The Bitter Root Land Trust (BRLT), a local conservation non-profit organization, is inviting recreationists to get an on-the-ground look at conserved agricultural lands at the 3rd annual Burnt Fork Poker Ride on Saturday, May 30, 2026, in Stevensville.
Presented by BRLT’s Next Gen Committee, a group of rising leaders in the Bitterroot who connect with the community over conservation through engagement events and community outreach, this event was designed to bring recreating user groups together over shared values of protected open land to safely enjoy Bitterroot Valley trails that are open to horses, bikes, and hikers.
The Poker Ride will feature two separate routes that will take horseback riders and bicyclists to a series of poker stops on privately owned working ranches in the Burnt Fork conservation neighborhood that have been protected in perpetuity with conservation easements by private, willing landowners in partnership with BRLT. To date, BRLT has partnered with 71 families to conserve 15,282 acres of open land in the Bitterroot Valley including agricultural land and habitat for wildlife.
The horse route (starting at 10 a.m.) is 3.5 miles and travels across the Lazy Burnt Fork Ranch (landowners Steve Peckinpaugh and Catherine Taylor-Peckinpaugh) and Haywire Flats conservation easement (landowners Carola Woolsey-Mielke and Ed Mielke), with the option to extend the ride to 5 total miles using a moderately difficult connector trail.
The route for bicyclists (starting at 11 a.m.) will take riders along a private ranch road on Skyline Angus (landowners Drew and Kaci Lewis), and along Middle and South Burnt Fork Roads with stops at Flying E Ranch (landowners Dan and Debbie Severson), Runnin’ Bear Ranch (landowners Doug and Janis Astle) and Kerslake Ranch (landowners Dan and Sari Kerslake).
“The landowner momentum for conservation in the Burnt Fork is inspirational, with over 7,000 acres and 7 contiguous miles of working ranches that will remain intact forever thanks to conservation easements and BRLT,” says Kelly Hook, Next Gen Committee Member. “The Next Gen committee created this unique event to share with our community the incredible conservation that local support makes possible and celebrate our valley’s agricultural landscape that will remain forever unchanged. We are grateful to the landowners who are generously allowing public access for the day for this one-of-a-kind event.”
Both horse and bike routes will start and stop at Lazy Burnt Fork Ranch, where an after-the-ride celebration will take place with raffles, music, beverages and burgers for purchase from Double K Ranch, and information about private landowner-driven conservation in the Bitterroot Valley. The best poker hand of the day will win the grand prize of a Yeti cooler filled with locally grown beef and chicken.
“As conservation easement landowners who partnered with the Bitter Root Land Trust to protect our ranch, we are happy to continue our support of Bitterroot conservation by hosting this annual Poker Ride for the community,” said Lazy Burnt Fork Ranch landowners Steve Peckinpaugh and Catherine Taylor Peckinpaugh. “We are blessed to live here and hope the day will be a memorable one for everyone attending as we share the protected open land that we get to enjoy daily.”
Landowners who conserve their properties in partnership with BRLT can choose whether to allow public access. As most BRLT-completed conservation easements are working family farms and ranches, public access to privately-owned conserved lands is relatively rare.
Event proceeds will directly support BRLT’s mission to conserve the Bitterroot Valley’s water, wildlife, and working lands. Entry for the ride costs $20 with additional poker hands available for purchase at $10 per hand. Limited tickets are on sale now and can be purchased online by visiting the Bitter Root Land Trust website at bitterrootlandtrust.org.
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