Winter Dude Ranches
It’s ranching’s secret season. Travelers fill the boutique guest ranches of the Rocky Mountains in the high season—spring, fall and especially summer, when they can live out their “Yellowstone”-inspired fantasies in high style on horseback. But at the finest of dude resorts, winter is the sleeper period, when you can enjoy their all-
inclusive packages, myriad activities and even a full-blown ski vacation, while having the cigar-friendly places nearly to yourself.
Occupancy may be off, but not activities. These resorts offer a staggering array of things to do in winter, including cross-country skiing, snowshoeing, snowmobiling, fat tire biking, dog sledding, ice fishing, sporting clays, spa, yoga, skating, winter horseback riding and, in many cases, downhill skiing.
With its own distillery, brewery and goat cheese creamery, Wyoming’s Brush Creek Ranch is set on 30,000 acres of wilderness, with 50 miles of hiking and snowshoe trails, plus just about every cold-weather activity imaginable. Its private ski resort, Green Mountain, is reserved for a dozen skiers and snowboarders daily and served by snowcats. With just 33 units (from $2,000 to $12,380), including luxury “cabins” with gourmet kitchens, hot tubs, patios, firepits and fireplaces, it simply can’t get crowded.
Montana’s Ranch at Rock Creek has 29 luxe accommodations (from $2,000) on 6,600 acres. It partners with nearby Discovery Mountain ski resort, shuttling guests back and forth on demand. The Ranch’s chef regularly sets up elaborate gourmet tailgate lunch parties in the parking lot. Triple Creek Ranch does the same with the state’s Lost Trail Powder Mountain, with its average snowfall of 300-plus inches. The adults-only ranch (16 and over) has its own 15-mile Nordic trail system, plus equestrian, angling, yoga and “frontier skills,” such as ax throwing (25 cabins and luxury homes, from $1,300 to $3,000).
Lone Mountain Ranch is the nation’s only luxury guest ranch at a major ski resort: the massive Big Sky, Montana (38 lifts and over 300 runs). Just minutes from the lifts, it shuttles guests on demand in its fleet of SUVs. It offers Orvis-endorsed winter fly fishing on famed blue-ribbon waters and 50 miles of cross-country ski trails—plus 30 for snowshoeing. It features just 25 luxury cabins (from $725) and one of the region’s finest restaurants. Certified guides lead Nordic skiing and snowshoe trips through nearby Yellowstone National Park—where it’s also secret season.
