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With sprawling meadows, mountain views, gorgeous cabins and incredible barns, Yellowstone Dutton Ranch is any horse lover’s dream facility.
The Dutton family is willing to do whatever it takes to protect their ranch from outside forces eager to take their land.
In the Yellowstone universe, Yellowstone Dutton Ranch is the largest ranch in America. Located in Big Sky Country, it is primarily a cattle and world-class working horse ranch.
The ranch has been in the Dutton family for several generations and John Dutton plans to keep it in the family for several more generations to come. However, maintaining such a large and powerful ranch is no easy task.
Where is the Yellowstone Ranch?
Yellowstone Dutton Ranch is located in Paradise Valley in Park County, Montana. It lies east of Bozeman and west of Livingston.
The ranch borders the Broken Rock Reservation and Yellowstone National Park. Thanks to its great location, it is often under the threat of land developers, real estate agents, casino moguls, and the Broken Rock Reservation.
How Big is the Yellowstone Dutton Ranch?
Yellowstone Dutton Ranch is estimated to be around 776,000 acres. In an early episode of Yellowstone, John Dutton says he owns “a ranch the size of Rhode Island,” which is 776,900 acres.
Yellowstone Dutton Ranch has only grown in size since it was founded. In season one, Jamie Dutton made a comment that the ranch is 200,000 acres larger than when he first took over as the attorney.
The largest real-life ranch in America is King Ranch, which consists of a whopping 825,000 acres of land.
Unlike the fictional Yellowstone Dutton Ranch which is all under one fence, King Ranch consists of four tracts of land in southeastern Texas.
King Ranch is home to over 35,000 cattle and over 200 Quarter Horses. The facilities of the ranch are divided into four divisions, Santa Gertrudis, the Laureles, the Encino and the Norias, whereas Yellowstone Dutton Ranch is one contiguous plot of land.
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Yellowstone Dutton Ranch Facilities
The sprawling ranch consists of a lodge, cabins, bunkhouse, numerous pastures, barns and arenas. The property mostly consists of pastures, though a river does run through it.
The main lodge on the property is the Dutton family home where John Dutton lives. The stunning lodge is 6,000 square feet and has a beautiful rustic wooden design.
There are also two cabins, one where Beth and Rip live, as well as the bunkhouse which the ranch hands call home. The entrance of the ranch includes a wooden sign that says ‘Yellowstone Dutton Ranch’ held up by wooden beams.
There is also the signature white barn with the Yellowstone Dutton brand on the side. Outside the barns are wooden corrals and an outdoor arena.
Also read: Where is Yellowstone Filmed? Filming Locations With Photos
Yellowstone Dutton Ranch Origin Story
Yellowstone Dutton Ranch was founded in the 1880s by James and Margaret Dutton. James Dutton is the great-great-grandfather of John Dutton.
The prequel series to Yellowstone, 1883, tells the origin story of how the Dutton family moved to Montana and founded Yellowstone Dutton Ranch.
After fleeing poverty in Tennessee, James and Margaret, along with their children Elsa and John, join a European wagon train in Texas.
While the wagon train heads out West to Oregon, the Dutton family decides to make their new home in Montana. The land they settle on becomes the beginning of the formidable Yellowstone Dutton Ranch.
Ever since the first Duttons arrived in Montana, the ranch has remained in the family. A new prequel series, 1923, will follow two generations of the Dutton family at the beginning of the 20th century as they navigate life through current events of the time.
How Much is the Yellowstone Ranch Worth?
In Yellowstone, Willa Hayes and her firm Market Equities offer John Dutton a whopping $500 million to buy part of Yellowstone Dutton Ranch. The offer was for 50,000 acres of land at a hefty price of $10,000 per acre.
While the exact acreage of the ranch has not been revealed, it is approximately 776,000 acres. This means that if the offer of $10,000 per acre was extended for the entire property it would be worth over $7.5 billion.
Realistically, a ranch this size would not sell for that large of a price tag.
In 2016, sports mogul Stan Kroenke purchased W.T. Waggoner Ranch for $725 million.
Waggoner Ranch consists of approximately 535,000 acres and is the largest ranch in Texas under one fence. Kroenke’s purchase of the property is believed to be the most expensive ranch sale ever.
Also read: See Inside Yellowstone Star Kevin Costner’s Incredible Ranch in Colorado
Who Owns the Yellowstone Ranch in Real-Life?
Yellowstone Dutton Ranch is a real-life working ranch known as Chief Joseph Ranch. The ranch is owned by Shane Libel and his family, who live there when Yellowstone is not filming.
Chief Joseph Ranch is located in Darby, Montana in Ravalli County. The property sits in Montana’s Bitterroot Valley and is approximately 65 miles south of Missoula.
Unlike its TV counterpart, Chief Joseph Ranch is much smaller, coming in at around 2,500 acres. However, like Yellowstone Dutton Ranch, Chief Joseph Ranch was founded in the 1880s.
Fans of the show can stay at the ranch while it is not used for filming. The ranch has two cabins available for rental The Fisherman Cabin (Lee Dutton’s Cabin) and The Ben Cook Cabin (Rip’s Cabin). Tours of the ranch are only available to those staying on the property.
Fans are welcome to take photos at the iconic Yellowstone Dutton Ranch sign. However, during the filming of the show security will be at the gate and photos are not permitted.
Also read: See the Real-Life Yellowstone Dutton Ranch Where Fans Can Stay
