not taken on property

RECREATION

Summer activities include hiking, fishing, camping, exploring, swimming, and relaxing in the surrounding beauty. Winter sports include downhill skiing at Discovery Ski Area, which is approximately an hour’s drive from the ranch, but this part of Montana is also known for its awesome snowmobiling opportunities. Cross-country skiing is another popular activity.

Discovery Basin Ski Map

Sundance Ranch on La Marche Creek | Wise River, Montana

Sundance Ranch on La Marche Creek offers exceptional hunting opportunities. The ranch has animals on it year-round, and the forest service property has limited road access, discouraging most visitors. Hunters will enjoy being able to hike up La Marche Creek and access miles upon miles of lush forests, meadows, and creeks. The hunting opportunities on and off the ranch are wild, free chase, and unparalleled for the Rocky Mountains. Species include elk, mule deer, moose, white-tailed deer, bear, wolves, and mountain lions.

Photo not taken on property

Photo not taken on property

Photo not taken on property

La Marche Creek offers pristine mountain trout fly fishing. With over three miles of creek frontage on the ranch, there are abundant opportunities to fish for cutthroats and brook trout. The Pintler Wilderness Area is easily accessible and boasts dozens of mountain lakes and streams loaded with hungry trout. Other fishing opportunities are located approximately six miles away. The Big Hole River is wellknown for bigger fish in the early summer months. Wise River is a little bit farther but offers some excellent fishable water. Wise River starts in the scenic Pioneer Mountains, flowing through the region identified as the Pioneer Mountains Scenic Byway. Additionally, the Pioneer Mountains are peppered with mountain lakes that are excellent for fishing as well. The region offers exceptional opportunities for cutthroat, brown, and rainbow trout fishing.

Photo not taken on property

Photo not taken on property

Photo not taken on property

Photo not taken on property

AREA HISTORY

The Big Hole Valley, Pioneer Mountains, Pintler Wilderness Area, and Wise River have a rich history of ranching and mining. In 1885 Charles Pintler was one of the first people to homestead in the Big Hole Valley, and the Pintler Wilderness Area is his namesake. Martin “Moose Lake” Johnson also etched his name in the history of the area, with a reputation for naming lakes after his ex-girlfriends and wives. The whole region has a colorful history that may make you ponder yesteryear and how those tough individuals lived. Some of the stories might even make you chuckle and smile.

Sundance Ranch on La Marche Creek

Pintler Wilderness Area

Pioneer Mountains

Phillis Lake, named by Moose Johnson

Sundance Ranch on La Marche Creek | Wise River, Montana

NEARBY ATTRACTIONS & ACTIVITIES

Pioneer Mountains Scenic Byway lies just 7.5± miles south of the town of Wise River at the north end of the byway. With a half-million acres of peaks, lakes, and headwaters in the Pioneer Mountains, Wise River offers some of Montana’s most breathtaking scenery, providing both rugged adventure and a small-town atmosphere.

Along the Pioneer Mountains Scenic Byway lies the Beaverhead-Deerlodge National Forest, Montana’s largest national forest with over 3.5± million acres. You can travel the entire length of the Pioneer Mountains. The byway slices the Pioneer Mountain range in half just a few miles from the famed Big Hole River. Granite peaks over 10,000 feet in elevation are to the east, and gentler, forested terrain stretches to the west. Mountain meadows, lodgepole pine forests, and broad willow bottoms make up the breathtaking scenery.

The road ascends a 7,800-foot divide between Wise River, flowing north, and Grasshopper Creek, flowing south, with interpretive sites along the way telling travelers about the natural scene and some of the history of the Pioneer Mountains. When closed for the winter, the byway is a National Recreation Snowmobile Trail, offering fantastic snowmobiling surrounded by beautiful views blanketed in fallen snow.

Big Hole River, photo not taken on property

A little over an hour south of the property on the Pioneer Mountains Scenic Byway, you will find the little-known Maverick Mountain Ski Area, which provides 450± acres of skiing for all skill levels. The next stop on the byway is Elkhorn Hot Springs, about an hour south of the ranch via the byway. The year-round hot springs provide two outdoor hot mineral pools, a Grecian sauna, a restaurant, and a bar.

Another spot to visit is the historic Coolidge Ghost Town and the remains of the Elkhorn Silver Mine. Once a thriving mining town, all that remains today of Coolidge are dilapidated buildings, old foundations, and numerous artifacts. Anyone who enjoys history should enjoy wandering through the remains of this well-preserved town that highlights the importance of mining in Montana’s history.

Continuing north on the byway, take a break at Crystal Park, an hour and a half from the property. This is the only mineral area set aside on National Forest System lands specifically for recreational mineral collection. People come here to explore its 220± acres for abundant and beautiful hexagonal quartz crystals. The byway ends at the small fly-fishing community of Wise River, right where the Wise River flows into the Big Hole.

Photo

James

CLIMATE

Weather data for nearby Butte, Montana, courtesy of http://www.city-data.com/city/Butte-Montana.html

The ranch averages around 15 inches of rain per year and approximately four feet of snow. You can expect to get 160 sunny days annually, and the months of June, July, August, and into September are very pleasant. Fall brings an array of colors when the western larch pine needles turn colors and the deciduous aspens turn as well.

WATER SOURCES | WATER RIGHTS

Sundance Ranch on La Marche Creek has 33± acres of water rights sourced from La Marche Creek. Flood irrigation is the methodology used to water portions of the alpine meadow. There is a lot of subirrigation stemming from a high-water table sourced from the creek as well. Montana waters, in all their varied forms and locations, belong to the State of Montana for the benefit of its people. A water right is the right to use the water within state-established guidelines and does not convey any ownership of the water itself. Since water rights in Montana are guided by the prior appropriation doctrine, a person’s right to use a specific quantity of water depends on when the use of water began, establishing the relative priority date of use on the water source. The first person to use water from a source established the first right, the second person could establish a right to the water that was left, and so on. Additionally, water users are limited to the amount of water that can be beneficially used. Beneficial use includes but is not limited to agricultural, recreational, fish, wildlife, and domestic purposes.

Montana is currently conducting a statewide adjudication of all water rights with priority dates prior to July 1, 1973. The statewide adjudication is a court process that prioritizes and quantifies all existing water rights in each Montana drainage basin. With 85 basins in Montana and over 219,000 water rights claims, the statewide adjudication is a massive undertaking that is expected to stretch well into the future. Until the adjudication process is complete, the status of any particular water right claim cannot be guaranteed. Fay Ranches, Inc., its brokers, and salespersons do not warrant or make any representation concerning the quantity or quality of any water rights, nor any legal entitlement to use of water rights, permits to appropriate water, exempt existing rights, determination of existing water rights, nor any ditches, ditch rights, or ditch easements appurtenant to or constituting a burden on the property. Water rights claims appurtenant to the property may or may not have been fully or finally adjudicated, and any buyer is advised to make any offer to purchase contingent upon and subject to such independent inspections, evaluations, and advice concerning the water rights and adjudication process as a buyer might deem prudent. All buyers should be aware that Fay Ranches, Inc., its brokers, and salespersons involved in this offering have not conducted an expert inspection or analysis of the water rights for this property.

MINERAL RIGHTS

All mineral rights appurtenant to the property and owned by the seller will convey to the buyer at closing. Mineral rights are not guaranteed. It is suggested that the buyer conduct a mineral search with a title company.

CONSERVATION | STEWARDSHIP

Sundance Ranch on La Marche Creek is not encumbered by a conservation easement.

Each of us at Fay Ranches loves the land and wants to see it remain a productive agricultural ground and a quality fish and wildlife habitat. Through promoting thoughtful land stewardship, Fay Ranches has guided owners toward a legacy of conserving wide-open spaces, enhancing and creating fisheries and wildlife habitats, and implementing sustainable agricultural operations. Fay Ranches is proud to say that since our company began in 1992, our clients’ conservation ethics and land-use practices have significantly enhanced our work landscape.

GETTING THERE

Head south from Missoula on Highway 93 to the summit of Lost Trail Pass. Turn east towards Wisdom on Highway 43, and at Wisdom, continue straight towards Wise River. Look for La Marche Creek Road on your left, and proceed on La Marche creek for approximately five miles.

AIRPORT SERVICES

Bozeman International Airport is approximately one hour and forty-five minutes from the ranch. Missoula International Airport is approximately two hours and fifteen minutes from the ranch. Another option is the Bert Mooney Airport located in Butte, Montana, which offers direct flights via Delta Airlines to Salt Lake City.

Sundance Ranch on La Marche Creek | Wise River, Montana

Sundance Ranch on La Marche Creek is one of the highest quality ranches I’ve had the privilege to walk on, let alone market for sale. The ranch has it all, and the quality of its components is staggering. It offers tranquility in the shadow of mountains. Please call to make an appointment to tour the ranch.

$7,000,000

Cash, Conventional Financing, 1031 Tax Exchange

Please contact John Anderson at (406) 750-0820 | janderson@fayranches.com to schedule a showing. This is an exclusive listing. An agent from Fay Ranches must be present at all showings, unless otherwise noted or other arrangements are made. To view other properties, fly fishing properties, and sporting ranches that we have listed, please visit our web page at www.fayranches.com .

PRICE TERMS CONTACT NOTICE

Offer is subject to errors, omissions, prior sale, change or withdrawal without notice, and approval of purchase by owner. Information regarding land classification, carrying capacities, maps, etc., is intended only as a general guideline and has been provided by the owners and other sources deemed reliable, but the accuracy cannot be guaranteed. Prospective purchasers are encouraged to research the information to their own satisfaction.

RELATIONSHIPS IN REAL ESTATE

As required by Montana law, a broker or salesperson shall disclose the existence and nature of relevant agency or other relationships to the parties to a real estate transaction. The various relationships and description of duties are as follows:

1. SELLER AGENT

A “Seller Agent” is obligated to the Seller to:

Act solely in the best interests of the seller; Obey promptly and efficiently all lawful instructions of the seller; Disclose all relevant and material information that concerns the real estate transaction and that is known to the seller agent and not known or discoverable by the seller unless the information is subject to confidentiality arising from a prior or existing agency relationship on the part of the seller agent; Safeguard the seller’s confidences; Exercise reasonable care, skill, and diligence in pursuing the seller’s objectives and in complying with the terms established in the listing agreement; Fully account to the seller for any funds or property of the seller that comes into the seller agent’s possession; and Comply with all applicable federal and state laws, rules, and regulations.

Montana law permits a real estate agent, after providing written disclosure to a seller and obtaining a seller’s written consent, to represent multiple sellers of property and to list properties for sale that may compete with the seller’s property, without breaching any obligation to the seller.

A “Seller Agent” is obligated to the Buyer to:

Disclose to a buyer or the buyer agent any adverse material facts that concern the property and that are known to the seller agent, except that the seller agent is not required to inspect the property or verify any statements made by the seller; Disclose to a buyer or the buyer agent when the seller agent has no personal knowledge of the veracity of information regarding adverse material facts that concern the property; Act in good faith with a buyer and a buyer agent; and Comply with all applicable federal and state laws, rules, and regulations.

2. BUYER AGENT (cont)

A “Buyer Agent” is obligated to the Seller to:

Disclose any adverse material facts that are known to the buyer agent and that concern the ability of the buyer to perform on any purchase offer; Disclose to the seller or the seller agent when the buyer agent has no personal knowledge of the veracity of information regarding adverse material facts that concern the property; Act in good faith with a seller and a seller agent; and Comply with all applicable federal and state laws, rules and regulations.

3. DUAL AGENCY If a seller agent is also representing a buyer, or a buyer agent is also representing a seller with regard to a property, then a dual agency relationship may be established. In a dual agency relationship, the dual agent is equally obligated to both the seller and the buyer. These obligations may prohibit the dual agent from advocating exclusively on behalf of the seller or buyer and may limit the depth and degree of representation that you receive. A broker or a salesperson may not act as a dual agent without the signed, written consent of both the seller and the buyer.

A “Dual Agent” is obligated to a Seller in the same manner as a seller agent and is obligated to a Buyer in the same manner as a buyer agent, except

a dual agent:

Has a duty to disclose to a buyer or seller any adverse material facts that are known to the dual agent regardless of any confidentiality considerations; and May not disclose the following information without the written consent of the person to whom the information is confidential; The fact that the buyer is willing to pay more than the offered purchase price; The fact that the seller is willing to accept less than the purchase price that the seller is asking for the property; Factors motivating either party to buy or sell; and Any information that a party indicates in writing to the dual agent is to be kept confidential.

4. STATUTORY BROKER

A “Statutory Broker” is not the agent of the Buyer or Seller but nevertheless is obligated to them to:

Disclose to: i. a buyer or buyer agent any adverse material facts that concern the property and that are known to the statutory broker, except that the statutory broker is not required to inspect the property or verify any statements made by the seller; and ii. a seller or a seller agent any adverse material facts that are known to the statutory broker and that concern the ability of the buyer to perform on any purchase offer; Exercise reasonable care, skill, and diligence in putting together a real estate transaction, and Comply with all applicable federal and state laws, rules and regulations.

5. IN-HOUSE SELLER AGENT DESIGNATE Created when the agency holds both the listing on a property from the seller and a buyer broker agreement with the buyer, an in-house seller agent designate is a broker or salesperson employed by or associated as an independent contractor with a broker and designated by the broker as the exclusive agent for a seller for a designated transaction and who may not be considered to be acting for other than the seller with respect to the designated transaction.

6. IN-HOUSE BUYER AGENT DESIGNATE Created when the agency holds both the listing on a property from the seller and a buyer broker agreement with the buyer, an in-house buyer agent designate is a broker or salesperson employed by or associated as an independent contractor with a broker and designated by the broker as the exclusive agent for a buyer for a designated transaction and who may not be considered to be acting for other than the buyer with respect to the designated transaction.

BUYER AGENT

A “Buyer Agent” is obligated to the Buyer to: Act solely in the best interests of the buyer; Obey promptly and efficiently all lawful instructions of the buyer; Disclose all relevant and material information that concerns the real estate transaction and that is known to the buyer agent and not known or discoverable by the buyer, unless the information is subject to confidentiality arising from a prior or existing agency relationship on the part of the buyer agent; Safeguard the buyer’s confidences; Exercise reasonable care, skill, and diligence in pursuing the buyer’s objectives and in complying with the terms established in the listing agreement; Fully account to the buyer for any funds or property of the buyer that comes into the buyer agent’s possession; and Comply with all applicable federal and state laws, rules and regulations.

Montana law permits a real estate agent, after providing written disclosure to a buyer and obtaining a buyer’s written consent, to represent multiple buyers interested in buying the same property or similar properties to properties in which a buyer is interested and to show properties in which a buyer is interested to other prospective buyers, without breaching any obligation to the buyer.