About Hunewill Ranch
The spirit of the West
Hunewill Guest Ranch is located in Bridgeport, California on the eastern slope of the beautiful Sierra Nevada Mountains bordering Yosemite National Park. Our historic ranch is a working cattle and guest ranch. With over a hundred well-trained horses and a vast expanse of lush green meadows and scenic mountain trails, we create memories that last a lifetime. As our guest, you can participate in the timeless traditional ranch life of the American West.
There’s something for everyone at the ranch, whether you come with your family, friends, or on your own. You'll love riding through 4,500 acres of alpine meadows and fragrant sage bordered by timbered peaks. Our full ranch experience includes world-class riding, delicious meals served in the dining room of the founder’s Victorian ranch house, lodging in our comfortable cabins, and popular evening activities such as talent night, square dancing, creek-side barbecues, and watching the gentling of young foals and yearlings.
Bridgeport Valley is an unspoiled recreational paradise where you will find trout fishing, hiking, mountain biking, and many other pastimes for the nature enthusiast.
If you want wide open spaces, great riding, great food, and lasting friendships, then Hunewill Guest Ranch has the vacation for you.
Video by Will Call
From Pasture to Plate
Ranch-Raised Premium Beef You Can Trust
Where It All Began
1860-1863
Napoleon Bonaparte Hunewill starts a lumber mill in Buckeye Canyon, supplying lumber to the town of Bodie. He later moves into the Bridgeport Valley with his wife Esther and son Frank, raising cattle to supply beef to the miners in Bodie.
1883-1893
Frank Hunewill marries Alice and they have four children, three of whom survive: Lucille, Camille “Millie”, and Stanley. All three worked on the ranch. Lucille was one of the first women packers in the Sierra. As an adult, Millie avidly preserved family stories through her writing as the first family historian.
Bridgeport ranchers
Left to right: Jan, Stan, Megan (on Stan's shoulders), Lenore, Jeff, Betsy (in front)."
Modern Day: The Tradition Continues!
The ranch continues to operate as a working cattle ranch and guest ranch. It remains in the Hunewill family, with a commitment to preserving its heritage and the western hospitality. The 7th generation of Hunewills can be seen running around the ranch today!
Pre-1860s
Paiute people inhabit the Bridgeport Valley and surrounding Eastern Sierra during the Summer seasons, living in harmony with the land. Spending summers fishing, hunting, and gathering in the alpine meadows.
1880
The Hunewill family builds the main ranch house and barn, marking the beginning of Hunewill Ranch as we know it today.
Stanley, Lucille, and Millie Hunewill
Millie Hunewill on horseback in the ox meadow Buckeye Canyon
And the next generation
1931
Faced with financial hardship during the Great Depression, Lenore Hunewill (Stanley’s wife) has the innovative idea to open the ranch to paying guests, transforming it into a guest ranch to generate income and preserve the family tradition.
1967
Lenore, her son Stanley Jr., and wife Jan keep the ranch and guest ranch operating throughout the 60s, 70s, 80s, and 90s.
