Gardner Creek Ranch

Clayton, Idaho
$1,650,000
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Bordering the Salmon-Challis National Forest on three sides, the Gardner Creek Ranch is a very private, historic Custer County ranch. This 62± acre gemstone property is easily accessible from State Highway 75, an all-weather, paved road linking the ranch with the resort community of Sun Valley 80 miles to the south. The ranch features classic, high quality log improvements, including a beautifully restored owner's residence, sauna, wine cellar, separate quest quarters, horse barn, and a unique, handmade butcher shop for processing wild game. Gardner Creek flows year-round though the center of the property. The ranch offers exclusive water rights and habitat for the area's deer, elk, mountain lions, black bears, and wolves. The sale also includes gold mining claims contiguous to the ranch. Home to Idaho’s most spectacular mountain ranges, wildest rivers, and best big game hunting.

The Gardner Creek Ranch is located along the main Salmon River approximately 16 miles down stream from Stanley, Idaho and 10 miles upstream from Clayton, Idaho. The ranching community of Challis, Idaho (population 900) is the county seat for Custer County and situated approximately 32 miles northeast of the ranch. All general amenities and services can be found in Challis, including groceries, fuel, hardware supplies and sporting goods, as well as local offices for the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) and US Forest Service (USFS). In addition, Challis offers a paved, lighted airstrip that is 4,600 feet in length at an elevation of 5,072 feet. A fix-based operator, Middle Fork Aviation, serves the field, providing jet fuel and charter service. The famous all-season resort of Sun Valley is approximately 1½ hours southwest of the ranch and offers the nearest commercial air service through Delta/Skywest and Horizon Airlines. Access to the ranch is via State Highway 75, which is an all-weather paved road and a main north–south route though central Idaho. Estimated driving distance to Boise is 155 miles; Twin Falls 155 miles; Sun Valley 80 miles; and Salt Lake City, Utah 325 miles.

The Gardner Creek Ranch lies within the upper Salmon River basin, an area renown for its rugged mountain scenery, abundant fish and wildlife, exceptional public lands, and almost endless recreation opportunities.

Three of central Idaho’s high country landmarks are within striking distance of the ranch – the 2.3 million-acre Frank Church River of No Return Wilderness to the north (the largest federally designated wilderness in the lower 48 states), the 756,000-acre Sawtooth National Recreation Area to the south and west (considered by many as the “crown jewel” of the USFS’s National Recreation Area system), and the 400,000-acre Boulder-White Cloud Mountain range complex to the south and east. In 2004, Idaho congressman Mike Simpson introduced the Central Idaho Economic Development and Recreation Act which, if enacted, would designate almost 320,000 acres of USFS lands within the Boulder-White Clouds as federal wilderness. The USFS lands that border the ranch to the north are part of the Challis National Forest and classified for multiple uses with restrictions on motorized traffic. The Sawtooth National Recreation Area boundary is approximately four miles to the west of the ranch.

Custer County is among the state’s largest counties at almost 5,000 square miles. Over 90 percent of the county’s land base is in federal and state ownership. In spite of its size, Custer County is one of Idaho’s least populated counties with a population of approximately 4,200 residents. The recorded history of Custer County begins with fur traders and pathfinders traveling through the region as early as 1824, with prospectors and miner’s arriving in the 1860s and 1870s. Named for the General Custer Mine, Custer County was established in 1881. The county’s principal industry is cattle ranching with livestock operations heavily dependent on the region’s extensive public lands. The mining and timber industries have also played an important role over time. More recently, tourism and outdoor recreation have emerged as important components to the local economy by capitalizing on the area’s diverse recreation resources.

The elevation at the ranch headquarters is 5,800± feet. The mouth of the canyon has a southern exposure. The climate for the area is best described as semi-arid with an average humidity of only 30 percent and annual precipitation of 14 inches per year. Summers are warm with the temperatures occasionally reaching into the low 90s and cooling to the mid-40s at night. Winters are generally cold, with an average maximum temperature from November through February of 35 degrees and an average minimum temperature during the same period of 13 degrees.

The ranch is located at the mouth of Gardner Creek near its confluence with the Salmon River. The ranch compound is located in the valley floor along Gardner Creek and consists of the following improvements:

Beautifully restored, historic log cabin (3,045 sq. ft.) that serves as the owner’s home and features two bedrooms, three baths, two stone Rumford design fireplaces, gourmet kitchen, two laundry rooms and a wine cellar
Free-standing three-car garage
Tack room with sleeping quarters
Horse barn with hay storage
Heated shop
Butcher shop with walk-in cooler
Excellent set of corrals

The western portion of the ranch consists of an elevated bench featuring gravity- irrigated pastures and hay meadows. Irrigation water is diverted from Gardner Creek on USFS lands above the ranch and is carried by an open ditch to the property where it is then dropped into a portable mainline with hand-line sprinklers covering the hay field. There is adequate “fall” to provide enough pressure to run the irrigation system entirely by gravity. The eastern side of the ranch comprises a bench that features dry grazing along with a small amount of irrigated horse pasture on the south slope of the bench. Gardner Creek flows the width of the property between the benches. The deeded property is surrounded by high-quality “cross-buck” fencing.
The ranch controls a large block of USFS lands within the Gardner Creek drainage behind the ranch, and because there is no public access through the property, these public lands are essentially the owner’s own private recreation area.

The ranch controls a senior water right from Gardner Creek for .77 CFS or 38.5 miner’s inches. Irrigation water is used for hay production and horse pasture. There are six saddle horses owned by the ranch that are kept there year-round.

Conservation Easement

The ranch is covered by a scenic easement for the purpose of protecting the property’s significant open-space features and wildlife habitat. The previous owner of the ranch conveyed this easement to the USFS in 1980. Under the easement, an additional single-family residence is allowed in an excellent location. A copy of the easement is available from Hall and Hall upon request.

62+/- Deeded

The property is located in one of the richest wildlife areas in the lower 48 states. Animals that frequent the ranch and surrounding area include elk, mule deer, wolves, black bear, mountain lions and a host of smaller wildlife species that range across the area. The Salmon River holds Pacific salmon and steelhead. Fishermen often see bald eagles and osprey in the cottonwood trees bordering the Salmon River. Blue grouse and chukar partridge offer wing shooting opportunities throughout the fall. Alpine lakes are scattered throughout the White Cloud and Salmon River Mountains and provide excellent fishing with scenery to match. USFS and BLM lands adjoining the ranch allow access to tens-of-thousands of acres for hunting, fishing, horse-packing and wildlife viewing opportunities in some of the west’s most spectacular high country.

2007 property taxes were approximately $495.

ADDITIONAL MANAGEMENT, RESOURCE ENHANCEMENT, AND FINANCING SERVICES OFFERED BY HALL AND HALL

MANAGEMENT SERVICES - The management of a ranch such as this one can be made as simple and as time saving or as involved as one desires through the services of Hall and Hall’s ranch management division. These services are customized to each owner and ranch. They can be as simple as leasing out the agricultural operations so one has virtually no responsibilities. Or they can be as involved as assessing the existing resource, finding and hiring a caretaker or manager, buying livestock and equipment, expense paying and payroll accounting, etc. Wes Oja and Jerome Chvilicek at (406) 656-7500 are available to describe and discuss these services further and welcome your call.

RESOURCE ENHANCEMENT - Should one desire to assess and enhance the existing fish and wildlife assets of this ranch Hall and Hall’s resource management division is available to do so. These services are custom tailored to each owner and ranch and can range from inventorying of existing conditions, plans for restoration and enhancement of streams and ponds and introduction of bird and game feed plots to bidding, cost accounting, construction supervision. Peter Weber at (406) 587-3090 and Wes Oja at (406) 656-7500 are available to describe and discuss these services further and welcome your call.

SPECIALIZED LENDING - Over the past 59 years Hall and Hall has created a legacy by efficiently providing capital to the intermountain west. In addition to traditional farm and ranch loans, we specialize in understanding the unique aspects of placing loans on ranches where value may be influenced by recreational features, location and improvements.
Competitive Pricing ● Flexible Terms ● Efficient Processing
In-House Appraisals ● Common Sense Underwriting
Dave Roddy ● (406) 656-7500 ● Billings, Montana