The 36,781± acre (30,054± deeded) SY Ranch is situated in Southern Crook County, midway between Moorcroft and Sundance. The remaining balance of the ranch is primarily State and BLM leases. Owned by the Hadley family since 1989, the ranch headquarters sits along Inyan Kara Creek on the eastern side of the ranch nestled into the Wyoming Black Hills. From the timbered east side of the ranch, it expands westerly into well-sodded grass plains. The ranch and prairie rangeland are well watered with nine different creeks, several new wells and pipeline developments, springs, and reservoirs. Expanding roughly 11 miles north and south and 15 miles west to east, it is broken into approximately 40 sizeable pastures. Three different county roads mainly running north and south through the ranch make for easy access to all areas. The ranch is large enough that the public roads have little impact on privacy. Instead, they aid in providing easy access to pastures for the movement of livestock. A second location and home sits east of the headquarters, on the far east side of the ranch. There are 1,200± acres of grass hay meadows along Inyan Kara Creek and a dryland hay pasture west of the improvements. Currently, the meadows are being grazed, but in past years they provided a significant source of hay. The ranch historically has run 500 pairs year-round in a cow-calf operation and 1,750 yearlings during the summer months. The improvements include three houses, a large historic barn, a modern shop building, and multiple other barns and sheds used for calving and storage. The corrals are exceptional and constructed of pipe and wood. They were designed by stockmen and made for easy handling of cattle. The SY Ranch offers excellent hunting for mule and whitetail deer, elk, upland birds, and antelope.
The SY Ranch is a reputable grazing ranch, that is well respected in the area. It is ecologically diverse with timber, water, and open rangeland. The ranch headquarters is just off the county-maintained road along Inyan Kara Creek, as it winds through the western edge of the Black Hills. In this area of the ranch, the ridges are covered with stands of large ponderosa pines and the bottom grounds are spring-fed, with lush grasses and a variety of brush and small deciduous trees. Much of the eastern side of the ranch is timbered with open-rolling parks that are dense with grasses and wildlife habitat. As the ranch expands westerly, it opens into expanses of rangeland that are well-sodded and provide substantial grazing for livestock and wildlife. There are springs and small creek drainages throughout, as well as a host of reservoirs and other improved water. The open prairie rangeland holds the middle of the ranch together and expands both north and south of I-90 and westerly into a treed area, known as the Pine Ridge. It also has areas of heavy timber and open parks for grazing. The far western reaches of the ranch transition again into open rangeland, with excellent grazing and large herds of antelope.
The SY Ranch is a beautiful, well-balanced, fully improved operating cattle ranch in a reputable area of eastern Wyoming. It is highly diverse, with almost every feature one would expect in a Wyoming ranch – from pine hills to open grasslands to lush meadows, along extensive riparian corridors. It is well located, near two attractive towns and within 90 minutes of two commercial airports. Its recreational amenities are notable, as well.
Located in Crook County, between Moorcroft and Sundance, the west boundary is approximately six miles east of Moorcroft and the east boundary is approximately 11 miles west of Sundance. This is an area well known as cattle country and the SY Ranch is one of the largest holdings in the area. Moorcroft provides the ranch with two schools, a K-8 and a high school, a bank, a grocery store, churches, and restaurants. Sundance the county seat, also has a good school system and all the needed amenities. Gillette is 45 miles to the west and Rapid City, SD is 90 miles east; both provide a variety of cultural and consumer amenities, as well as commercial air service. The ranch can easily be accessed from both the Pine Ridge Road I-90 exit 165 and Inyan Kara Creek Road I-90 exit 172.
As mentioned earlier, the SY Ranch is in a well-regarded ranching area with lots of good neighbors with ranches of various sizes. While much of the plains area around the ranch is made up of large grazing ranches, the Black Hills timbered areas provide a more mountainous setting full of wildlife including deer, elk, and many wild turkeys. The demand for the Black Hills locale and setting have created some development and smaller acreage ownership in areas surrounding the ranch. These development areas have had very little impact on the SY Ranch, due largely to the ranch’s size and scale.
The nearby town of Moorcroft (six miles west) is located near the Belle Fourche River and along the route of the historic Old Texas Trail. Moorcroft was once one of the largest livestock shipping points along the C.B. & Q. Railway. Today the cheerful community is home to restaurants, motels, and gas stations. Surrounded by rolling hills and prairies, Moorcroft is in the heart of Wyoming’s best ranch land.
The Crook County seat Sundance (11 miles east) is nestled in the valley of the Bear Lodge Mountains in Northeastern Wyoming on the western edge of the Black Hills. Sundance offers uncrowded, four-season outdoor activities amidst over 125,000 acres of National Forest surrounding the community where one will find fine restaurants, bars, hotels, and resorts, as well as interesting retail shops.
The largest town nearby is Gillette – about a 45-minute drive. Its prosperity has been driven by the mineral activity in the area. There you will find a community college, churches, a hospital, numerous restaurants, shopping, and a complete array of commercial services, as well as a full menu of social and cultural events. The Cam-Plex, a multi-use county-owned and maintained facility, hosts the annual Campbell County Fair. It also hosts a PRCA rodeo, the National High School Rodeo Finals, stock car racing, gun shows, antique and craft shows, a semi-annual indoor garage sale, the National RV Rally, Wyoming Horse Racing, and the MEGA Monster Truck Tour to name a few. The Cam-Plex Theater is a state-of-the-art venue, where national productions are performed each year.
Moorcroft – the closest reporting station, six miles west of the ranch – gets average annual precipitation of over 14 inches. Most comes through the growing season of April, May, and June. The average high temperatures in December and January the coldest months are 33 to 34 and the lows are 10. The hottest months of the summer have average highs of 85 and an average low of around 50.
Sundance, 11 miles east of the ranch, gets average annual precipitation of over 19 inches. Again, the bulk of the moisture comes during April, May, and June, however, the areas of the ranch closer to Sundance receive considerably more snowfall than the western reaches of the ranch.
Bob and Mary Hadley had a love for family, horses, and ranch life. Together they raised Hereford cattle and performance Quarter Horses while raising seven children. The Hadley family-owned and operated ranches in Nevada, Oregon, and Wyoming before settling on the SY Ranch in 1989 where they ran 500 plus mother cows, 1750 yearling stockers (May-October), and 25 plus broodmares. In recent years, the grazing has operated under a lease agreement.
Several of the Hadley children and grandchildren excelled in rodeo competition at the high school, college, and professional level, competing on horses born and raised on the ranch. Several of the horses raised on the ranch were champions in reining and roping competitions, including at the National Western Stock Show in Denver, Colorado and the AQHA World Show.
The SY Ranch features interesting local history. From 1886 to 1887, a branch of the Cheyenne and Deadwood Stage Route included a station on the SY Ranch at Linden Stop. These historic buildings are still standing and are visible from I-90. Additionally, from 1993 to 2010 the South Dakota School of Mines & Technology excavated over 962 dinosaur fossil specimens on the property. The fossils have been valued at over $1,200,000 and gifted to the Geology Museum at the South Dakota School of Mines & Technology. The SY Ranch had two previous owners, Avery Land and Livestock and Merritt Barton.
The SY Ranch is being sold by a large and now seasoned family shareholder group. After 30-plus years of owning and operating the SY Ranch, the interests of the shareholder group have grown diverse and varied. The shareholders have determined that it is now time to sell the ranch and move on to the next chapter in their lives. Owning and operating the SY Ranch has been a wonderful family legacy and profitable experience, but it is time for a new owner to write the next chapter for the historic SY Ranch.
Deeded: 30,054± acres
BLM Lease: 2,222± acres
State Lease: 3,025± acres
Private Lease: 1,480± acres
Total: 36,781± acres
Native Grass: 35,581± acres
Improved Fields: 1,200± acres
There are no conservation easements on the SY Ranch.
The headquarters includes two houses, a large historic red barn, a modern shop building, several livestock sheds, and many other small storage/ranch outbuildings. The primary ranch home at the headquarters is a 2,412 square foot, one and a half story, four-bedroom and two-bath home, built in 1926. There is also an additional residence at the location that is 952 square feet, built in 1924 and has one-bedroom and one-bath.
The SY Ranch is not burdened with over-built improvements and has all the needed elements to operate an efficient cattle ranch.
East of the main compound is another residence and loafing barn. This set of improvements is used as the owner’s residence. It was built in 1965 and is a 1,296 square foot, two-bedroom, one-bath home.
The ranch is equipped with functional working facilities. The corrals are exceptional and constructed of pipe and wood. The corrals were designed by stockmen and made for easy handling of livestock.
The ranch is blessed with ample water resources for livestock and wildlife. Scattered throughout the ranch are nine different creeks, several new wells and pipeline developments, springs, and 25 reservoirs. Of the nine creek systems, three are year-round and run through many of the pastures. Many of the seasonal creeks will run consistently in the spring and early summer and hold pockets of spring water and pools of water late into the summer. Beyond the creeks, many of the draws throughout the ranch hold springs and provide excellent sources of water for both wildlife and livestock.
Sellers are conveying 100% of owned mineral rights. The sellers believe to have significant ownership and a mineral ownership search is being completed.
Based on past years, the real estate taxes are estimated to be $18,950 per year.
The quality of the SY as a cattle ranch gives no credit to the amazing wildlife resource on the ranch. It is a true sporting property with whitetail, mule deer, antelope, wild turkeys, and upland birds - along with a growing population of trophy-quality elk. The timbered areas encompass some meadows and parks providing ideal habitat for the elk and they appear to be growing in numbers.
Over the past 25 years, the current owners have chosen not to expand the ranch’s potential for guided hunts. They have only allowed select individuals and friends access to the ranch during hunting season. Many of the same people have returned over the years. There is a potential for considerable income should the new owners wish to monetize this aspect of the ranch.
The recommended method of operation would be to run both cow/calf pairs and yearlings. The ranch has comfortably been stocked with about 500 mature mother cows year-round, an appropriate number of saddle horses, replacement heifers, bulls, and an additional 1,750 yearlings during the summer months. The ranch has historically worked well running both pairs and yearlings at this stocking rate. Currently, the SY Ranch is leased to two separate individuals that are stocking it with cow/calf pairs and yearling cattle.
