Paradise Canyon Ranch

Located in eastern Morgan County, Paradise Canyon Ranch is easily accessible from Ogden, Park City and Salt Lake City, Utah. Over a mile of the Lost Creek, a tailwater fishery, flows through the property and provides incredible fishing for Brown, Cutthroat and Rainbow Trout. The ranch entrance is located directly east of the 227,000 acre Deseret hunting unit and sits adjacent to 2 other private holdings on its eastern, northern and southern boundaries. Several cabins, part of a historic homestead, sit at the entrance to the ranch. Access to Croydon is directly off Interstate 84 (I-84) and the ranch entrance is 11 miles to the north on Lost Creek Road from the I-84 turnoff. The owners currently lease portions of the property to a neighboring rancher for grazing and haying. The ranch provides an idyllic setting for a family compound or lodge with the great outdoors as your backyard.

Paradise Canyon Ranch is 1,024 acres in size. The property consists of a historic homesteaded area beyond the entry gate surrounded by fertile lower pastures adjacent to Lost Creek. Over a mile of Lost Creek runs through the northwest corner of the ranch. The Eddington Family, original homesteaders of the property, sold the ranch to the current owners who have served as excellent stewards of the ranch and its water resources. The owner’s cabin is adjacent to a wonderful outdoor fire pit and family gathering area + 2 storage buildings.

Most of the ranch consists of higher ground on the northern, eastern and southern boundaries. The high ground is accessible from Paradise Canyon as well as two branches of Stokes Canyon.  Elevations range from approximately 5,800 feet at the ranch entry up to 6,600 feet on the eastern boundaries. The interior roads on the property are in excellent condition – getting around on the property by 4-wheel drive or ATV is without challenge.

The higher elevations on the ranch offer wonderful views of lower pastures, Lost Creek and the Wasatch Mountains to the south and Lost Creek Dam and Reservoir to the north. The higher ground is covered mostly with scrub oak, sage brush, and native grasses.  Riparian plants surround Lost Creek.  There are wonderful camp and picnic sites on the property, including an isolated pasture on the eastern part of the ranch.

Recreational Features

Camping, 4-wheeling, mountain biking, hiking, ski-touring, snowmobiling and snowshoeing are just some of the options available to outdoor enthusiasts. Northern aspects of the property offer great skiing and sledding for the kids and their cousins.  There are several locations on the ranch that would make ideal camp or yurt sites.

Fishing & Hunting

The owners have enjoyed incredible fly fishing in Lost Creek for Brown, Cutthroat and Rainbow Trout.  Lost Creek is a tailwater fishery, as the creek is located below Lost Creek Dam and enjoys constant cold-water flow provided by the reservoir’s outflow. Coupled with the generally silt-free nature of the outflow, this creates ideal water conditions for trout.

Excellent hunting for mule deer and elk also exists on the ranch as the owners have harvested sizable mule deer over the years.  There are opportunities on the ranch to adjust haying and grazing operations, so as to improve wildlife habitat for deer and elk.

Ranch Operations

The ranch runs cattle on a seasonal basis through a grazing lease. The owners typically contract for two cuttings of hay per year plus fall feeding on lower pastures. Fenced pastures, adjacent to Lost Creek, run north to south and range in 8-20 acres in size. These are well maintained pastures, fenced and gated and separated at one point by a 1 acre “Christmas tree” paddock.

Water Rights

Most of the irrigating is done by flood irrigation through priority water rights and a small portion of line irrigation waters higher pasture(s) at the base of Stokes Canyon. There are opportunities for a new owner to improve existing hay and alfalfa yields if desired. Valuable water rights consist of 240-acre feet annually via Lost Creek Dam storage rights (Weber Basin Water) as well as priority water rights from the Eddington Ditch.