Just like old times: Historic dude ranch near Yellowstone hosts pop-up event

BRETT FRENCH

For those procrastinating travelers who haven't nailed down their summer plans and are looking for a different experience, Ranch Preservation Holdings is offering a one-time opportunity to time travel.

The Arizona-based company, which specializes in historic dude ranches, is utilizing the old OTO Ranch north of Gardiner for its Yellowstone Pop-Up Ranch benefit July 24-Aug. 20.

"This is just one of the coolest places," said Jaye Wells, managing partner for Ranch Preservation Holdings, the preservation arm of True Ranch Collection, an Arizona-based dude ranch company.

The OTO Ranch is situated along Cedar Creek in a hidden valley at the base of the Absaroka Mountains, about 10 miles north of Gardiner and Yellowstone National Park.

OTO Lodge — The main lodge highlights the compound at the OTO Ranch, nestled in the Cedar Creek Valley only 10 miles north of Yellowstone National Park.
True Ranch Collection

The OTO is the oldest dude ranch in Montana and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. In 1990 the Forest Service purchased the property, mainly to preserve the 3,200-acres of wildlife habitat along the northern border of Yellowstone.

After COVID concerns waned this winter, the Forest Service and Ranch Preservation Holdings got together to work out the details for the pop-up and arrange the proper paperwork.

"The goal is a little TLC and seeing what kind of use fits and works up there," said Mike Thom, Gardiner District ranger.

Just having the OTO's 30 buildings fixed up and cleaned out is a huge benefit, he added, and maybe it will bring the ranch to the attention of some other entity who will want to use it.

"As a company, we'll be using this template for other pop-ups," said Bridget Brussels of True Ranch Collection.

Side entrance — Unique features of the ranch buildings include these lions under the railing.
SCOTT T BAXTER, Courtesy photo

Dude stuff

Over the course of four weeks, Wells' crew will relocate to the OTO to guide guests on horseback rides, hikes and to prepare meals — not unlike the pastimes and hospitality founders Dick and Dora Randall provided when they first opened the OTO in 1898.

"We'll bring cowboy singers, .22s, archery — we're in the entertainment business," Wells said.

Guests will sleep in one of the 12 historic cabins and be entertained and dine in the rustic main lodge finished in 1920. The stays are six nights only, Sunday through Saturday, and cost $2,975 per person for double occupancy, $3,975 for single occupancy.

A portion of the proceeds raised will be donated to the Forest Service to help pay for the ranch's restoration, which is estimated to cost $8 million.

Roof work — In 2012, volunteers and Forest Service workers nailed down cedar shakes on the OTO Ranch's big lodge to help preserve the structure.
BRETT FRENCH, Billings Gazette

The pop-up dude ranch wasn't advertised sooner because it took until recently for the Forest Service to arrange the special-use permit. To help get the word out about the opportunity quickly, True Ranch Collection is using Travelzoo, an online company that publishes travel and entertainment deals.

Thom is hoping to learn from the experience about possible ways the historic ranch can be used by the Forest Service. He said the agency was in negotiations with Montana State University before COVID-19 hit.

Right now, the dude ranch portion of the property — 28 acres — has been carved out from the rest of the land for an administrative site. This means it can only be used by the Forest Service and only for certain purposes and a fixed number of days in the summer. Changing those rules would require the Custer Gallatin National Forest to amend its forest plan.

Ranch hand — Yellowstone Chip Samuelson is surrounded by dude-ettes in this historic photo showing the varied dress of the era at the OTO Ranch.
Courtesy Custer Gallatin National Forest

The ranch hasn't had paying guests since 1939 when Gay Randall and Chan Libbey decided to sell the property. At its peak, the dude ranch attracted guests like President Theodore Roosevelt and German Gen. Paul von Hindenburg, who commanded that country's troops during World War I.

Wells said the buildings still contain furniture made specifically for the ranch by Thomas Molesworth, a famed western furniture designer.

The Randalls made the remote OTO compound self-sufficient. A large garden supplied vegetables. Randall grew hops to make his own beer. One building provided freezer space for butchered cattle and game. Another was a shower house that included a wood-fired boiler to heat the water. A building along Cedar Creek was fed by a flume that channeled water to power a generator for electricity. All of the log buildings' chinking was painted green, along with the mortar in the rock work, and all of the window trim was painted red. Red and green were the OTO colors. The buildings were designed and built by Randall and his ranch crew.

To learn more, log on to the True Ranch Collection website at trueranchcollection.com/yellowstone-pop-up/.

"It's been a pretty short turn around project," Brussels said. "It's meant to help the OTO and set a precedence for future events."