Griffin RanchBellevue, Idaho
For Owners & Visitors

General Information

Map of the property, access rules, irrigation, water rights, and useful local resources.

Subdivision Map

The lay of the land.

Griffin Ranch is comprised of two adjoining subdivisions on a single historic ranch property, south of Bellevue, Idaho. The red line indicates the boundary between the P.U.D. and the Bench.

Map of the Griffin Ranch subdivisions showing the P.U.D., the Bench on Sterling Drive, and the BLM access trail at the north end

Subdivision boundary · Click image to enlarge.

Griffin Ranch P.U.D. — lots and common areas except Sterling Drive
The Bench — 16 lots along Sterling Drive
BLM Access Trail — north end of Sterling Drive
Joint Boundary — line dividing the two subdivisions
Access

BLM & Hunting Access

Griffin Ranch is a privately owned subdivision, including the roads. Property owners are responsible for all road maintenance and associated costs. Because of this, we only allow non-motorized access through the subdivision.

Visitors are welcome to park outside the entrance in the designated parking area and proceed on foot, bike, or horse to the BLM access point at the north end of Sterling Drive, there is no public access South of the T. Crossing any lot without the explicit permission of the owner is trespassing.

Quick reference

Parking: designated area outside the entrance
Allowed: foot, bicycle, horse
Not allowed: any motorized vehicle past the entrance
BLM trailhead: north end of Sterling Drive

Operations

Irrigation

Irrigation water is shared between the two subdivisions and operated under the Joint Operating & Irrigation Agreement. Each lot's allotment and turn-out schedule is set annually and posted in the Good to Know section of the home page each spring.

Under the state's Big Wood River Ground Water Management Plan, the shared irrigation system may only run from May 1 to September 15 each year. See Water Rights below for details.

Pivot irrigation over the barley field at sunrise
Pivot irrigation over the common barley field.
Records

Water Rights

Water rights for Griffin Ranch are administered jointly between the two HOAs under the Joint Operating & Irrigation Agreement.

Owners with specific water rights questions should contact the board directly, or look up the property's records on the Idaho Department of Water Resources website.

Griffin Ranch lies within the Big Wood River Ground Water Management Area. The Idaho Department of Water Resources has extended the area's ground water management plan through December 31, 2027.

Galena Ground Water District

Griffin Ranch's ground water rights are part of the Galena Ground Water District (GGWD), which manages ground water irrigation pumping for its members. GGWD represents its members on the state advisory committee that negotiated the management plan, and all members must follow the plan's rules.

  • Irrigation season: May 1 – September 15 Members may not irrigate from ground water earlier than May 1 or later than September 15 in any year, regardless of the season listed on the water right.
  • Protection from legal action GGWD is a signatory to the management plan, so its members are protected from legal action by surface water users over the use of their ground water rights.
  • Reducing irrigated acreage GGWD is required to reduce irrigated land in the district by 200 acres. Owners with acreage they don't plan to irrigate can contact the district about incentives for leaving it unirrigated (fallowing).
  • Annual assessments GGWD dues are based on the amount of water a right is permitted to use, not the amount actually used. Most members pay through their county property tax bill; water rights held by homeowners associations are billed directly by the district. GGWD assessments are separate from Water District 37, which handles the physical allocation and accounting of all water rights in the area.
  • Meetings & contact The GGWD board meets the first Tuesday of each month at Sun Valley City Hall, in person or remotely. Agendas and minutes are at galenagwd.com; email GalenaGWD@gmail.com.

Water rights resources

· Big Wood River Ground Water Management Plan (2025–2027): View PDF
· Idaho DWR Water Right Search: research.idwr.idaho.gov
· Blaine County recorded documents: Blaine County Recorder's Office

Useful Links

Local resources.

Government offices and reference resources that come up regularly for owners and prospective buyers.