South Wishbone Grazing Ranch
11594 Tall Grass Rd : Edgemont, SD 57735
Fall River County, South Dakota
Farm Description
This is your chance to own the southern parcel of the popular Wishbone Hunting Ranch, where countless big game hunters have walked away with a trophy buck elk or bison over the years. Located just 15 minutes south of Edgemont, SD, the Wishbone Ranch (South Parcel) offers you a headquarters with a 4-bedroom home, log-style bunk house, small lodge, meat processing building, and more. Featuring live water, hardy native grasses, and natural winter cover for livestock, this property will support cattle, elk, or bison in a beautiful area of South Dakota. Offered with a companion listing (Wishbone Ranch, North Parcel) for use as a hunting preserve.
Land Description
This fabulous property consists of approximately 1,759.15 acres deeded, 320 acres of SD state lease, and 40 acres of BLM leased land. If the buyer would like to keep the whole original Wishbone Ranch together, please see the companion listing, offering the North Parcel.
Water is excellent on the Wishbone Ranch South Parcel thanks to two wells: one shallow for yard services and one 1,100' deep well, which services the home and has buried water lines out to stock tanks in six pastures, giving a constant supply of fresh, high-quality water to livestock. The property also features 5 dams and at least one active spring flowing from out north of the house.
A mix of some Ponderosa Pine forests overlooks the grassland, which offers rich pasture for grazing. Many varieties of hardy, nutritious grasses grow in the pastures, including SideOats Grama, Blue Grama, Big Blue, Western Wheatgrass, Prairie Chord Grass, Crested Wheatgrass, Intermediate Wheatgrass, Indian Grass, Alkali Sacaton, Wild Rye, and some Immigrant Kosha.
The property is bordered on its southern edge by 8-foot-high woven wire game fencing, which extends around the perimeter of both the north and the south parcels to contain game as a hunting preserve.
The current owners have just wintered approximately 50 bison, 50+/- elk, and 150 cattle on the property. Seller indicates that for the last 20 years, this ranch has been an excellent location to winter livestock, with all the available water, grass, and natural cover provided by the buttes, draws, and Ponderosa pine trees that animals need to pass the winter in safety.
Buildings And Improvements
The headquarters is centrally located in this part of the ranch and has a Spanish-style ranch home and multiple outbuildings. The home is a 2-story stucco/frame construction home with 4 bedrooms and 2 baths, built in 1935. The home has approximate main floor square footage of 1,691 and a total combined square footage of approximately 4,000, including the second story and a partial, unfinished 1/4th basement.
Other outbuildings
A 22'x20' single Garage, built in 1951
A 17'x 25' Bunkhouse from the 1950S with log construction and a slab concrete floor. This rustic bunkhouse features one large room that could likely sleep up to 8-10. It includes electricity and a wood stove for heat.
A Dining Lodge which features a 36'x 27' open area and includes plumbing, heating, and restroom facilities.
A 32'x 27' Storage Building a short walk from the bunkhouse, which sometimes has provided a sleeping room for hunters as well.
A Butcher Shop which has been used for processing game animals and other meat.
A 40'x 28' open area Barn/Shed with 8' sidewalls.
A 27'x 31" pole building built-in 1949 to house equipment.
A 33'x 28' utility shop built-in 1930.
Another Barn built in the 1930S. This building is 80' in length. The west half is 26' wide and the east half is 18' wide.
Corrals and a loading chute
The entire ranch has long been home to Wishbone Outfitters, which provided guided trophy elk and buffalo bull hunts. The buyer could easily build on the momentum of 20 years of name recognition to again host hunters who come for a once-in-a-lifetime experience. With a little restoration of this hunting resort property, this could provide a solid income stream for you in addition to raising cattle.
Activities/Amenities
The nearest community to the ranch is the quaint little town of Edgemont, SD. Edgemont offers all of the necessities including grocery, fuel, dining, lodging, as well as a feed store, auto repair, and veterinary services. The town has a great school system, a friendly downtown, a charming 100-Year-Old city park and miles and miles of national land for outdoor activities of all types.
Less than 45 miles to the east, sits the Angostura Reservoir which is a popular destination for boating, fishing, and all sorts of water sports. Sheps Canyon State Recreation area is also close by, where you can find shoreline fishing, canoeing and kayaking, camping, and hiking.
Just to the north, you'll find the famous Black Hills National Forest, an incredible destination with a variety of outdoor activities including rock climbing, hiking and, of course, hunting. The Black Hills boasts some of the best hunting opportunities in the nation, including elk, both whitetail and mule deer, black bear and turkey. The Black Hills are also home to the famous Mount Rushmore National Memorial, Wind Cave National Park, and Custer State Park.
The iconic Evans Plunge Mineral Springs Resort is located just a comfortable 25 minutes away in Hot Springs, SD. Known for its rejuvenation, refreshment, relaxation and recreation qualities, the indoor mineral pool is a popular attraction for visitors nationwide. Hot Springs is also home to the world's largest mammoth research facility and active dig site. The well known Mammoth Site is open year-round and offers epic tours of the indoor dig site and views of Ice Age fossils.
