Mantle Ranch - Colorado, Moffat County, Dinosaur

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The ranch includes 16 CFS of water rights with most of the irrigation rights (15 plus cfs) associated with the Castle Park parcel. These rights irrigate hay fields and orchards resting along the banks of the Yampa River. There are also sub-irrigated fields, springs and ponds on the Red Rock’s Parcel. The Mantle Ranch is also a historic working cattle ranch and was operating prior to the creation of the Monument in Colorado. It is the only occupied ranch within the Monument’s boundaries. Statutory grazing rights were created by legislation in 1960 that allow the owner’s of the Mantle Ranch to graze on National Park Service land within the Dinosaur National Monument. The grazing allotment is quite large consisting of approximately 35,000 acres and spanning some 17 miles east-west and 6-7 miles north-south along the Yampa Bench. The grazing area includes river front, canyons, cliffs, plateaus, grasslands and access to many water resources.


This is truly one of the most unique ranches in the West and although it is remote, it is spectacular in its beauty, geology, history and recreation. The natural beauty of this property is evident in the pictures with the scenic views, Yampa River Canyon, irrigated and subirrigated meadows, rock outcroppings and rolling grasslands. The ranch has long been prized by the National Park Service and conservation groups and would make an ideal candidate for a conservation easement or for a land exchange with the Department of Interior.