Voting Home / The Flying U Ranch
Nominated for: BEST Horseback Riding
Ride into Western Canada's rich frontier history! The Flying U is Canada's oldest working guest ranch with a fascinating story.
In the 1820s, the Northwest Fur Trading Co. established a fur trade post at the ranch's location on Green Lake.
During the gold rush of the 1860s, this property became a ranch/roadhouse and in 1886, a crown grant of land was given to two intrepid ranchers, William and Mary Boyd. This formally established the "70 Ranch" as a working cattle ranch, run in conjunction with the old "70 Mile House" roadhouse.
In 1923, rodeo star Jack G. Boyd, son of William and Mary, took over the cattle ranch, and turned it into "The Flying U" guest ranch. It was Jack's friend, cowboy movie star William S. Hart who came up with the idea of naming the ranch after a popular series of books and Hollywood movies. Jack Boyd developed the ranch into a combination resort and cattle business, and even hosted an annual rodeo that rivalled the Calgary Stampede for prestige and top riders.
