An Altamont business is expanding to offer more outdoor recreation opportunities to affluent clients who enjoy the seclusion and scenic beauty of the area.
The L.C. Ranch, owned and operated by Nick and Ann Steveson, is currently undergoing renovation to include a second lodge and rod and gun club to offer bird hunting in the winter months.Upland game birds such as pheasant, chukar and quail will be stocked on 25 acres in the middle of the 1,200-acre ranch. Stevenson said the land to be used in the expansion project has been dedicated exclusively for wildlife habitat.
The new addition will be ready for business this season.
The ranch opened five years ago offering 28 stillwater ponds stocked with brook, brown and rainbow trout. Clients are booked through Western Rivers and for $225 can enjoy a day of catch-and-release fly fishing, overnight lodging and meals catered by Ann Stevenson. A single day of fishing runs $150, which includes a guide and equipment. The fishing season runs from late March to early November.
The L.C. Ranch hasn't gone unnoticed by the top trade magazines. It was mentioned in a recent article in Field and Stream, and the Nashville Network will feature the L.C. Ranch in a 30-minute segment of "Celebrity Outdoors." The show was taped recently at the ranch with Kathy and Michael Bailey of "Bailey and the Boys," said Stevenson. It will air in October. Other television networks also have plans to tape fishing segments at the ranch, according to Stevenson.
The enterprise is marketed in fishing and sports magazines in the United States and overseas, and has been featured in magazine articles as far away as Germany.
"We're pulling people from all over the world. We've had movie stars, attorneys, doctors, corporate people. People are coming here because they're tired of crowds. They can kick back and relax."
And Stevenson says the business helps out the county as well. "We're swinging about 500 people a year through here on their way to the L.C. Ranch. Those people are going through the Basin and stopping in Roosevelt, Duchesne and Altamont."