A Better Way to Own a Ranch
White Oak Creek Ranch features nearly 5,000 acres of premium hunting and fishing habitat and is limited to only 20 members. Our members own the ranch, split expenses, and can build their own home on our spectacular 120 acre lake. Everything required to maintain a first-class ranch is taken care of by our on-premise staff.
- 3,500 Acres of Hardwood Forest and Tens of Thousands of Oak Trees Support a Spectacular Wildlife Population
- 40+ Food Plots and Feeders Managed and Maintained for Deer and Pigs
- 170 Acres of Lakes and Ponds Managed for Trophy Bass as Well as Robust Crappie and Catfish Populations
- 90 Minutes East of Dallas
- Member Clubhouse & Pool
- 50 Miles of Connected Trails
- 600-Acre Duck Marsh
- Gun & Skeet Ranges
View White Oak Ranch listing on Lands of America
Are you ready to start your family legacy?
Situated on nearly 5,000 acres, White Oak Creek Ranch, located just 90 minutes east of Dallas in the wildlife-rich hardwood bottoms of Franklin County, redefines ranching.
“Our goal is to deliver a first-rate, best-of-class destination ranch where the owner-members can enjoy the outdoors and their families without any of the responsibilities of running, managing and maintaining a ranch,” said Ty Looney, who with his business partner, Garry Kyle, purchased the ranch in 2016.
The ranch, which had been managed solely for wildlife, emphasizing waterfowl and white-tailed deer, for the past 30 years, offered the duo an unmatched opportunity to create an exclusive hunting club and ranch community.
“We set out to create something we—and other outdoor enthusiasts—would want to be part of for a life-time,” Looney said.
Only 12 owner-memberships remain out of the original 20.
“We made an initial offering in February 2018, and the response was tremendous, even though most of the ranch amenities were still under construction,” said Looney, noting they paused their marketing efforts to complete the infrastructure. “We’re done building now, so interested buyers can see exactly what they’ll get—and it’s tremendous.”
In addition to the exceptional habitat for both wildlife and humans, White Oak Creek Ranch stands out from other hunting clubs because its membership is small in relation to its land holdings.
“We have 20 members on nearly 5,000 acres,” said Looney, noting that most other hunting clubs have 40 to 100 members on properties ranging from 2,000 acres to 6,000 acres. “Our club has the lowest member to land ratio of any in the country, which allows us to offer true fair chase hunting while limiting the pressure on the wildlife resource.”
View White Oak Ranch listing on Lands of America
Woods, Water & Wildlife
- 600 Acres of Wetland
- 7 Lakes, 5 to 120 Acres
- 158 inches is the record buck taken on White Oak Creek Ranch.
- 425 pounds is the record hog taken on the ranch.
- 6+ Miles of White Oak Creek Through the Ranch
Ample hardwood bottoms and uplands combined with plentiful water provide an oasis for wildlife and sportsmen, both hunters and anglers.
“Although the ranch is an easy drive from the Metroplex, it feels like it’s a world away,” Looney said. “A lot of the credit for that goes to ranch manager Rick Fuchs, who has been the guiding force here for 25 years.”
Hardwood bottoms, which are increasingly rare, encompass 3,500-acre White Oak Creek Ranch. The productive soils are periodically enriched by sediments deposited during periodic floods. Plants, adapted to the intermittent flooding, are diverse, providing food and cover for wildlife. A variety of oak trees drop vast amounts of acorns, a protein-rich food source for white-tailed deer, waterfowl and feral hogs.
Most people don’t know this type of terrain exists in Texas. It’s a special place.
Ty Looney
“Most people don’t know this type of terrain exists in Texas,” Looney said. “It’s a special place.”
White Oak Creek, from which the ranch takes its name, meanders for 6.5 miles through the property. There are four smaller creeks within the ranch’s low-fenced border that feed into White Oak.
“These riparian areas are like a superhighway for wildlife,” said Looney.
The native white-tailed deer herd is managed under an MLDP permit, so the hunting season lasts from October until February. The largest buck taken on the ranch measured 158 inches, while those measuring in the 140-range are relatively common. Feral hogs abound, providing year-round hunting. The biggest boar taken to date tipped the scales at 425 lbs.
To further enhance the abundant habitat, the wildlife management team plants about 300 acres in winter food plots at 40 different sites. White-tailed deer and feral hogs are drawn to a mixture of clover, wheat and turnips, while waterfowl are attracted to the marsh plots seeded with corn, sorghum, millet and milo.
With more than 600 acres of wetlands including 300 acres of flooded green timber, the ranch is a preferred stop for migrating ducks and geese making their annual trek along the Central Flyway.
“The number and variety of waterfowl is mind-blowing,” Looney said. “We’ve identified 16 duck species and four goose species here on the ranch.”
To ensure the waterfowl habitat is always at an optimum, a gravity feed system originating at the 120-acre Paradise Lake, the ranch’s largest, allows managers to flood the ranch’s entire duck marsh through control valves. The 600-acre wetland habitat is divided into seven zones. The duck marsh includes more than 39,000 feet of levees ensuring the waterfowl hunting is consistent and accessible even during the extremes of drought or flooding.
Duck blinds are strategically located throughout, but the Ultimate Duck Blind offers an unsurpassed experience.
“It has concrete floors, drive-in parking, a kitchen, a spacious warm-up room and space for 27 shooters,” Looney said. “The Ultimate Duck Blind takes VIP hunting to the next level.”
With five lakes ranging in size from 7 acres to 120 acres, anglers can pit their skills against trophy bass year-round.
“All told, we have 172 acres of stocked, professionally managed waters,”
Looney said.
Four lakes, measuring 7 acres, 8 acres, 17 acres and 20 acres, are managed strictly for bass, while Paradise Lake is a complete fishery with bass, catfish and crappie.
“An angler pulled the ranch’s record bass, which weighed 14.3 pounds, out of Paradise Lake,” Looney said. “Ten pounders are not uncommon here.”
The Living
White Oak Creek Ranch is located equidistant between the northeast Texas towns of Mount Pleasant and Mount Vernon. A 15-minute drive in either direction delivers plentiful shopping and dining options.
To maximize the amount of land available for hunting, ranch facilities, including home sites, are confined to an 800-acre± area known as the High Ground.
We chose to concentrate the places where people live and play in one area of the ranch, leaving the rest undisturbed so the wildlife and hunting opportunities could flourish.
Ty Looney
“White Oak Creek Ranch is hunting property and a community,” Looney said. “We chose to concentrate the places where people live and play in one area of the ranch, leaving the rest undisturbed so the wildlife and hunting opportunities could flourish.”
As a result, they have created a family-friendly place where like-minded outdoors enthusiasts gather to share their passions and their lives.
“The spirit is welcoming and friendly, but there are clear rules of behavior, especially when it comes to hunting and firearms,” Looney said. “Unsafe behavior is a deal breaker.”
Home Sites
The 10-acre owner-member home sites circle the perimeter of Paradise Lake, one of the state’s largest private lakes. The sites are situated to provide stunning water views and maximum elbow room.
Architectural controls ensure our exclusive ranch neighborhood meets standards for quality and complements its natural setting. The dominant style is “East Texas ranch” featuring metal roofs and exterior rock walls. To create cohesiveness, the home sites are unfenced and landscaping is kept minimal and native.
“Quality matters. Our building standards, similar to an HOA, protects everyone’s investment and their views” said Looney, noting owner-members have the option to build, but it’s not mandatory. “We want White Oak Creek Ranch to be a place owners are proud to call home”
The ranch boasts three completely updated and beautifully appointed homes that member-owners can use.
“The shared houses have been a real convenience for our members who are currently building homes because they can still enjoy the property comfortably, while their houses are being built,” Looney said. “Plus, our member families know they will always have overflow accommodations for their guests.
As an extra touch of convenience, property staff also offers grocery pick up for owner-members who might not have time to do it themselves.
“Most of our members live in Dallas, and little things like having groceries stocked in the fridge help make a family weekend that much more enjoyable,” Looney said.
Outdoor Amenities
The amenities at White Oak Creek Ranch elevate the good life to greatness.
“The ranch living is life outdoors—and we have something for everyone,” Looney said.
More than 50 miles of trails wind through the ranch, inviting residents to explore on foot, on bike, on horseback or in their private UTV or one of the shared UTVs. Boats, in a variety of sizes ranging from fishing boats to paddle boats, canoes and kayaks, are available, so anglers can while away the day on the water. Many of the lakes have community docks for those who prefer dock fishing. Owner-members can stable their horses at the shared barn.
A skeet range helps keeps gunners’ skills sharp and provides a backdrop for good-natured competition or introducing the next generation to responsible shotgunning. There is also a rifle and pistol range.
For family fun, owner-members can play disc golf or face off on the paintball course. Then, they can relax with a good meal at the picnic area or soak up some sun at the community pool that is outfitted with a poolhouse.
Each owner-member is assigned a private 4’ x 8’ storage closet with a gun safe to house outdoor equipment.
The Sportsman’s Headquarters is a year-round hub of activity, serving as the starting and ending point for outdoor adventures. Hunters select their hunting locations and sign in and out here. Each owner-member is assigned a private 4’ x 8’ storage closet with a gun safe to house outdoor equipment.
The headquarters boasts a changing room with showers for post-adventure clean-up and a kitchen for gathering in the morning before setting out or in the evening for an end-of-the-day recap.
UTVs await under covered storage just outside the Sportsman’s Headquarters. A wash rack ensures owner-members can keep their vehicles clean. Nearby, a warehouse holds the ranch’s seasonal hunting items such as decoys. A processing shed with hanging racks, running water and a walk-in freezer rounds out the outdoor compound.
“As sportsmen ourselves, we tried to provide everything necessary to make getting outdoors easy,” Looney said. “With that said, several of our owner-members are not avid hunters, but just outdoors enthusiasts who enjoy kayaking in the lake, hiking through the woods and playing disc golf. The ability to get outdoors in many different ways has been a major contributing factor in the buying decision.”
The Opportunity
To deliver ranch life and superlative outdoor recreation without the headaches and hassles of day-to-day management, the duo pioneered a unique shared ownership strategy. For a one-time $1.1 million purchase fee, 20 owner-members get a 10-acre deeded lot, a 5 percent interest in a holding company that owns the remainder of the ranch, and unlimited year-round access to property and its extras that include $1.8 million worth of shared facilities and $600,000 worth of ranch equipment.
“Our approach to shared ownership is exclusive, practical and simple,” Looney said.
Each year, the owner-members pay annual hunting club dues. The dues cover the cost of ranch operations that include a full-time ranch manager, two full-time assistants, ranch equipment, ranch facility maintenance, habitat monitoring and improvement, insurance, property taxes as well as corn, feed and food plots.
“Last year our annual dues were $20,000, which is less than the cost of the property taxes for the ranch,” said Looney, noting the property enjoys wildlife tax valuation. “When you consider everything you get here—and the cost of overhead if you were trying to do something on this scale by yourself—there is no better value in the marketplace.”
Because the ranch is a shared business, owner-members can take advantage of qualifying expenses and depreciation come tax time similar to owning property independently.
“Again, the member-owners get benefit from a financial standpoint without having to put in the sweat equity of land ownership,” Looney said. “We created the club that we wanted to join but couldn’t find.”
Only 12 of the 20 original owner-member opportunities remain. They include: three single memberships, three double memberships and one triple membership. During the initial offering, several members opted for multiple membership packages because unlike other hunting clubs that get diluted over time as multiple heirs inherit the memberships, White Oak Ranch memberships are passed from 1 to 1.
“Keeping ownership limited 1 to 1 allows us to manage hunting pressure and maintain the integrity of the wildlife resource—and the experience—for generations to come,” Looney said.
White Oak Creek Ranch lets owner-members and their families enjoy ranch life without the responsibilities of day-to-day management. On-site year-round management ensures the ranch is ready and waiting whenever the owner-members choose to embrace the outdoor experience and make memories. “White Oak Creek Ranch exists to let people roll into the role of landowner conveniently without aggravation or consternation,” Looney said. “You get to create an outdoor legacy on one of the country’s best ranches without breaking a sweat.”
Visionary outdoors enthusiasts recognize the multi-faceted value offered by shared ownership and are seizing the rare opportunity to become part of this one-of-a-kind ranch community. On September 28, the staff is opening the gates by invitation only for an Open House complete with helicopter tours and an outdoor trade show. As visibility rises, so does the competition for the remaining spots.
“Come see White Oak Creek Ranch for yourself soon,” Looney said. “The chance to live this special life on this incredible property is disappearing quickly as people claim it for themselves.”
For more information, contact Ty Looney at (817) 680-2987 or TyLooney@WhiteOakCreekRanch.com | WhiteOakRanch.com