Montana, its ski resort, lodge and ranches
Montana's best houses stand hours apart and each in a different Montana.
Montana's best houses stand hours apart and each in a different Montana. They run from the ski-in, ski-out resort at Big Sky to the lodge on the Yellowstone and the ranches of the western valleys. Big Sky, an hour south of Bozeman, is the ski resort under Lone Mountain and the Spanish Peaks, forty-five minutes from Yellowstone's west entrance. Paradise Valley runs along the Yellowstone River from Livingston to the park's northern gate at Gardiner, with a lodge on more than a thousand private acres of riverbank. And the western valleys around Missoula — the Blackfoot of the river that runs through it, the Bitterroot under its mountains, the Clark Fork on the Idaho line — keep the ranches: cabins with hot tubs and wood stoves, fly-fishing from the door, cattle drives in summer and snow in winter. Two seasons: December to April on the slopes, June to September on the rivers.
Luxury hotels in Montana
5 hotels
Montage Big Sky
Five-star · Big Sky
The Californian purveyor of high-design resorts, ski-in, ski-out in the rugged wilderness of south-western Montana.
From $1,500 per night
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Sage Lodge
Five-star · Paradise Valley & Yellowstone
A modern-rustic lodge on more than a thousand private acres along the Yellowstone River: the Montana side of the park.
From $700 per night
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The Resort at Paws Up
Four-star · The Blackfoot Valley
Backcountry living in the Montana Rockies with all the comforts of civilization, on the Blackfoot River at Greenough.
From $2,000 per night
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Triple Creek Ranch
Four-star · The Bitterroot Valley
Log and cedar cabins in the Bitterroot Mountains above Darby — the spectacular heart of Montana without its usual coarseness.
From $1,800 per night
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Alpine Falls Ranch
Four-star · The Clark Fork Valley
The classic mountain-lodge idea executed with commitment, verve and a rare tastefulness at the western edge of Montana.
From $1,200 per night
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Big Sky
The ski resort under Lone Mountain and the Spanish Peaks, an hour south of Bozeman. It holds Big Sky Resort's lifts and the Spanish Peaks and Moonlight Basin clubs, with the Gallatin River canyon on the road up and Yellowstone's west entrance forty-five minutes away.
The neighborhoods
Big Sky
The ski resort under Lone Mountain and the Spanish Peaks, an hour south of Bozeman. It holds Big Sky Resort's lifts and the Spanish Peaks and Moonlight Basin clubs, with the Gallatin River canyon on the road up and Yellowstone's west entrance forty-five minutes away.
Paradise Valley & Yellowstone
The Yellowstone River valley from Livingston to the park's northern gate at Gardiner, an hour and a half from Bozeman. The Absaroka range rises on one side and the Gallatin on the other, and the valley has Chico's hot springs, the fly-fishing and, beyond the gate, the wildlife of the Lamar.
The Blackfoot Valley
The river of A River Runs Through It, east of Missoula, with ranch country along the Blackfoot at Greenough. It is a country of meadows and cottonwoods, with the Bob Marshall wilderness to the north, forty minutes from Missoula airport.
The Bitterroot Valley
The valley south of Missoula under the Bitterroot Mountains, with blue-ribbon trout water and cattle country. It takes in Hamilton, Darby and the West Fork, with the Continental Divide beyond, one to two hours from Missoula airport.
The Clark Fork Valley
The western edge of Montana along the Clark Fork River, with four seasons of skiing, fishing, riding and trails. It takes in Superior, the Lolo National Forest and the Idaho line, about an hour west of Missoula airport.
Good to know
Which are the five-star hotels in Montana?
Two. The five-star houses we list in Montana are Montage Big Sky, the ski-in, ski-out resort inside the Spanish Peaks Mountain Club at Big Sky, and Sage Lodge, the modern-rustic lodge on the Yellowstone River in Paradise Valley by the park's northern entrance. Beside them we keep three four-star addresses, each listed exactly at the tier it holds: The Resort at Paws Up, the ranch homes, cabins and summer tent camps on the Blackfoot River at Greenough; Triple Creek Ranch, the log and cedar cabins in the Bitterroot Mountains above Darby; and Alpine Falls Ranch, the villa and cabins on two hundred and fifty acres at Superior, on the western edge of the state.
Where to stay — Big Sky, Paradise Valley or the western valleys?
Big Sky for the skiing, the golf and a resort with everything under one roof, an hour from Bozeman and forty-five minutes from Yellowstone's west entrance; Paradise Valley for the river, the fly-fishing and the park's northern gate at Gardiner, an hour and a half from Bozeman; the western valleys for the ranch — the Blackfoot at Greenough forty minutes from Missoula, the Bitterroot at Darby two hours south, the Clark Fork at Superior an hour west — where the days are made of horses, rivers and trails and the nights of fireplaces.
When is the best time to visit Montana?
Two seasons. The ski season runs from December to April at Big Sky, with the deepest snow in February and March; the summer runs from June to September on the rivers and in Yellowstone, with the ranches at their best in July and August and the fishing at its best in September, when the aspens turn. The shoulder months — May, October and November — close some houses and empty the park; the houses keep their calendars on their pages.
How do you get around Montana?
Two airports serve the houses: Bozeman for Big Sky, about an hour by road, and for Paradise Valley, about an hour and a half; Missoula for the western ranches — Paws Up about forty minutes, Alpine Falls about an hour, Triple Creek about two hours. Distances are long and the drives are the point; the houses arrange airport transfers on request, and the ranches include theirs in the rate.
How do I reserve a stay?
Search your dates on the hotel's page to see reference rates, then send the concierge a request. The concierge confirms exact rates and availability with you before anything is booked, and any payment and its timing are set out before you confirm.
