Wasatch Peaks Ranch

Stretching eleven miles along the ridge of Utah’s Wasatch Mountains lies 20 square miles of the most spectacularly pristine recreational property in the West. Consisting of approximately 12,740 acres, the Wasatch Peaks Ranch is unmatched in location, just 35 minutes from Salt Lake City and its international airport. Offering private skiing, this well-preserved alpine environment includes 400 inches of annual snowfall and one of the longest heli-ski runs in the U.S. (4,600 vertical). The ranch controls a continuous ridgeline comprising 24 peaks and 15 bowls on the property and adjoining National Forest lands. Recreational options abound with fly-fishing along 1.75 miles of the Weber River, big game trophy hunting, hiking, mountain biking, horseback riding and other recreational pursuits on over 80 miles of trails and unlimited access to the bordering forest. Rising from 4,820 feet to 9,570 feet at the ridgeline, the property has numerous ponds, creeks, meadows, hillsides and draws. Enjoy your own private sanctuary, exclusive mountain club, or consider the incredible development potential. Just 15 minutes to downtown Ogden, 10 minutes to Snowbasin Resort, and 45 minutes to Park City, the Wasatch Peaks Ranch offers an unrivaled investment opportunity in an ideal location.

Wasatch Peaks Ranch represents one of the largest tracts of privately owned mountain terrain in the Intermountain West.  At 12,740 deeded acres, the ranch features 20 square miles of natural alpine wilderness within the Wasatch Mountains and boasts unlimited recreational opportunities that include heli-skiing on The Greatest Snow on Earth™. The ranch is just 35 minutes from downtown Salt Lake City and the Salt Lake International Airport via interstate, offering ease of access and year round use. Utah recently landed atop Forbes’s list of best states for business in 2014, and the state consistently ranks high in quality-of-life measures. Salt Lake is fast becoming one of North America’s most popular urban hubs, offering an abundance of dynamic shopping, cultural and nightlife opportunities.

Hard to replicate, Wasatch Peaks Ranch, combined with the adjacent National Forest, has a continuous ridgeline of 11 miles that includes 24 peaks, 15 bowls and cirques, and a 4,600 foot vertical rise. The Uinta-Wasatch-Cache National Forest permits heli-skiing on the publicly owned ridges just above the ranch. The property offers a rare opportunity to carve turns with select family and friends.

A legacy offering and opportunity to name your own runs, bowls, glades and cirques, this incredible landscape is jointly owned by Dick Bass, Peter Hicks and the Holding family through Sinclair Real Estate Company. Dick Bass is the legendary founder of Snowbird Ski Resort and renowned explorer becoming the first person to achieve the Seven Summits and author of Seven Summits. Sinclair Real Estate Company, a subsidiary of Sinclair Oil Corporation, owns some of the most successful resorts and hotels in the world including nearby Snowbasin Resort, as well as Sun Valley Resort in Idaho, Little America hotel chain and Grand America Hotel in Salt Lake City.  Bass, who has been fortunate to ski and hike many mountains around the world, purchased the property after founding Snowbird. He found that Wasatch Peaks Ranch has “all of the attributes of Snowbird with the vital plus of being privately owned…and only 35 minutes from Salt Lake City and its international airport.”

Location

Wasatch Peaks Ranch is located in north central Utah between Salt Lake City and Ogden in Morgan County.  Situated 40 minutes from the neighboring community of Park City to the south, the property offers a number of entry points for easy, uncrowded access off Interstate 84.

At its widest point, Wasatch Peak Ranch runs four miles wide.  Elevations range from 4,820 feet near the Weber River to 9,570 above the Peterson Cirque.  The majority of the ranch’s developable property lies between 5,500 and 8,000 feet. 11 creeks weave their way for 35 miles through the ranch from high mountain peaks to the Weber River below.

Locale

Situated in the Morgan Valley, the adjoining towns include Mountain Green and Peterson which provide basic services. Shopping, hospitals and fine dining in Ogden and other Wasatch front communities are just 15 minutes away. The Morgan Valley is primarily an agricultural based area with approximately over 50% of the land designated as farms and ranches.  This once protected valley with its ideal climate and pristine landscapes is now highly sought after due to its proximity and quality of life in Salt Lake City.

Climate

Wasatch Peaks Ranch lies in the heart of the Rocky Mountain West, so the climate is ideal. On average, 226 sunny days are recorded in Morgan County with average highs running from 35 degrees in January to 88 degrees in July. Average annual snowfall for the upper portion of the ranch is 400 inches.

Wasatch Peaks Ranch offers incredible private alpine terrain and exclusive access to adjoining public lands for helicopter, backcountry and snowcat alpine skiing.  Combined with the adjoining National Forest lands, the available alpine terrain includes 15 bowls and cirques with a vertical drop of up to 4,600 feet.  Owners estimate the potential for skiable terrain is 5,500 acres – larger than most of the ski & snowboard resorts in North America.  In addition to the skiing on the ranch, Snowbasin Resort is located minutes away. Snowbasin, home to the 2002 Winter Olympic Games, offers 2,830 skiable acres, a vertical drop of 2,915 feet, two gondolas, nine chairlifts, 104 ski runs, and elegant base area with exceptional mountain facilities.

Fishing

Over 1.75 miles of the Weber River flows through the property offering private fly-fishing for native Cutthroat, Brown and Rainbow Trout. The ranch with its 11 creeks, streams and water rights has the capacity for numerous additional lakes and ponds for fishing as well as other recreational pursuits.

Hunting

Wasatch Peaks Ranch offers excellent big game, turkey and grouse hunting opportunities, participates in Utah’s Cooperative Wildlife Management Unit (CWMU) program. CWMU’s are hunt areas consisting of mostly private land that have been authorized for the specific purpose of managing and hunting certain big game species. The Utah Division of Wildlife Resources recognizes the contribution made by private landowners in providing big game habitat on their private lands and provides incentives to maintaining this habitat rather than developing it.  Landowners receive an allocation of permits that can be assigned to private hunters so long as a certain percentage of permits are issued to the public. The ranch is within the Jacob’s Creek Unit and currently receives the following permits for the hunt season: 18 buck deer, nine bull elk and one bull moose.  In addition to big game, there are turkey and blue grouse on the property. The owners currently lease out the hunting to a local outfitter and guide. Additional details can be provided to qualified buyers.

Zoning

Approximately 11,745 acres in Morgan County and 737 acres in adjoining Davis County are zoned F-1 (Forestry Zone) which permit one residential dwelling per 160 acres. 240 acres in Morgan County are also zoned MU-160 (Multiple Use Zone) allow for one dwelling per 160 acres.  Morgan County does have a Resort Special District (“RSD”) ordinance under their land use code allowing for high density resort development.  An “Entitlement Summary” will be provided to qualified buyers.

Ranch Operations

During the summer months, the property owner leases the ranch to a neighboring rancher who runs approximately 200 mother cows.  There is ample water and forage on the property for livestock.

Water Rights

The current owners have options to acquire 2,500 acre feet of water from the Weber Basin Water Conservancy District to be used for culinary use, development, landscaping, irrigation and snowmaking. Qualified buyers will be presented with further details.

Forest Plan

The adjoining lands are within the 1.3 million acre Uinta-Wasatch-Cache National Forest. The 2003 Forest Plan for this area guides management activities and sets direction for the Forest. The Forest lands that directly adjoin Wasatch Peaks Ranch are managed with an emphasis in meeting multiple resource objectives while maintaining ecosystem integrity. Uses include grazing, timber management, new recreation development, and trail construction. The area of the Forest between the ridgeline and the property boundary is specifically designated for heli-skiing and a local heli-skiing operator currently holds the permit. The permit holder has not used this area in the past given the close proximity of the ranch boundary which limits their ability to ski a reasonably good run. A working relationship could be developed to expand the heli-skiing and backcountry use of these National Forest lands.