Scarcely a good cast away from the banks of the White rises a finely-finished, 5,093 square foot custom log home with four bedrooms, four baths and an oversized, detached three-car garage. With amazing views and an outdoor living area facing the river, this brand-new home is one of the showpieces of the White River valley. Further away from the river, the Wakara ranch boasts two very nice guest homes, two managers’ homes, two barns, three shops, hay storage, extensive corrals and several outbuildings to keep the hay and cattle operations humming.
Much of the ranch has been carefully stewarded for generations for high-yield hay production, with nearly 800 irrigated acres with substantial and very senior water rights. The Wakara Ranch is capable of producing up to two tons of hay per acre, and is perhaps the best-producing ranch in northwest Colorado. Controlling an additional 24,000 acres of grazing leases (13,000 on the Oak Ridge State Wildlife Area and 11,000 acres in the White River National Forest), the ranch can also run 500 cow/calf pairs year-round. Between the hay and cattle production and a commercial gravel pit, a steady income stream keeps the ranch self-supporting.
The White River country is home to the largest herd of elk in the United States, and many of these animals live year-round on the Wakara Ranch. On any given day, elk and mule deer can be seen on the ranch, including many animals of trophy size. Bull elk scoring 300-plus and 190-class mule deer are taken in this area annually. Antelope, though in lesser numbers than deer and elk, are also found on the ranch. Hunting in the Oak Ridge State Wildlife Area is limited to foot and horseback, making portions of this area best accessible from the ranch itself. The ranch qualifies for landowner deer tags and elk tags are available over the counter.
Water resources on the Wakara Ranch are excellent, including 40% of the shares of the Oak Ridge Ditch. These rights ensure continued excellent hay production, and the ranch also has the potential for developing trophy stillwater ponds to complement its superb river fishing.
Meeker, Colorado, just ten miles downstream via paved county road. retains an honest ranching character, where pickup trucks far outnumber BMWs. It hosts the Meeker Classic, a world-class sheepdog competition, each September, and is a hub for energy development in northwest Colorado. Meeker has a general aviation airport, Coulter Field, and lies less than an hour’s drive north of Interstate 70, only two hours from Grand Junction and 90 minutes from Steamboat Springs, the latter of which offers downhill skiing that requires no introduction.
If you’re seeking the “elusive trifecta” of a Western ranch with the best in fly fishing, big game hunting and agricultural production, we at Harrigan Land Company think that you’ve just found it on the Wakara Ranch. Let us know, and we’ll be glad to give you the opportunity to visit this exceptional property and let it capture your imagination as much as it has captured ours.
