B Bar Ranch

The History

First human use of the Tom Miner Basin was by local Native American tribes as summer hunting grounds. The Absaroka (Crow) lived in a large territory bordered by the Beartooth Plateau on the south, the Yellowstone Plateau on the southwest and the Gallatin Mountain Range and Yellowstone River on the west and north. Tom Miner Basin is located on the western edge of that region, in the Gallatin Range. In addition to the Crow, the Sheepeater Indians most likely hunted in the Basin as well.
Two hiking trails still used at B Bar– one traveling into Yellowstone and the other over Buffalo Horn Pass into the Gallatin River drainage – were likely used by Native Americans as they traversed the area. Tipi rings are still visible on the land, and some arrowheads and chips have been found in various ranch locales.
Although not known with certainty, a member of the Lewis & Clark Expedition named John Colter may have been the first person of European descent to visit Tom Miner Basin in the early 1800s. Colter’s stories include trapping in a location that could well have been this Basin. He spent months alone in the wilderness, and is widely considered to be the first “mountain man."
In the mid-1860s when Emigrant Gulch was settled as a lively gold mining camp, hunters frequented the Basin as well. It was around this time that Thomas J. Miner began trapping here, and it is for him that the area was named.
The first homesteaders arrived in the Basin in the 1890s, following the settlement of Paradise Valley immediately after the Civil War and upon completion of the Northern Pacific Railroad a decade earlier. The first documented resident in the Basin was a man named Burkins, who homesteaded around 1900 where the main B Bar Ranch buildings are now located. In 1906 he sold his holdings to Charlie and Adelaide Scott, who owned the B Bar brand. There were at least six other homesteads settled about this time, as the Northern Pacific sold land in the Basin to ranchers for grazing. Names given to areas of the ranch – the Reed Place, Styers Pasture, Davis Cabin, and Anderson Place – remind us of the families who struggled to make a living in the upper reaches of the Basin.
In the late 1930s, Bill Ward (a businessman from New York) came to Montana and consolidated various homesteads into a larger B Bar. During Ward’s tenure, the ranch was managed and operated by Don Hindman, a rancher and furniture maker from Cody, Wyoming. Hindman built our shop, Skully Barn, and much of the Molesworth-style furniture in the lodge.
By the mid-1960s the Wards were forced to sell the ranch with the passing of Bill Ward. They sold to the Dunevant Corporation, an agricultural commodities brokerage firm in Tennessee. Very quickly they found that conditions here for raising cattle were very different than what they were accustomed to. When the ranch was again put on the market three long-time ranching families in the Basin purchased it to protect the property from subdivision or other development. Two of the ranchers took acreage for their share, leaving the third as sole owners of the reduced-size B Bar. It was from these owners that the B Bar, as it is today, was purchased by the current owners in May of 1978.
With the purchase of eight cows and one bull in 1989, the ranch began its endeavor to operate organically. Today, the ranch honors the historical significance of the area through ecological preservation and stewardship of the land.

The Experience

Refresh and inspire in the heart of Paradise Valley suspended in the tranquility of upper Tom Miner Basin. This ranch, surrounded by the 10,000 foot high mountains of the Gallatin Range, shares a border with Yellowstone National Park. Nine thousand acres of undisturbed land encompassing creeks teaming with trout and moose, timber inhabited by elk and grizzly and peaks topped with sheep and goat, create an astonishing wildlife experience. Wander in the petrified forest, ski on miles of cross country trails and downhill lines, observe livestock and capture photos of this special place. Learn about the "B Bar Way" and what it means to be an organic ranch that has practiced co-existence for over 30 years. Situated between Bozeman and the North gate of Yellowstone, this ranch is perfect for Park goers, family reunions, group retreats, and anyone looking to share a greater purpose at this historical ranch.

The Accommodations

The Ranch offers accommodations in six cozy and comfortable A-frame cabins. Each of the cabins sleeps four and includes a private porch, living room, bedroom and bath on the main floor, and a loft bedroom upstairs. A living room sofa opens into a double bed if needed. The cabins are a minute's walk from the lodge and sit amongst an aspen grove, facing the pond with Sheep Mountain providing a stunning backdrop. They are also a short stroll away from the open air hot-tub, unmatched for its nighttime celestial viewing.
There are also several choices of accommodations in the main lodge – two large rooms upstairs, and a master suite on the main floor. Each contains private baths, and large windows offering spectacular views of the ranch and surrounding mountain peaks.
The lodge is the social center for guests with its large dining room and sunny southern-facing deck, professionally staffed kitchen, yoga studio, gift shop, and large, inviting living room with a wood stove and log furniture of the Molesworth tradition handmade on the ranch a half-century ago. Bronzes and paintings portray the West's ranching and wildlife heritage. In a cozy nook you'll find percussion instruments, games, puzzles and a small library comprising local history books, guides to the region and numerous novels including many by Montana authors which guests are welcome to borrow during their stay. Adjacent to the “big” room is a spacious grand view porch with views up Paradise Valley and of Emigrant Peak where guests enjoy early morning coffee as they watch the sunrise.