Trent came to Hall and Hall in the spring of 2003 after spending eight years with The Idaho Nature Conservancy where, as Lands Program Director, he was responsible for overseeing the chapter’s real estate activity around the state. Trent also served as the Conservancy’s field representative for central Idaho where he worked with local communities and landowners to preserve working ranchlands and resolve natural resource conflicts. He became a partner of Hall and Hall in March 2004 and holds real estate licenses in Idaho, Montana, Oregon, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Virginia. A native of Virginia, Trent graduated from Woodberry Forest School and earned his Bachelor of Arts degree in history from Hampden-Sydney College. Trent and his wife, Cecile, moved west to Idaho in 1994. Enjoyment of the outdoors is evident in Trent’s dedication to fly-fishing and upland bird hunting. Trent maintains strong ties to the southeast and is a trustee of The Duke Endowment based in Charlotte, NC and a committee member of the Josiah Charles Trent Memorial Foundation in Durham, NC. He is a current board member of the Idaho Rural Health Association and past president of the board of directors for the Wood River Land Trust and was an original board member of the Blaine County Land, Water, and Wildlife Program. Trent and Cecile have two children, a son Parker and a daughter Airey.
The 589± acre Big Lost River Ranch is one of central Idaho's premier lifestyle, recreational, and ranching properties. Located in the upper Lost River Valley, 35± miles northeast of Ketchum/Sun Valley and 20± miles northwest of Mackay, the ranch is nearly surrounded by federal lands managed by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) and encompasses over a mile of frontage on both banks of the Big Lost River, offering outstanding trout fishing.
Set up for year-round living, the ranch features a beautifully crafted and appointed owner's residence with two bedrooms and two and a half bathrooms. Designed with entertaining in mind, the owner's cabin is warm and inviting and highlighted by floor-to-ceiling windows that frame extraordinary views of Idaho's highest peaks. Additional building improvements include a wonderfully restored log guest cabin with a sleeping loft, a greenhouse adjacent to the owner's residence, a restored log tack shed, a horse barn, a calving shed, a shop building with adjoining equipment storage, and a set of working corrals with a scale house and cattle scale.
Originally run by the owners themselves as a year-round cow-calf operation producing high-quality branded beef, the ranch is currently leased for seasonal grazing to a local cattle rancher who emphasizes regenerative management practices. The property holds multiple irrigation rights covering up to 345 acres. The ranch's lush bottomland meadows are flood irrigated through a series of ditches, while approximately 130 acres are irrigated by a center pivot.
The ranch is a sanctuary for elk, moose, mule deer, whitetail deer, and other wildlife that utilize the Big Lost River corridor. With high-quality public lands in every direction, the ranch is an excellent base from which to explore the area's remarkable high country, with hiking, horseback riding, and ATV touring available right from the gate. In addition, the Sawtooth National Recreation Area, the Salmon River, and multiple federal wilderness areas are all within easy reach.
Ranches in the upper Big Lost Valley often remain in longstanding ownership, and it is rare for one of this caliber and in this location to come to market. Big Lost River Ranch represents a marvelous blend of agricultural productivity and recreational appeal in a true “big sky” setting. The property features top-notch residential and ranch improvements, extensive river frontage with excellent trout fishing, abundant wildlife, privacy and seclusion, and mountain views that are second to none. Convenient access to Ketchum/Sun Valley and other regional communities completes this exceptional offering.
Big Lost River Ranch lies in the upper Lost River Valley, approximately 20 miles northwest of the small town of Mackay (pronounced “Mackie”) and 35 miles northeast of the resort community of Ketchum/Sun Valley. Access from Sun Valley is an hour’s drive, more or less, via Trail Creek Pass from approximately May through November. As mountain snowfall begins to accumulate late in the year, Trail Creek Pass closes until spring, and access to the property shifts south to US Highway 20/26, with the drive time increasing to about two hours.
Friedman Memorial Airport (SUN) in Hailey, 15 miles south of Ketchum/Sun Valley, is the nearest commercial airport and offers regular air service on Delta, United, and Horizon Airlines. Idaho Falls, approximately two hours southeast of the property, provides alternate commercial air service from Idaho Falls Regional Airport (IDA) on Delta, United, American, Horizon, and Allegiant. In addition, Mackay is home to a 4,400’x60’ asphalt runway capable of accommodating larger twin-engine aircraft, while the community of Arco, 50 miles south of the property, offers a 6,600’ lighted runway that can accommodate most jet aircraft.
The Lost River Valley is considered one of Idaho’s most scenic areas and is among the state’s top regions for outdoor recreation. Spanning over 70 miles, the massive Lost River Range flanks the east side of the valley and claims seven of Idaho’s ten peaks over 12,000 feet, including Mt. Borah, the state’s highest peak at 12,662 feet. Three other formidable mountain ranges, the Pioneers, White Knobs, and Boulders, extend westward from the valley all the way to Ketchum/Sun Valley, offering incredible vistas and miles of roadless backcountry to explore. The Big Lost River originates from high-mountain tributaries and meanders east and then south, providing irrigation water for farms and ranches around Mackay as well as outstanding trout fishing opportunities along its length.
Sun Valley, Ketchum, and the other Wood River Valley communities of Hailey and Bellevue are an easy drive from the property and offer a multiplicity of summer and winter activities, including golf, hiking, fly fishing, mountain bike riding, and world-class downhill and Nordic skiing. One also finds numerous gourmet restaurants, art galleries, shopping opportunities, and cultural events to enjoy.
Mackay, population 565, lies at the heart of the Lost River Valley and serves as the local service and social center. It is an agriculturally based community, with its roots going back to the mining days of the early 20th century. All general amenities can be found in Mackay, including groceries, fuel, restaurants, and ranch and hardware providers. Located along the Salmon River, Challis is the county seat for Custer County and the county’s largest community with a population of around 1,000. Challis offers a variety of retail and commercial establishments and is the hub for county services and state and federal agencies servicing the area.
The elevation of the ranch is approximately 6,420 feet above sea level. The climate for the Lost River Valley is best described as semi-arid with over 300 sunny days a year and annual precipitation of approximately ten inches. Summers are warm with temperatures occasionally reaching the low 90s and cooling to the 40s at night. Winters can be cold, although the series of mountains to the west often creates a moisture barrier, resulting in relatively open winters with little snowpack on the valley floor.
The centerpiece of Big Lost River Ranch is a beautifully crafted and appointed 2,452± square-foot owner's home with two bedrooms and two and a half bathrooms. Designed with entertaining in mind, this cabin-style residence is warm and inviting and highlighted by floor-to-ceiling windows that frame extraordinary views of the surrounding mountain ranges. The main section incorporates an open layout that brings friends, family, and guests together. A spacious kitchen with a large central island flows easily into a welcoming dining area and a comfortable living room with a fireplace. Accessed from the master bedroom and living room, a covered porch with a hot tub offers a comfortable spot to relax and watch the day begin and end. The residence is serviced by buried power lines, buried propane tanks, a domestic well, a septic system, Starlink internet, and mobile phone service. Adjacent to the residence is a charming greenhouse used by the owners to grow summer vegetables.
A 2,268± square-foot guest cabin is located north of the main residence, adjacent to the ranch’s shop and equipment storage building. One of the original structures on the ranch, the cabin was lovingly restored into a modern residence that can comfortably accommodate visitors or even serve as a ranch manager’s home. The cabin features a main-floor master bedroom with its own bathroom, a large sleeping loft, a second bathroom with a shower, a living room, a kitchen, and a dining area. A small basement serves as a laundry room and provides additional storage space.
With a history as a working cattle ranch, the property retains a full complement of well-maintained operational improvements, arranged to support day-to-day livestock operations. These include a restored two-room tack and storage shed (another of the ranch's original buildings), a shop building with adjoining covered equipment storage, a horse barn, a calving shed, and steel pipe working corrals with a scale house and cattle scale.
The ranch holds four separate irrigation rights to irrigate up to 345 total acres with a combined diversion rate of 9.72 cubic feet per second. Three of the irrigation rights are surface rights from the Big Lost River, while the fourth right is a groundwater right associated with an irrigation well located on the northern end of the property. Surface water is delivered to the property by gravity flow from two separate diversion points on the Big Lost. The well provides supplemental irrigation water and is operated by a diesel generator. The ranch's lush bottomland meadows are flood irrigated through a series of ditches, while approximately 130 acres are irrigated by a Valley center pivot. In addition, the ranch holds two stock water rights and a domestic water right. A complete list of associated water rights is available from Hall and Hall on request.
All minerals and subsurface owned by the seller will transfer to the new owner at closing. It is believed that the property’s mineral estate is owned in full by the seller, subject to verification.
Annual Custer County real estate taxes are approximately $2,240.
Rivaling its better-known neighbor to the west, Sun Valley, the Lost River Valley offers a low-key lifestyle, stunning scenery, high-quality federal lands, and an almost endless variety of recreation opportunities. Fishing, big-game hunting, camping, boating, hiking, cycling, backcountry skiing, and ATV and snowmobile riding are only a few of the outdoor activities that are easily accessible from Big Lost River Ranch.
Trout fishing is among the most highly pursued activities in the area. The Big Lost River, a mid-sized freestone stream that originates high in the Pioneer and Boulder Mountains and flows the length of the valley, filling Mackay Reservoir and ultimately disappearing into the Snake River Plain east of Arco. Long known to locals for its outstanding fishing, the “Lost” is a destination for anglers from across the region and is frequented regularly by Sun Valley fishing guides and outfitters. Much of the upper river parallels Trail Creek Road linking Mackay with Ketchum/Sun Valley and is easily accessible to anglers via BLM and national forest lands. The lower river below Mackay Reservoir is renowned as a quality tailwater fishery with a reputation for producing large rainbow trout. Big Lost River Ranch enjoys over a mile of both banks of the upper river. Lined with dense stands of cottonwood and willow, this section is highlighted by riffles, deep pools, and sharp meanders that hold wild rainbows and Yellowstone cutthroat trout.
An array of wildlife is found in the area, and hunting and wildlife viewing opportunities are abundant. All of Idaho’s big game species can be found in the area, while elk, moose, mule deer, whitetail deer, and pronghorn are commonly seen on the ranch. For the upland hunter, chukar partridge are abundant on rocky slopes, while blue grouse are common on the higher elevation national forest lands. Big Lost River Ranch is located in hunt unit 50 and the Pioneer elk zone.
For the hiker or horseback rider, the Lost River area enjoys some of the state’s most spectacular high country. In addition to unlimited cross-country hiking and riding opportunities, an extensive public lands trail network provides access to the area’s vast alpine riches. Mackay is an ATV- friendly community with access to hundreds of miles of motorized trails, some of which lead to historic mining locations and ghost towns, including Mackay Mine Hill, just east of town where many of the structures have been restored and available for self-guided exploration.
As an agricultural property, Big Lost River Ranch offers significant flexibility and can be operated in a variety of ways based on one’s goals and objectives. The owners originally ran the ranch themselves as a year-round, cow-calf operation producing high-quality branded beef. Having sold their cow herd and retired from full-time ranching, the owners currently lease the ranch for summer grazing to a local cattle operator who emphasizes regenerative management practices.
The offering price includes furnishings located in the main residence and the guest cabin.
I have purchased four ranches through Hall and Hall over the past 20 years.
I have purchased four ranches through Hall and Hall over the past 20 years, and there is simply no other team in the world like them. They have navigated complexity, professionally attended to every detail, operated with fairness and integrity, and demonstrated an unwavering commitment to me–...
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