512-Acre Private UAP Research Site in the Uintah Basin
Skinwalker Lane, off US-40, Ballard, UT 84066
Research updated May 2026
Age
Public access prohibited
Cost
Free
The ranch itself is closed to the public. Adjacent mesa-top viewing is available through the UFO Valley ATV Campground (separate operator, separate fees).
Access
Limited Access
High-desert ranchland; surrounding mesa access requires off-road vehicle
Equipment
Photos OK
Est. 1994 · UAP Research · Bigelow Aerospace / NIDS Investigation · History Channel Documentary Series
The 512-acre property lies in the Uintah Basin of northeastern Utah, on the southern border of the Uintah and Ouray Indian Reservation, home of the Ute Indian Tribe. The basin's broader paranormal reputation predates the ranch by generations and is rooted in Ute cultural traditions concerning the figure of the skinwalker — a culturally specific concept whose interpretation properly belongs to tribal cultural authorities rather than to outside narrators.
The property became known as the Sherman Ranch in 1994 when Terry and Gwen Sherman purchased it. The Shermans reported persistent unexplained phenomena including livestock mutilations, anomalous lights, and apparent cryptid encounters, and they sold the ranch in 1996 to aerospace entrepreneur Robert Bigelow. Bigelow funded the National Institute for Discovery Science (NIDS) to conduct on-site research from 1996 to 2004, and later the Bigelow Aerospace Advanced Space Studies (BAASS) program in association with the Defense Intelligence Agency's Advanced Aerospace Threat Identification Program (AATIP).
Brandon Fugal purchased the ranch from Bigelow in 2016 and continued the research effort. Beginning in 2020, the History Channel cable series The Secret of Skinwalker Ranch has documented Fugal's investigation team and renewed public interest in the site.
The ranch is not open to the public. The property is surrounded by fencing and security infrastructure, and unauthorized access is prohibited. Public viewing is limited to distant perspectives from surrounding roads and adjacent privately-operated viewing platforms.
Sources
Investigation logs from the National Institute for Discovery Science (1996-2004) and from the current Brandon Fugal-led team document a wide range of reported phenomena. Categories most consistently described include anomalous aerial objects (sometimes appearing as discrete metallic craft, sometimes as orb-like lights), localized magnetic and radiation anomalies, livestock mutilations with apparent surgical-grade precision, and the recurrence of large bipedal or canid-like figures.
The History Channel series The Secret of Skinwalker Ranch, beginning its first season in 2020, has presented investigation findings to a wide audience and has placed instruments on-site for ongoing monitoring. The show's claims have been received with skepticism by mainstream scientific observers, and independent verification of specific incidents is limited by the closed nature of the property.
The Ute Indian Tribe, whose reservation lies adjacent to the ranch, maintains that the skinwalker concept is a culturally specific element of Diné (Navajo) and broader Indigenous belief that should not be narrated for tribes by outside parties. Hauntbound's coverage treats the ranch's documented research history with archival neutrality and defers culturally specific interpretation to the Ute Cultural Rights and Protection Department.
Media Appearances
View the ranch perimeter from public roads in the Uintah Basin. The 512-acre property is surrounded by perimeter fencing and 24-hour armed security; trespassing is prohibited and the access road is monitored. Mesa-top viewing of the broader basin is offered by the unaffiliated UFO Valley ATV Campground.
Every HauntBound history is researched from documented sources. We clearly separate verified historical fact from paranormal folklore.
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