Summit County councilmember identified as buyer of 916,000-acre Wyoming ranch listed at $79.5M

The Ensign Group, L.C., led by Summit County Council member Christopher Robinson, purchased Wyoming’s 916,000-acre Pathfinder Ranches, a property listed in 2025 for $79.5 million. Photo: Summit County

PARK CITY, Utah — A Salt Lake City-based ranching company led by Summit County Council member Christopher Robinson has purchased one of the West’s largest modern cattle operations, according to a Jan. 17 news release from the listing broker.

The Ensign Group, L.C., owned by Robinson, acquired Pathfinder Ranches, a 916,000-acre Wyoming property that encompasses 1,431 square miles across four counties, Swan Land Company announced.

The ranch was listed Aug. 6, 2025, for $79.5 million, but the final sale price was not disclosed, Swan said. David Anderson and Matt Anderson of A5 Real Estate represented the buyer.

Robinson, who has served on the Summit County Council since 2009, is CEO and co-owner of The Ensign Group. He announced in December that he will not seek reelection in 2026.

Ensign Ranches “owns and/or manages over one million acres” of private and public lands across Utah, Idaho, and Wyoming, according to Swan’s release. The company will continue operating the Wyoming property as a cattle ranch under the name Pathfinder Ensign Ranches.

Robinson described the purchase as “kind of reuniting” land the company already operated nearby, Cowboy State Daily reported, saying Ensign bought the neighboring Stone Ranch four years ago from the children of the family that sold a large portion of the original Pathfinder holdings in the 1970s.

The property spans Natrona, Carbon, Sweetwater, and Fremont counties, stretching from Devil’s Gate to the Pedro and Ferris mountain ranges. It includes 20 miles of the Sweetwater River and portions of the North Platte River.

The assemblage of 12 ranches under unified ownership is larger than Delaware and more than four times the size of New York City, representing more than 1% of Wyoming’s total landmass, Mansion Global reported in an earlier story, citing Swan Land Company’s listing.

Pathfinder Ranches includes the nation’s first sage-grouse conservation bank approved by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, which will remain in operation under Ensign’s ownership, Swan said.

“Watching a family-owned operation with Ensign’s ranching values and operational standards step in as the next steward of Pathfinder is encouraging on many levels,” listing broker Scott Williams said in the release.

Robinson described the purchase as a stewardship commitment in Swan’s announcement.

The ranch’s headquarters, the Great Pathfinder Lodge, features 6,579 square feet of living space with nine bedrooms and 7.5 bathrooms, according to Swan.