About The Lazy SR Ranch:
The Jordan family homesteaded the Lazy SR Ranch when Montana was still a territory and built it into one of the largest ranches in Park County (Park County is the home of Yellowstone National Park). The Jordans also donated the land for creation of the town of Wilsall , the small town (pop.100) closest to the Ranch and located at the intersection of highways 87 and 89. Wilsall is named after Mr. Jordan's sonWilliam and his wife, Sally Jordan. Originally, the Ranch homestead ran along the Shields River from its source in the Crazy Mountains for better than15 miles to the town of Wilsall. Over time, various parcels of the Ranch were sold or otherwise split off.
In 1984 the original homesite for the Ranch was purchased and the current owners began re-assembling the Ranch. Today the Ranch is once again one of the larger ranches in Park County, running generally east to west from the Crazy Mountains towards the Shields River. One section of ground, separated from the balance of the Ranch, lays along the Shields River and is the location of the Jordan homestead.
The Shields River begins in the Crazy Mountains and flows southwesterly from the mountains across both the upper and lower units of the Ranch, ultimately joining the Yellowstone River at Livingston, Montana. The Shields River was named after John Shields, the blacksmith for Lewis and Clark's Corp of Discovery, by William Clark in 1806. Captain Clark, who had explored the Shields Valley on his way back from that long, suffering, now well-celebrated journey to the Pacific, had seen a river 35 yards wide and deep. Clark had enthusiastically reported that it “afford [ed] a great quantity of water.” The River bisects the valley between the Crazy Mountains to the east and the Bridger Mountains to the west.
In addition to the Shields River, Porcupine Creek runs out of the Crazy Mountain National Forest bordering the eastern edge of the Ranch and flows through both the upper and lower units.
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Information About Wilsall:
Click on Town of Wilsall or the page "Town of Wilsall" for more information on the Town the Jordans founded and which is thriving today about 7 miles southwest of the Ranch. In an exciting development for the Town in early 2009, The Wilsall General Store expanded the offerings of Wilsall's long-time grocer (since 1954), Nordie's in the same location, featuring neighborly food, stalwart ranching supplies, and authentic Montana cowboy gear. See www.wilsallgeneralstore.com
Nearby Attractions: The Ranch is 48 miles east of Bozeman, Montana, a regional airport and home to Montana State University. The Ranch is 25 miles north of Livingston, Montana and about 75 miles north of Yellowstone National Park. Bridger Bowl Ski Area is 30 minutes west of the Ranch on the road to Bozeman.
Home of Cowboy Champions:
The Lazy SR Ranch won the 2007 Wilsall Ranch Rodeo and one of our cowboys won Top Hand. Two members of the team who won the 2006 Bozeman Ranch Rodeo work at the Lazy SR. Team members included Tyler Vennes and Kurt Mraz. A LSR team also won the 2004 Wilsall Ranch Rodeo. The LSR Team finished fourth in the 2008 Wilsall Ranch Rodeo and fifth in the 2006 Wilsall Ranch Rodeo and has finished there or higher in every year of the Wilsall Ranch rodeo competition. For more information on Wilsall and the Wilsall Ranch Rodeo, see www.wilsall.org. The LSR is also the summer home of part-time wrangler, "Snack King" Adams, seen in the bottom left picture.