Good deal on a big piece of land

jeepinmatt said:
$87 an acre!
www.swanlandco.com

Pathfinder Ranches

Pathfinder Ranches is more than a ranch—it is a legend. An extraordinary collection of over a dozen historic ranches, this rare assemblage, spanning across four counties, operates on an astonishing 916,000± total acres. It stands as one of the great giants among working cattle ranches in the...
www.swanlandco.com www.swanlandco.com
Click to expand...
hell yes. Lets start a pool.
I'll kick in $9k for my 100 acres. It just can't be beside @skyhighZJ 's part. Oh and dibs on water.
 
jeepinmatt said:
$87 an acre!
www.swanlandco.com

Pathfinder Ranches

Pathfinder Ranches is more than a ranch—it is a legend. An extraordinary collection of over a dozen historic ranches, this rare assemblage, spanning across four counties, operates on an astonishing 916,000± total acres. It stands as one of the great giants among working cattle ranches in the...
www.swanlandco.com www.swanlandco.com
Click to expand...
That's the kind of place I would want to own if I was super rich.
 
Also, this statement intrigues me...
1754585651643.png


How many other million acre or larger ranches are there?
 
Ill throw in $100k, but I dont wanna be next to @RatLabGuy , hes weird.
 
JSJJ388 said:
Ill throw in $100k, but I dont wanna be next to @RatLabGuy , hes weird.
Click to expand...
On one hand, its crazy, because it would take 800 people throwing in $100k. On the other hand, there are probably 800 people who are semi-active on NC4x4 and if we all pitched in, that would buy it, and we'd all end up with over 1100 acres each. Be a hell of a deal in North Carolina.
 
jeepinmatt said:
Also, this statement intrigues me...
View attachment 443097

How many other million acre or larger ranches are there?
Click to expand...

Don't ask me why chatgpt didn't sort by size correctly, but I went down the rabbit hole

🥇 King Ranch – Texas​

  • Size: ~825,000 acres
  • Location: South Texas
  • Notes: Often considered the birthplace of the American ranching industry, it's larger than the state of Rhode Island.

🥈 Vermejo Park Ranch – New Mexico/Colorado (Owned by Ted Turner)​

  • Size: ~560,000 acres
  • Location: Northern New Mexico and southern Colorado
  • Notes: Focuses on conservation, bison, and eco-tourism.

🥉 Waggoner Ranch – Texas​

  • Size: ~535,000 acres
  • Location: Northern Texas
  • Notes: One of the largest contiguous ranches in the U.S.; sold in 2016 to Stan Kroenke (also owns the Los Angeles Rams).

4. Diamond A Ranch – Arizona​

  • Size: ~725,000 acres
  • Location: Northwestern Arizona
  • Notes: The largest working cattle ranch in Arizona.

5. Babbitt Ranches – Arizona​

  • Size: ~700,000 acres
  • Location: Northern Arizona
  • Notes: One of the oldest and largest ranching operations in the state, family-owned since the 1880s.

6. Deseret Ranches – Florida (Owned by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints)​

  • Size: ~295,000 acres
  • Location: Central Florida
  • Notes: A highly diversified operation including cattle, citrus, and commercial development.

7. LX Ranch – Texas​

  • Size: ~280,000 acres
  • Location: Texas Panhandle
  • Notes: One of the oldest ranches in the U.S., currently operated by the Marion family.

8. Broken O Ranch – Montana​

  • Size: ~124,000 acres
  • Location: West-central Montana
  • Notes: Purchased by Stan Kroenke in 2012; operates cattle and crops.

9. PX Ranch – Arizona​

  • Size: ~215,000 acres
  • Location: Western Arizona
  • Notes: Remote and rugged terrain; extensive cattle grazing.

10. Pitchfork Ranch – Texas​

  • Size: ~180,000 acres
  • Location: West Texas
  • Notes: Established in 1883, still operating under the same name.


why is pathfinder ranch not on the list?

ChatGPT said:​

Great question.
Pathfinder Ranch, located in Wyoming, is indeed one of the largest ranches in the United States, but it often gets left off public “largest ranch” lists for a few key reasons:

✅ 1. It’s a mix of private and leased land​

  • Pathfinder Ranch spans over 500,000 acres, but only part of it is deeded (privately owned).
  • The rest includes federal grazing leases (BLM land) and state land leases, which some ranking lists excludewhen comparing ranch sizes.
  • Many lists focus only on deeded (privately owned) land, which can underrepresent huge operations like Pathfinder.

✅ 2. It’s not as widely publicized or marketed​

  • Unlike ranches like King Ranch or Waggoner Ranch, Pathfinder Ranch has kept a lower profile in the media and ranching lore.
  • It was purchased by Anschutz Corporation in 2011 and is run more like a private operation than a historic, public-facing ranch.

✅ 3. It’s split across multiple units​

  • Pathfinder Ranch isn’t one giant contiguous block like Waggoner Ranch. It includes several properties in central Wyoming, including:
    • LU Ranch
    • Seminoe Ranch
    • Martin Ranch
  • This disjointed nature sometimes causes it to be viewed as separate operations in certain rankings.

➕ Quick facts about Pathfinder Ranch​

  • Location: Central Wyoming (near Casper)
  • Estimated Size: ~500,000+ acres (includes private and leased lands)
  • Owner: Anschutz Corporation (owned by billionaire Philip Anschutz)
  • Focus: Cattle, hay production, and land conservation
  • Notable: Also tied to major water rights and natural resource interests
If you're looking for a comprehensive list that includes total operated acreage (private + leased), then Pathfinder Ranch definitely belongs in the top 10, probably ahead of even Vermejo or Waggoner in total usable land.
Let me know if you'd like a revised list including total operational acreage or only deeded land.


1754595166504.png


Yes, there are larger total operations than Pathfinder, but as a single contiguous ranching unit, Pathfinder Ranch is likely the largest individually managed cattle operation in the U.S. when counting all land used, including leases.
 
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Loganwayne said:
yall need to read more. only 99,188 deed acres, 767,902 acres are BLM AKA public they just own the leasing rights to them..... which are renewed every 10 years. so the gov could decided to not renew and you loose 80% of the land and value.
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We'll just need the 801st guy to throw $100k to whoever's presidential campaign and we'll be good to go.
 
Loganwayne said:
yall need to read more. only 99,188 deed acres, 767,902 acres are BLM AKA public they just own the leasing rights to them..... which are renewed every 10 years. so the gov could decided to not renew and you loose 80% of the land and value.
Click to expand...
I’ll be honest, after I saw $80mil, I realized it was more than twice what I could afford so I didn’t read real close.
 
RatLabGuy said:
hell yes. Lets start a pool.
I'll kick in $9k for my 100 acres. It just can't be beside @skyhighZJ 's part. Oh and dibs on water.
Click to expand...

JSJJ388 said:
Ill throw in $100k, but I dont wanna be next to @RatLabGuy , hes weird.
Click to expand...
jeepinmatt said:
On one hand, its crazy, because it would take 800 people throwing in $100k. On the other hand, there are probably 800 people who are semi-active on NC4x4 and if we all pitched in, that would buy it, and we'd all end up with over 1100 acres each.
Click to expand...
Yeah but imagine the complex SAT problem trying to work out the logistics of shit like this ^^
 
just for sense of scale, if this were in NC it would be ~3% of the total land mass of the state.
 
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