When Bob Kaplan and his French wife, Laurence, purchased the Red Reflet Ranch seven years ago, they had been on a five-year quest for the perfect place. Living in Jackson, Wyoming, at the time, they realized how much the area had changed and started looking for a place next to Forest Service land that would offer ample opportunities for riding, hunting, and fishing. Every time they thought they had found “the” place, they came to realize that the forest was overused for hunting.

“The National Forest felt invaded, therefore the quality for a good hunting experience was diminished,” Kaplan says. When the couple first looked at the Red Reflet Ranch, they thought that the ranch didn’t provide enough upper mountain elk habitat, but they later learned that more acreage could be added. A year later, while looking at an adjacent property, they heard that the Red Reflet, including the additional land, was still on the market — and at a lower price. They purchased it. Originally called Red Rim Ranch, the property had to be renamed because the previous owner had other businesses tied to the name. One day at sunset, Kaplan saw the copper-toned reflection of a red cliff in one of the ponds that dot the property and had to look no further for the new name: Adding a French twist, the Red Rim Ranch became the Red Reflet.

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