The ‘Yellowstone’ Ranch Is a Real, Working Montana Ranch
With its mountain vistas and sprawling countrysides, Yellowstone is one of the most beautiful shows on television. Say what you want about how the cowboy succession drama handled its feud with lead actor Kevin Costner, but no other series has its actors riding real horses, lassoing up cattle, and getting drunk on the views alone. It’s why fans may be shocked to learn that the Yellowstone ranch, featuring massive white barns and big Y decals, is a real place that you can visit.
Nestled some five hours away from Yellowstone National Park, the Chief Joseph Ranch—a functioning cattle ranch in Darby, Montana—is the official location for the Dutton family home. It’s a six-thousand-square-foot mansion where guests can rent out cabins when the series isn’t filming. On the official website for the ranch, the cabins have even been renamed the “Lee Dutton” and the “Rip Wheeler,” after the Yellowstone characters who call the Chief Joseph Ranch their home.
Sadly, the ranch is not taking any more reservations for 2024 or 2025. Paramount is finally finishing up Yellowstone season 5, but the estate is also a fully-functioning cattle ranch year-round. Once 2026 rolls around, it should be fair game.
The rest of the show films in a forty-thousand-square-foot space in Missoula, Montana, as well as the 2.2 million acres of the Crow Indian Reservation outside Billings. Crow Nation tribal chairman AJ Not Afraid told Variety back in 2018 that the series was “a more honest, accurate portrayal of the modern American Indian than we’ve seen before.”
According to Parade, the 2,500-acre property was homesteaded by settlers in 1880 and named after Chief Joseph, a chief of the Wallowa band of the Nez Perce tribe. Glass tycoon William S. Ford purchased the location in 1914, and it was eventually sold to ranchers Shane and Abigail Libel. The Libel family has completely bought into the fame of the show, reportedly leaving the “Yellowstone Dutton Ranch” sign on full display all year long. “We welcome the large number of Yellowstone fans who stop at our gates to take photos of the Dutton Ranch sign,” the family wrote on their website, revealing that they were cold-called to be the official location for the Dutton ranch. “We are humbled and honoured that Paramount chose our ranch as the setting of this amazing series.”
Well, my fellow Yellowstone fans, I know where I’m spending my next holiday.
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