Deep Canyon Guest Ranch

Deep Canyon Ranch was one of the early “dude ranches” established in the early 1900’s as Easterners came west to see the vast beauty of undeveloped land and learn the lifestyle of punching cattle and riding horses on a ranch.
 

The land was taken over by the Metis Indian Tribe (French Canadian Indians) in the late 1880’s. It was during this time that the log cabin was built that is currently part of our lodge and main dining area. There was also a sawmill on the property which allowed many of the buildings to be created from lumber on this land.

Oscar Olney came to the area with a trail herd from Texas and moved into the vacated cabin, when the Metis Indians moved on. Eventually, he teamed up with Joe White and “Society Slim” Lestrud who brought horses and they started doing pack trips into the mountains later known as the Bob Marshall Wilderness.

​

Summer packing trips and fall hunting kept the business going and in 1954, the ranch was sold to the Hovde Family from Wisconsin. Dave, our current operations manager, was 4 years old at the time and fell in love with the land and way of life. In 1958, the Hovde family sold the ranch to Dick Engel. He renovated the old lodge and turned it into a supper club named The Cow Track. Many of the things you see in the lodge today were built for The Cow Track, such as the fireplace, bar, homemade doors and fishpond.

In 1975, after a lifetime of working in the packing business, Chuck and Sharon Blixrud, who owned the Seven Lazy P ranch just three miles down the road, bought the ranch mainly as a place to graze their horses and mules as their packing business grew. They leased the lodge, restaurant and bar out for nearly a decade and in 1985, started tearing down old buildings and resurrecting new ones. Most of the materials used in the buildings were actually sawed at Chuck’s own sawmill. 

 

The Blixrud Family then decided to focus entirely on the “dude” or guest ranch business at Deep Canyon. They closed the bar and restaurant to the public so their guests could enjoy the ranch all to themselves. They have hosted hundreds of guests from around the world. They had the vision (and still do) that the ranch is a place for guests to enjoy the quiet trails, fish the pristine Teton River, and relish in the unbounded freedom and space of the west. All while enjoying traditions of the ranch lifestyle with outstanding staff and great meals and activities.

And now, after 50 years of dedication to the ranch, Chuck and Sharon decided it was time to slow down, mind you Chuck walked onto this ranch over 8 decades ago for his first job! They and their family were in lockstep that they wanted to find a family to buy the ranch with the same vision they had for 5 decades.

Enter the Abbott Family. Tim and Sharyn both grew up on family dairy farms in Vermont, met at the University of Vermont and were married in 1987 as they graduated. They both have had careers in the dairy business for the past 40 years. Tim, as an animal geneticist, marketer and company executive and Sharyn with roles in marketing, promotion and animal husbandry. The two have grown and developed some of the biggest privately owned dairy cattle operations in the world and boast ownership in 4 World Champion Holstein cows, 2 global impact cows of the year and are known as providers of some of the United States most prestigious dairy cattle genetics. They have two daughters, Chelsea and Caitlyn, who both have undergraduate degrees from Virginia Tech University. Then, their paths changed, Chelsea on to University of Tennessee for a master’s in animal reproduction and Caitlyn on to Marymount University in DC for a nursing degree. Today, Chelsea lives in Montana and works for the world’s largest provider of invitro fertilization of cattle and Caitlyn lives in Boise as she travels the country as a travel nurse taking care of the sickest of babies in the NICU.

​

Why a guest ranch in MT? The Abbott family loves the west. Chelsea has lived in MT for 5 years and has worked at guest ranches and as a wrangler on packing trips. Her fiancé, Trent Osburn, owns Bob Marshall Wilderness Outfitters, a successful company providing guest trips into the Bob Marshall from a trailhead near Ovando, MT. While Caitlyn still loves her nursing career, she too loves to be with animals, hike and plan events. The family decided they would like a new venture that we could all work together on and started looking for the right spot. The moment we met Chuck and Sharon, we knew it was the right fit. We want to continue their tradition of being stewards of the land and caretakers of the rich history of the ranch. We want guests to feel the same thing we felt when we drove into Deep Canyon, total amazement!

So, as we begin to transition the ranch, our purchase was completed in late October. We have taken over the reins of the operations and hope to add some new excitement while keeping many of the rich traditions of the ranch alive. We are fortunate that many of the current staff will stay with us and work with our family to grow and develop the business. Dave Hovde, who as we mentioned, came to this ranch at the age of four, will lead the staff and many others such as Julie, Ella and - most importantly Chuck and Sharon - will all be around this summer to greet you. Chelsea will be full-time on the ranch and Tim, Sharyn, and Caitlyn will be there as much as possible!

We invite you to come to one of the most historic guest ranches in the country. A ranch built on respect of the land, animals and the guests who come see our “piece of heaven”. The past 50 years of the ranch have built a great foundation, and we are excited to help shape the next 50 years!