Blackfoot Spring Creek Ranch

Listing Price: $2,550,000

Blackfoot Spring Creek Ranch is located just outside of Ovando, Montana, in Powell County. Ovando, a small town of approximately 50 people, sits at an elevation of 4,100 feet and is surrounded by hundreds of thousands of open ranch land acres. With the Swan and Garnet Mountains, the Bob Marshall and Scapegoat Wilderness rising from the edges of town, the Blackfoot River and nearby Browns Lake, recreational opportunities are abundant. Missoula, home to the University of Montana, is a short 60-mile drive from Ovando and offers several amenities such as fine dining, entertainment, shopping and a commercial airport servicing Delta, Northwest, United, Frontiers, Allegiant Air and Alaska Airlines.  Helena, Montana’s state capital, is 73 miles southeast of the ranch offering additional big city amenities.

Blackfoot Spring Creek Ranch is a picturesque property made up of approximately 275 acres. The ranch consists of 160 acres of flat farm land and 115 acres of grazing lands, meadow and creek bottom.  The center of the property is lined with huge cottonwoods, willows and grasses.  A nicely manicured lawn is featured by a half-acre pond.

A 1930s log cabin was recently remodeled in 1997 and creates a charming three-bedroom, one-bath home.  The property includes a classic Montana 30x40, two-story historic barn.  Along the spring creek under the cottonwoods is a well-maintained bunkhouse perfect for the kids or resting area while fishing the spring creek.

An amazing spring creek begins on the southeast portion of the property and meanders 10,000 feet to the southwest boundary.  The spring creek has been enhanced to create an exceptional fishery.  Deep cut banks, pools, runs and riffles create countless holding water for rainbow, brook and brown trout in the 25+ inch range.  Spring creeks present the utmost challenge and reward for the fly fishing enthusiast and are rarely available.  There are few spring creeks of this quality available.  The spring creek merges with the North Fork of the Blackfoot River approximately 500 yards beyond the property line.

The Blackfoot River flows for approximately 130 miles beginning near Rogers Pass and the Continental Divide, toward Missoula. The river gained much popularity when Norman Maclean’s book, A River Runs Through It, was released as a movie in 1992. Native cutthroat and bull trout are found with sizes ranging from 18-20 inches as well as nice sized browns and rainbows.   Big Blackfoot action starts picking up around the middle of March. Nymphs and steamers are the best option into May prior to the annual runoff.  As the water subsides, drift boat anglers are able to cast bushy dry flies and weighted streamers at the banks for trophy browns ranging from 18-24 inches.   In the summer months one will find success dead drifting most any classic western attractor fly in the 12-14 size range prompting strikes from eager 10-16 inch rainbows and cutthroats.   The browns will start to appear again in fall preparing for their upcoming spawn. The river is clear with a lower flow creating hatches of the giant orange sedge (October caddis). 

The Bob Marshall Wilderness was established in 1964 and now has a total of 1,009,352 acres. Named after early forester, wilderness preservation pioneer and Wilderness Society co-founder Bob Marshall, this is one of the most completely preserved mountain ecosystems in the world. It possesses the kind of wilderness most people can only imagine: rugged peaks, alpine lakes, cascading waterfalls, grassy meadows with sparkling streams, a towering coniferous forest, and big river valleys.  Located north of the Blackfoot Spring Creek property, exploring the Bob Marshall Wilderness will be a treat for the entire family.

Located northeast of the Blackfoot Spring Creek Ranch is the Scapegoat Wilderness that consists of 239,936 acres bordered on the west by the Bob Marshall Wilderness and features massive limestone cliffs. Scapegoat's rugged ridgetops slope down onto alpine meadows, heavily forested hillsides, and timbered river bottoms. This is the perfect area to pack in a fly rod and choose to fish from the 14 lakes and 89 miles of streams. Wildlife includes wolverines, moose, deer, elk, mountain goats, mountain sheep, mountain lions, black bears and numerous grizzly bears.  The Great Bear Wilderness is located off the southern border of the Bob Marshall Wilderness with Glacier National Forest located on the other side of U.S. Highway 2.