The historic Bismarck Trail Ranch, so named for the trail that delivered those who headed to Deadwood, S..D. during the Black Hills gold rush, is for sale and currently listed at $37,500,000.
The 41,822-acre ranch is about 51 miles north of Rapid City in Vale, South Dakota. Among the first-class improvements on the Bismarck Trail Ranch are four homes, several working facilities, and many Morton-style buildings.
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The Bismarck Trail Ranch construction began a relatively short 13 years ago. Building the vast ranch started after 23-year-old Neal Wanless won a net $88.5 million. In 2009, Neal won the multi-state Powerball Jackpot of $232 million. Then he immediately began building a magnificent ranch.
Wanless built one of the luxury homes as his residence in a Western-style with 6,500 square feet and five bedrooms. His home has 6,500 square feet of living space with five bedrooms, an open floor plan, and kitchen, and a large living room with an ornate fireplace. The home also features a game, poker, and screening rooms.
The ranch’s water sources include an extensive pipeline system, several stock dams, tanks, and water wells. Also, there are 875 irrigated acres with eight mechanized watering pivot points.
Having plentiful water sources is beneficial in supporting the 38 livestock pastures. But as a bonus, abundant watering also benefits all the mule, whitetail deer, and pronghorn antelope roaming the ranch.
The property is considered a first-class investment opportunity and a prime example of a luxury working ranch. The east side of the ranch has the Belle Fourche River running through it with a clear view of the famous Bear Butte. And on the horizon, you can spot the mystical, beautiful Black Hills.
For serious-minded investors, the Bismarck Trail Ranch has a lot of income opportunities. The grazing lease is estimated to support about 2,500 yearlings, 1,200 cow/calf pairs, and around 1,000 wild horses roaming multiple large pastures.
The Bismarck Trail Ranch is estimated to have a cow carrying capacity of four to five acres at eight to ten acres per cow. Cow/calf pairs require around 15 acres for carrying capacity per pair. Without wild horses roaming the pastures, the carrying capacity numbers would increase to 5,000-6,000 yearlings or 3,000 cow/calf pairs.
As a bonus, the property owner can own a piece of South Dakota history. The ranch has numerous markers on the property marking the locations of past towns and post offices. These historical markers pinpoint abandoned places along the Deadwood-Bismarck Trail made famous during the Black Hills gold rush.
The Bismarck Trail Ranch has the distinction of being a ranch with relatively new “improvements.” These improvements include infrastructures such as buildings, fences, and water systems that are only 12 years old. Also, a property of this size and
The physical size of a ranch in such pristine conditions is a rarity. As a result, properties for sale in the Great Plains like the Bismarck Trail Ranch are rare.