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11 Mar Western Landmark: The Retreat and Links At Silvies Valley Ranch
The Retreat and Links at Silvies Valley Ranch is located in a remote corner of Eastern Oregon. And one of its most revered employees, Bruce, is living his dream life. We instantly became friends when I arrived at the property’s seven-hole McVeigh Gauntlet Golf Course, where he was quite content working for peanuts as my caddy. Let’s face it, if you were a goat being fed a favorite snack, you’d be a happy laborer, too.
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Guests from Silvies Valley Ranch enjoy the view from Egan’s Hideout, one of the resort’s dining options. Photo: David Zeitz.
Bruce LeGoat heads a foursome of goat caddies, including Mike LeChevon, Peanut LeGoat, and Roundabout LaDoe, all equipped with specially-designed golf bags. As proud ambassadors for Silvies Valley Ranch, they represent the more than 2,500 American range goats that call the 140,000-acre working cattle ranch their home. But were it not for the vision of retired veterinarian Scott Campbell and his wife, Sandy, they’d all be looking for residence elsewhere.
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Luxury cabins overlook the pond at Silvies Valley Ranch, providing rest and reprieve. Photo: David Zeitz.
With family genealogy dating back to 19th-century pioneer days in the Beaver State, the Campbells returned from Portland, Oregon, to their native roots. After amassing a fortune operating pet hospitals, they began investing their resources in developing and promoting the undiscovered region of Seneca, Oregon. The Campbell’s ambitious efforts led to creating this destination eco-resort, equidistant between Bend, Oregon, and Boise, Idaho. The Retreat has firmly established itself as a unique getaway for guests in search of a frontier experience on an authentic Western cattle ranch.
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American range goats roam across Silvies Valley Ranch. Photo: David Zeitz.
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The interior view of a room in the Lakeside Cabins. Photo: David Zeitz.
“We bought the land as a real estate investment since there wasn’t anyone exposing the beauty of this part of the state, and I wanted to be an economic driver here,” says Scott. In 2007, the couple purchased the expansive acreage in the high-desert meadow landscape where beaver were once the dominant inhabitant. “What we’re attempting is to not only build out this resort with very high-end experiences, but to keep it very boutique and exclusive.”
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The two-bedroom cabins are plush with décor that includes a fireplace, skylights, copper bathroom sinks, rain showers, and wall-mounted TVs. Photo: David Zeitz
I realized my initial taste of the Campbell’s objectives immediately upon driving past the entry gate onto a dirt road toward the main lodge where I traded in my car for a battery-powered ATV, a Polaris RZR, as my personal onsite transport. They handed me a two-way radio to communicate throughout the ranch. Less than 24 hours later, any sense of isolation I thought I’d feel from the outside world completely vanished. On my log cabin deck the first morning, I observed the coffee steam rise in sync with the ascending moisture from the adjacent pond and watched antelope graze throughout an unobstructed playground. Time to unplug!
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Caddie Master, Bruce LeGoat, donned his Seamus Golf caddie backpack.
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Caddie Master, Bruce LeGoat
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The 17,000-square-foot Rocking Heart Spa features hot tubs, a half-sized Olympic lap pool, a climbing wall, and more.
While there’s no shortage of experiences to fill the day, I did manage to take advantage of a few: such as golf — including two reversible 18-hole courses — biking, target shooting, and even axe throwing. And whenever it was time to take refuge, my visit to Silvies Valley Ranch was enhanced by one of the luxurious 1,100-square-foot log cabins that can be divided into two units, one with a living room and hot tub on the patio. Plush with elaborate décor, including a fireplace, bedroom skylights, copper bathroom sinks, rain showers, and wall-mounted flat screens, these quarters would be the envy of any time-traveling pioneer.
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The rolling green hills in Eastern Oregon offer the perfect setting for Silvies Valley Ranch. Photo: Will Watt.
“This area has always been used for logging and ranching, so we tried to match that in the architecture as much as possible,” said Tom Holgate, a longtime friend of the Campbells and the Portland-based project architect. Holgate oversaw the renovation of eight pre-existing cabins and 24 ranch-house guest rooms. He designed the new 17,000-square-foot Rocking Heart Spa, and has a hand in the 50 to 70 vacation homes expected to be built over the next five years.
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Farm-to-table cuisine highlights the menus prepared by Chef Damon Jones.
The frontier foundation will be around ‘til the cows come home, but for now, the Campbell’s build-it-and-they-will-come approach with Silvies Valley Ranch is luring modern-day explorers to soak up the Western mystique on a five-star scale.
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