Western retreat buyers have a checklist when they’re looking to buy a place in Wyoming, a checklist Matt MacMillan, broker with Live Water Properties, knows by heart.
“What we find in this business is that people are not so much seeking property, they’re seeking attributes,” MacMillan told Cowboy State Daily. “Meaning, ‘Well, I want to be close to a cool western town. I want to have water, I want to have views. I want to have all these things.”
But getting all of the things on one property?
It’s a challenge, MacMillan said, even for buyers willing to buy an extremely large ranch.
“I’m not saying you need the Antlers Ranch necessarily,” MacMillan said. “But you do need thousands of acres.”
Usually.
But that’s not the case when it comes to the 17 Rocking Chair Ranch, 6 miles west of Dubois. This is the total package for a Western retreat buyer, with all of the things in one small, 22-acre property. It’s recently been reduced in price, and is now listing at $3.25 million.
“This is one of those places that has all of the attributes of a much larger ranch, but it’s in that small package,” McMillan said. “It’s got nice improvements to the five-bedroom guest place, and then it has the beautiful live-water component. It has frontage on the Wind River, irrigated horse pastures, big views.”
In short, it ticks off all the boxes MacMillan’s Western retreat buyers always ask for, and then some.
West of Dubois, 17 Rocking Chair Ranch has all the amenities of a ranch with thousands of acres, but it sits on just 22. That makes it a more affordable Western retreat for prospective buyers. (Courtesy Live Water Properties) 
West of Dubois, 17 Rocking Chair Ranch has all the amenities of a ranch with thousands of acres, but it sits on just 22. That makes it a more affordable Western retreat for prospective buyers. (Courtesy Live Water Properties) 
West of Dubois, 17 Rocking Chair Ranch has all the amenities of a ranch with thousands of acres, but it sits on just 22. That makes it a more affordable Western retreat for prospective buyers. (Courtesy Live Water Properties) 
West of Dubois, 17 Rocking Chair Ranch has all the amenities of a ranch with thousands of acres, but it sits on just 22. That makes it a more affordable Western retreat for prospective buyers. (Courtesy Live Water Properties) West of Dubois, 17 Rocking Chair Ranch has all the amenities of a ranch with thousands of acres, but it sits on just 22. That makes it a more affordable Western retreat for prospective buyers. (Courtesy Live Water Properties) 
West of Dubois, 17 Rocking Chair Ranch has all the amenities of a ranch with thousands of acres, but it sits on just 22. That makes it a more affordable Western retreat for prospective buyers. (Courtesy Live Water Properties) 
West of Dubois, 17 Rocking Chair Ranch has all the amenities of a ranch with thousands of acres, but it sits on just 22. That makes it a more affordable Western retreat for prospective buyers. (Courtesy Live Water Properties) 
West of Dubois, 17 Rocking Chair Ranch has all the amenities of a ranch with thousands of acres, but it sits on just 22. That makes it a more affordable Western retreat for prospective buyers. (Courtesy Live Water Properties)
Fly Fishing Paradise
A babbling river perfect for the fly fisherman is one of the things that makes 17 Rocking Chair Ranch particularly special.
Buying a place with live water access to trophy trout fishing typically requires a commitment to a much larger ranch than just 22 acres, but Rocking Chair is a gateway to world-class fishing on the Wind River.
“Chris and Kim Anderson own the ranch, and they used it for like half the year,” MacMillan said. “And Chris’ main reason for having it was the proximity to fly fishing.”
Not just that proximity out of his back door, though, but to the entire, 185-mile Wind River, as well as the high elevation lakes and reservoirs hiding in the surrounding mountains. They total 43,000 acres of beautiful blue water, as well as offering thousands of miles of other streams and rivers.
That’s part of what has made the Wind River Valley’s fly fishing coveted by expert fishermen in the lower 48. Numerous golden trout records have been set, including the 1948 world record, all-tackle weight, of an 11-pound, 28-inch golden trout caught in Cook Lake.
It doesn’t hurt things at all that this trophy golden trout fishing comes with stunning views from the surrounding Wind River, Absaroka, and Owl Creek Mountain ranges.
Equestrian Adventures
The other key attribute of the property was something Chris’ wife Kim was passionate about and that’s horses.
“So, they built a barn for Kim’s horses, and you can ride from this property,” MacMillan said. “Or you can throw the horses in the trailer and kind of explore the back country that way.”
The horse barn is a roomy, 1,600-square-foot structure with six horse stalls that have sliding doors. Each stall features Dutch doors on the exterior wall with access turnouts, and there are non-skid mats for the center aisle. The barn includes a tack room and a vet room as well.
The ample barn is positioned near the river, and the property also includes irrigated pasture for both hay and grazing.
Not only is the property an equestrian-lover’s dream, but Dubois itself has a reputation going back at least 100 years as horse country. It is surrounded by the Shoshone National Forest.
There’s more than 4,000 miles of horse trails to ride in the Dubois area, as well as 830,000-some acres to explore atop a horse — a lifetime of horseback adventures.
In fact, horseback riding is so popular in Dubois, the city even provides a place in the town park for riders to hitch their horses.
West of Dubois, 17 Rocking Chair Ranch has all the amenities of a ranch with thousands of acres, but it sits on just 22. That makes it a more affordable Western retreat for prospective buyers. (Courtesy Live Water Properties) 
West of Dubois, 17 Rocking Chair Ranch has all the amenities of a ranch with thousands of acres, but it sits on just 22. That makes it a more affordable Western retreat for prospective buyers. (Courtesy Live Water Properties) 
West of Dubois, 17 Rocking Chair Ranch has all the amenities of a ranch with thousands of acres, but it sits on just 22. That makes it a more affordable Western retreat for prospective buyers. (Courtesy Live Water Properties) 
West of Dubois, 17 Rocking Chair Ranch has all the amenities of a ranch with thousands of acres, but it sits on just 22. That makes it a more affordable Western retreat for prospective buyers. (Courtesy Live Water Properties) 
West of Dubois, 17 Rocking Chair Ranch has all the amenities of a ranch with thousands of acres, but it sits on just 22. That makes it a more affordable Western retreat for prospective buyers. (Courtesy Live Water Properties) 
West of Dubois, 17 Rocking Chair Ranch has all the amenities of a ranch with thousands of acres, but it sits on just 22. That makes it a more affordable Western retreat for prospective buyers. (Courtesy Live Water Properties) 
West of Dubois, 17 Rocking Chair Ranch has all the amenities of a ranch with thousands of acres, but it sits on just 22. That makes it a more affordable Western retreat for prospective buyers. (Courtesy Live Water Properties) 
West of Dubois, 17 Rocking Chair Ranch has all the amenities of a ranch with thousands of acres, but it sits on just 22. That makes it a more affordable Western retreat for prospective buyers. (Courtesy Live Water Properties) 
West of Dubois, 17 Rocking Chair Ranch has all the amenities of a ranch with thousands of acres, but it sits on just 22. That makes it a more affordable Western retreat for prospective buyers. (Courtesy Live Water Properties) 
West of Dubois, 17 Rocking Chair Ranch has all the amenities of a ranch with thousands of acres, but it sits on just 22. That makes it a more affordable Western retreat for prospective buyers. (Courtesy Live Water Properties) 
West of Dubois, 17 Rocking Chair Ranch has all the amenities of a ranch with thousands of acres, but it sits on just 22. That makes it a more affordable Western retreat for prospective buyers. (Courtesy Live Water Properties) 
West of Dubois, 17 Rocking Chair Ranch has all the amenities of a ranch with thousands of acres, but it sits on just 22. That makes it a more affordable Western retreat for prospective buyers. (Courtesy Live Water Properties) 
West of Dubois, 17 Rocking Chair Ranch has all the amenities of a ranch with thousands of acres, but it sits on just 22. That makes it a more affordable Western retreat for prospective buyers. (Courtesy Live Water Properties) 
West of Dubois, 17 Rocking Chair Ranch has all the amenities of a ranch with thousands of acres, but it sits on just 22. That makes it a more affordable Western retreat for prospective buyers. (Courtesy Live Water Properties) 
West of Dubois, 17 Rocking Chair Ranch has all the amenities of a ranch with thousands of acres, but it sits on just 22. That makes it a more affordable Western retreat for prospective buyers. (Courtesy Live Water Properties)
Home Is A Giant Log Cabin
Of course, like many things, horseback riding is more fun with friends.
Not to worry, the ranch not only has a nice, 4,500-square-foot log cabin home with five bedrooms and three baths — plenty of room for guests — but it also has a 1,096-square-foot guest home with two bedrooms and two baths and a full kitchen.
Both homes are beautiful inside and wouldn’t look out of place on the cover of a Better Homes and Gardens magazine.
The property also has a shop as well as plenty of garage space for all the toys — boats, snowmobiles, extra vehicles or practical things, if you must, like a nice riding lawn mower.
“The river borders this property to the south, and there’s a sweet little spot down there,” MacMillan said. “It’s got a great picnic hangout right by the river, where you can fish or have a glass of wine.”
Property owners can often hear the river gurgling at 17 Rocking Chair Ranch, carried like wishes on the wind. Those wishes invite anyone who hears it to go and sit by the river for a spell, just enjoying life for a while in a space that feels much larger than it is, in a world that’s often much smaller than we’d like.
Renée Jean can be reached at renee@cowboystatedaily.com.
