Hat Creek Breaks Retreat

Secluded Wyoming Recreation Retreat

Young Whitetails

Hidden away in the breaks off Stage Road between the charming cow-town of Lusk and Hat Creek, south of Newcastle, a surprisingly beautiful property awaits your recreational aspirations. As one drives near, it seems like high plains of Wyoming, except once you enter the property, you’re greeted with pine trees and the dramatic plunging limestone canyons that drop 150’-220’ to the adjacent private and State lands. For the outdoor enthusiast, this property offers gently sloping sodded pastures with pines to the rugged canyons – it offers easy mobility, or challenging, beautiful landscapes for more adventure.

One will find hawks, falcons and eagles soaring above and through the canyons, and plenty of Wyoming’s songbirds; plus there will be whitetail and mule deer in addition to elk. The wildlife and cattle definitely outnumber humans in Niobrara County (named for the Niobrara River that flows through Lusk), as only about 2,500 residents inhabit the county; making it a perfect getaway. For someone wanting a very private Wyoming residence with a surrounding landscape that is uniquely all about the stunning beauty of wide open Wyoming, this property will get you away from the crowds, but not so far away that you’ll be remote. This area was, and still is predominantly cattle country. It was also known to attract outlaws, such as the Sundance Kid, Butch Cassidy and The Wild Bunch.

Area History

In 1874, the U.S. Army discovered gold in the Black Hills of South Dakota. The resulting gold rush required a stage line that could carry gold from the remote mining town of Deadwood, Dakota Territory, to Cheyenne, a commercial center on the Union Pacific Railroad. For security, the U.S. Military established a single company infantry post called Fort Hat Creek in 1875.

Hat Creek Stage Station

Three stage stations have stood near the post. The first was built in 1876 but burned later the same year. A long log building that housed a telegraph station, post office, blacksmith shop, road house, stages and store replaced the first station after it burned. In the early 1880s. the two-story, hip-roof stage station that stands today was erected and the second stage station was torn down.

The Hat Creek station was located at the southern edge of the most dangerous section of the Cheyenne-Deadwood Stage Route. Near the station, travelers frequently encountered Indians defending the Black Hills territory and road agents robbing the stagecoaches. In February of 1887 the last stagecoach pulled through the Hat Creek station as the Chicago and Northwestern Railroad replaced the stage line. Toady, the Hat Creek Stage Station is the last standing on Cheyenne-Deadwood stage route.