It was quite a while ago that my mom and I stumbled upon Nine Mile Ranch. My mother and I had traveled to Nine Mile Canyon to look at the petroglyphs and the landscape.
Nine Mile Ranch is located 25 miles down the Nine Mile Canyon road. This begins at the Wellington Walker gas station and is marked with a sign. At Walker's you can gas up and purchase food, ice, and other supplies before you head into the canyon. They have these amazing potato logs! We get them every time we go! The first 12 and a half miles of the Nine Mile Canyon road are paved and the rest is a dirt road, but it's traveled well. Just after the coal mine is where the road changes into a graded dirt road. Continue on for about another 12 miles until you see the white bunkhouse on the right.
We stopped at Ben and Myrna's because they had a sign out that said "Bunk & Breakfast" and we weren't familiar with the area and this was the first indication that there was a place in which a person could actually camp. At the time Ben and Myrna were just beginning with their Bunk and Breakfast but the whole place was enchanting. Ben and Myrna are truly some of the nicest people you will ever meet.
I think that one of the most refreshing things about visiting the ranch is the hospitality that the Meads show you as well as the beautiful landscape that surrounds you. It's a place where you can go and forget about the stresses of the city and relax. It's a place where you are reminded that there are some really wonderful people out there and it's a place where you can get together and meet people from all around.
I go to Nine Mile Ranch as often as I can. There are few places you can go that are this remote and accessible but still not spoiled by careless people. I love the ranch and I wanted to share it with as many people as possible which is why I have created this website. I hope that you too can share in the experience.
Ben and Myrna Mead leased the ranch in 1991 and purchased the property in 1996. They have lived on various ranches in Nine Mile Canyon prior to buying the land. The ranch is known as a "working cattle ranch". Cattle drives are held during the spring and fall and arrangements can be made for visitors to ride along.
Nine Mile Ranch is a great stopping place on your way to a river run through Desolation Canyon on the Green River. The ranch is one of the few mosquito-free places in the area which is of course a big plus!
The terrain of the ranch and it's surroundings is the ecotype called Transition type (pinion and conifer). The vegetation is narrow leaf cottonwood, sagebrush, Rocky Mountain Juniper and Douglas Fir. Nine Mile Creek flows through the canyon. The elevation of the ranch is 6,700 feet and is part of the Tavaputs Plateua of the Book Cliffs which includes sedimentary formation rocks.