Ranch that was backdrop to Robert Redford film ‘A River Runs Through It’ sells for $135m

A Montana ranch that was the backdrop to the 1992 Richard Redford film ‘A River Runs Through It’ has sold for $135 million, making it one of America’s most expensive homes. 

The Climbing Arrow Ranch sold less than a week after it was put on the market following a bidding war between rival buyers and is expected to be exchanged in the summer. 

It is being sold by the Anderson family who have owned the property, one of the largest undeveloped ranches in the Rocky Mountain West, since 1959. 

The Climbing Arrow Ranch in Montana (pictured) that was the backdrop to the 1992 Richard Redford film ‘A River Runs Through It’ has sold for $135 million, making it one of America’s most expensive homes

The Climbing Arrow Ranch, which boasts 80,000 acres, sold less than a week after it was put on the market following a bidding war between rival buyers and is expected to be exchanged in the summer

The Climbing Arrow Ranch, which boasts 80,000 acres, sold less than a week after it was put on the market following a bidding war between rival buyers and is expected to be exchanged in the summer

The property has been expanded since it was purchased by Buck Anderson and his wife Marcia Anderson in 1959, and now spans four counties

The property has been expanded since it was purchased by Buck Anderson and his wife Marcia Anderson in 1959, and now spans four counties

The sprawling property being sold by the Anderson family who have owned the ranch, one of the largest undeveloped sites in the Rocky Mountain West, since 1959

 The sprawling property being sold by the Anderson family who have owned the ranch, one of the largest undeveloped sites in the Rocky Mountain West, since 1959

Listing agent Mike Swan said: ‘Since our public release of the listing of the Climbing Arrow Ranch, we have received an extraordinary response from the market, with multiple parties stepping forth immediately,

‘We can confirm that the sellers have engaged with a prospective buyer who is currently conducting their inspections of the ranch’, the Wall Street Journal reported.  

The property has been expanded since it was purchased by Buck Anderson and his wife Marcia Anderson in 1959. 

It is now spread across Gallatin, Broadwater, Madison, and Meagher Counties, and broken down into five allotments: Francis, Valley, Hudson, Island, and Logan.  

The property also contains about five miles of frontage along the Madison River , and over 17 miles of the North Fork and Middle Fork of Sixteenmile Creek ( a tributary to the Missouri River). 

The Anderson children are selling the property after their father and mother passed away in 2012 and 2020 respectively. 

They said: ‘Our family has had the great privilege of being the stewards of this beautiful ranch for over 60 years. The remarkable vision and ambition of our parents to create the CA Ranch into what it is today gave us the exceptional opportunity to raise families in a western ranching lifestyle, within a tightly knit community of friends.

‘We will cherish this for our lifetimes, and it can never be replaced. While we feel both pride and tribulation in this change, it is time to pass the reins to a new owner who will love and enjoy the ranch as much as we have’.  

The ranch boasts an abandoned portion of the Milwaukee Railroad, last used in 1978, traversing a dramatic, vertical canyon wall with views of the North Fork river below

The ranch boasts an abandoned portion of the Milwaukee Railroad, last used in 1978, traversing a dramatic, vertical canyon wall with views of the North Fork river below

The ranch is one of the largest undeveloped properties in the Rocky Mountain West and will become one of America's most expensive homes when it is exchanged in the summer

The ranch is one of the largest undeveloped properties in the Rocky Mountain West and will become one of America’s most expensive homes when it is exchanged in the summer

The ranch boasts a herd of nearly 2,000 commercial Black Angus cattle that are being sold with the site for over $135 million

The ranch boasts a herd of nearly 2,000 commercial Black Angus cattle that are being sold with the site for over $135 million

Stunning views: The ranch spans four counties and nearly 80,000 acres of land, including prime trout fishing and bull-elk hunting sites

Stunning views: The ranch spans four counties and nearly 80,000 acres of land, including prime trout fishing and bull-elk hunting sites 

The massive ranch is being sold by the Anderson children after their father and mother passed away in 2012 and 2020 respectively

The massive ranch is being sold by the Anderson children after their father and mother passed away in 2012 and 2020 respectively

The Climbing Arrow Ranch includes an abandoned railway that was last used in 1978 and was made famous in the 1992 Robert Redford film 'A River Runs Through It'

The Climbing Arrow Ranch includes an abandoned railway that was last used in 1978 and was made famous in the 1992 Robert Redford film ‘A River Runs Through It’

The ranch boasts seven self-contained properties, historically used for staff, across its 80,000 acres of land

The ranch boasts seven self-contained properties, historically used for staff, across its 80,000 acres of land

Listing agents, the Swan Land Company, have confirmed the sellers are engaged with a prospective buyer for what could be one of the most expensive homes in America

Listing agents, the Swan Land Company, have confirmed the sellers are engaged with a prospective buyer for what could be one of the most expensive homes in America

The ranch also boasts limestone cliffs, irrigated hay meadows on the Madison River as well as German browns, and cutthroat and rainbow fishing trout

The ranch also boasts limestone cliffs, irrigated hay meadows on the Madison River as well as German browns, and cutthroat and rainbow fishing trout

The ranch boasts 80,000 acres teeming with wildlife, including brown bears, listing agents Swan Land Company said

The ranch boasts 80,000 acres teeming with wildlife, including brown bears, listing agents Swan Land Company said

The region is known for bull-elk hunting and is home to a herd of between 900 and 1,500, and attracts dozens of magnum bulls

The region is known for bull-elk hunting and is home to a herd of between 900 and 1,500, and attracts dozens of magnum bulls

The about 2,000 commercial Black Angus cattle which currently graze on the ranch's 80,000 acres will be sold with the property in the summer

The about 2,000 commercial Black Angus cattle which currently graze on the ranch’s 80,000 acres will be sold with the property in the summer 

It now encompasses five separate areas totalling around 80,000 acres, and spreads across four counties around Bozeman, Montana. 

The region is known for bull-elk hunting and is home to a herd of between 900 and 1,500, and attracts dozens of magnum bulls. 

The ranch also boasts limestone cliffs, irrigated hay meadows on the Madison River as well as a herd of nearly 2,000 Black Angus cattle, German browns, cutthroat and rainbow fishing trout. 

The property also includes seven self-contained homes, guest houses, and an owner’s home on the sprawling site as well as the historic Francis Barn, corrals, workshops, mechanic shops, horse corrals, sheds and horse barns, calving facilities, and shipping corrals. 

An abandoned railway, part of the Milwaukee Railroad, weaves through the ranch's sprawling site. It was last used in 1978

An abandoned railway, part of the Milwaukee Railroad, weaves through the ranch’s sprawling site. It was last used in 1978 

The massive property is one of the largest undeveloped ranches in the US

The site features red handprints on the the limestone cliffs

 The massive property, which is one of the largest undeveloped ranches in the US, features red handprints on the the limestone cliffs

The property also includes seven self-contained homes, guest houses, and an owner's home on the sprawling site as well as the historic Francis Barn, corrals, workshops, mechanic shops, horse corrals, sheds and horse barns, calving facilities, and shipping corrals

The property also includes seven self-contained homes, guest houses, and an owner’s home on the sprawling site as well as the historic Francis Barn, corrals, workshops, mechanic shops, horse corrals, sheds and horse barns, calving facilities, and shipping corrals

It is now spread across Gallatin, Broadwater, Madison, and Meagher Counties, and broken down into five allotments: Francis, Valley, Hudson, Island, and Logan

It is now spread across Gallatin, Broadwater, Madison, and Meagher Counties, and broken down into five allotments: Francis, Valley, Hudson, Island, and Logan

The property contains about five miles of frontage along the Madison River , and over 17 miles of the North Fork and Middle Fork of Sixteenmile Creek ( a tributary to the Missouri River)

The property contains about five miles of frontage along the Madison River , and over 17 miles of the North Fork and Middle Fork of Sixteenmile Creek ( a tributary to the Missouri River)