Sanders County ranch transforms into fall festival

Nestled along Montana 200, a short distance off the highway, a small ranch with large aspirations shares their success with residents of Sanders County. 

Mark and Elizabeth Riffle of Waterway Ranch opened their ranch to the public for the third annual Fall Festival. The venue is packed with activities for the family, food for all, and a pasture full of bounce houses, mazes, train rides and other fun events for the kids. 

Entry is free for families. All proceeds from food sales help pay expenses incurred from the bounce house rental fees.  

“This is the third year doing it. We’ve grown and changed each year a little bit,” said Mark Riffle. “The first year I wasn’t actually here for it. I said, it sounds like a great idea sweetheart, you just knock yourself out. It turns out it was more popular than I thought.”

Last year the festival saw over 900 people attend the two-day event. 

When asked why the Riffles put on the event, Mark replied, “Elizabeth wanted to. It was something she had pushed for repeatedly."

The ranch also has a roadside produce stand. They added fruits and meat products for sale this year. With two green houses, Elizabeth works as a food hub selling their produce as well as other locally grown items. 

“Everyone working here today is volunteering their time” Mark said. “It’s a family kind of thing.” 

He continued, “We do all natural, no chemicals, pesticides, no herbicides, no chemical fertilizers, no chemical anything.” 

When asked why Elizabeth put on the festival she replied, “I wanted to give back to the community and so we started this. I have worked for the past two weeks setting this up.”  

Elizabeth was asked what she got out of all the hard work putting on the event.

“To watch the kids come and play," she replied. "Not always are they able to afford to go to the fair. It is very important to our family that we offer something that they could come no matter if they had any money or not. This is not a money maker for us.”

    The pumpkin patch at the Riffle's Fall Festival in Sanders County. (Tracy Scott/Valley Press)
  

    3-year-old Nathan Hewlett enjoys the bounce house. (Tracy Scott/Valley Press)
  

    Volunteers Tyler Riffle and Carol Dykstra prepare food for sale at the Fall Festival. (Tracy Scott/Valley Press)