We create an environment where people can make deep connections with themselves, others, and the land in an authentic western setting.
The A Bar A and its sister ranches, Big Creek, State Line, and Sheep Rock, are collectively known as the Gates Family Ranches. This landscape has attracted people for millennia. Prior to European settlement and subsequent displacement of indigenous people, this area was home ground for the Ute, Arapahoe, Shoshone, and Cheyenne tribes, among others.
The first European explorers arrived in 1811 and A Bar A’s first homesteads were established in the 1880s. Those settlers came primarily for fur trapping, mining, logging, and cattle ranching. Guest ranching at A Bar A started in 1922 when Princeton University graduates Andy Anderson and Edward Hubbell and their families purchased the Ranch and founded the hospitality operation along with their cattle operation.
The Gates family purchased A Bar A in 1962 and it has been a core part of the family’s identity since then. The land is managed jointly with the rest of the Gates Family Ranches. Together, the Ranches encompass over 100,000 contiguous acres, support nearly 200 horses, and sustainably graze more than 5,000 cattle. The Ranches’ management includes a range of active conservation and stewardship efforts.
A Bar A has been managed by the Howe family since 1984, with Bob and Margie at the reins until 2008, and now Lissa and Justin Howe. The entire management team has deep history with the Ranches. Among the rest of the full-time staff and leadership team, several have worked at the Ranch for more than 15 years.
The Ranches do not advertise, pay for listings or awards on promotional websites and publications, or work with travel agents.