For the ultimate American Western experience, explore Montana, Wyoming, and Utah in style at Montage Big Sky, Rustic Inn Creekside Resort & Spa in Jackson Hole, and Stein Eriksen Lodge in Deer Valley.
Montana
Montana is the quintessential cowboy country—the first stop, Bozeman, to fuel up for the adventure. Main Street has a plethora of good casual dining choices, like Bozeman Brewing, with nice views of the Bridger Mountains and Revelry for a great chicken sandwich. A local favorite inside the Hotel Baxter (Est. 1929) is Ted’s Montana Grill, which has delicious bison chili, burgers, and other hearty dishes. Make sure to stop by for a pint after at the connecting historic Bacchus Pub or a dessert at La Petite Chatelaine Chocolate Company, also inside the hotel.
After you have satisfied your hunger, shop for beautiful custom leather goods at Black Sheep, build your own custom hat at Bang Bang Hats (by appointment only), buy belt buckles, vintage boots, and more as you peruse shops like Heydey, Teton Gravity Research and Schnee’s. Grab a coffee at Wild Joe’s or Rockford Coffee, and it’s time for a road trip to experience the old Wild West. Cruising past natural wonders and scenic overlooks, the majestic world-class mountain destinations all offer a laid-back culture and traditional Western flair. Big Sky, Jackson Hole, and Deer Valley, with stops to visit Yellowstone National Park and Grand Teton, offer the perfect blend of adventure, relaxation, and exploration. As we leave Bozeman and enter the Montana wilderness, the deer and antelope play and the cowboys walk the streets.
A ski-in-ski-out property, the beautiful Montage Big Sky Hotel is the epitome of luxury and relaxation. A short distance from the infamous Yellowstone Club, you know you are in the right place when you step inside the property and are greeted with a huckleberry lemonade and a smile. When guests with children arrive, they are kindly welcomed and offered the option to take a pack-and-play, diaper genie, stuffed animal, and more child-friendly amenities. For a family/friendly spacious room, opt for one of their suites that offers two bathrooms, a big oversized tub, a beautiful patio, and a living room area to stretch out. Big Sky offers endless outdoor adventures from horseback riding and hot air ballooning to white water rafting and tons of great hiking and biking options for all skill levels.
The Big Sky Farmers Market is held every Wednesday from 5-8 p.m. at Fire Pit Park at the Town Center from June through September. Over 90+ vendors at this outdoor venue sell fresh produce, baked goods, art, jewelry, clothing, photography, coffee, crafts, beer, antler art, and one-of-a-kind items. This is an excellent opportunity to shop for souvenirs and mingle with the locals. Bring a blanket and enjoy live music, children’s activities, food trucks, and beverages. Located in Big Sky Town Center, it is surrounded by shops to browse, like Bluebird and Montana Supply. The town has a nice playground in the middle where kids can climb, slide, and play while listening to live music. Try local food options like flathead cherries and explore handmade wood carvings.
The short hike to Ousel Falls is close to the hotel and is an in-and-out 1.6-mile trail. Bear spray rentals are available and recommended. While not commonly needed, they are nice to have to feel safe. The Montage Hotel offers this as a guided experience with their on-site adventure shop, Compass Sports. It’s worth bringing a guide to help you explore and tell you about the flora, fauna, and landscape. In the spring, you will see wildflowers; in the summer, there are wild berries on the trail to pick; and in the autumn, the colorful leaves create the perfect backdrop for family photos and a little mental relaxation. Keep your eyes peeled for the little gray Ousel bird the trail is famously named after. Follow this up with an afternoon at the Montage Spa, the perfect place to soak your sore feet, rest, and rejuvenate as you enjoy the steam room, whirlpools, indoor pool, and a massage or body treatment. The 90-minute Montana massage is a treat, and they customize the pressure and technique to your preference. The extra thirty minutes of this treatment really makes the difference when it comes to helping you totally relax and allows the massage therapist to meet your “zententions.”
All of the hotel’s restaurants are lovely. Beartooth Pub & Rec is family-friendly, with casual menu options, an arcade, and a bowling alley. Cortina is a higher-end venue that offers upscale dishes such as venison and bolognese pasta that should not be missed. The service at both is excellent, and if you need a casual grab-and-go option for breakfast, lunch, or a snack, the Wildflower Cafe has it all and can pack you a picnic for a day on the trails or at Yellowstone National Park. Off-property, a favorite spot that comes highly recommended by the locals is Roadhouse BBQ. Lovely views, live music, a bar with fire pits, and swings to enjoy with your drinks. It offers some of the best BBQ food in the area.
If it’s your first time in Big Sky or your tenth, do a guided full-day tour of Yellowstone. Encompassing 2.2 million acres, Yellowstone National Park is the second largest national park in the lower 48, with so much to explore, including over 10,000 hydrothermal features, more than half the world’s geysers, 466 miles of road, and over 92 trailheads. Montage Big Sky offers a luxury private tour in partnership with Yellowstone Safari Company, featuring guides trained in wilderness first aid and avalanche emergency. They provide luxury vehicles with drinks, a cooler and snacks, and a car seat if needed. You can personalize your trip to ensure it is everything you want to experience. Explore all the park highlights like Old Faithful, the Grand Canyon of Yellowstone, and the beautiful geysers along Yellowstone Lake. You can enjoy a picnic on a secluded beach along the lake, explore windy roads with beautiful waterfalls, and the amazing Hayden Valley, which can be filled with bison walking across the fields. You may also be lucky to see several big elk, brown bears, coyotes, and birds, including bald eagles and ravens.
After a long day of exploring, we recommend spending the next day poolside in a cabana at the hotel. Chill, unwind, enjoy some oysters and hamachi with a glass of champagne, play backyard games like Jenga and corn hole, and give yourself time to enjoy the property making s’mores by the fire pit.
New for the 2024/25 season is the Lone Peak Tram, which goes to 11,500 ft above Big Sky. Featuring 75-person cabins and glass-enclosed panoramic views from the viewing platform at the tram’s top terminal, you will now know where the name Big Sky comes from. It is worth a visit to the top before you leave town.
Jackson Hole
After a few days exploring Bozeman, Big Sky, and Yellowstone, make your way to Jackson Hole. If you choose to take the scenic drive along the winding roads, break up the drive with a stop in West Yellowstone at the Grizzly & Wolf Discovery Center, which gives you the rare opportunity to safely view grizzly bears and wolves as well as unique birds and river otters.
Jackson Hole, Wyoming, is an outdoor enthusiast’s playground. Wildflowers, waterfalls, and wildlife are abundant, and idyllic summers are made for fishing, camping, biking, hiking, and night-sky viewing. From boating and rafting to rodeos where you can channel your inner cowboy, there is no end to the activities that Jackson Hole and the surrounding areas provide. Grand Teton National Park has immaculate lakes, alpine terrain, and over 200 miles of trails. Jackson Hole is teeming with wildlife – bears, wolves, moose, bison, elk and many others and offers the opportunity to view incredible species in their natural habitat.
After checking in at the Rustic Inn Creekside Resort & Spa with views of the National Elk Refuge, make sure to explore the resort property with its beautiful teepees, creekside fire pits, and elegant cabins spread out along the mountainside. With an excellent wine cellar available to dine in, superior staff that always have a smile, a spa, and a delicious complimentary breakfast, it is an excellent choice for your stay. It is within walking distance of town but just far enough away to feel rustic, quiet, and relaxing. Jump right in on your first night and head to the rodeo, where you can watch daredevil cowboys climb on bucking horses and bulls in June through August. They even have a mechanical bull for kids and adults to ride and cowboy hats to buy. Follow it up with drinks at the Million Dollar Cowboy bar, and you will be on your way to being a local. Cozy up in a saddle at the bar with a Gold Rush (Wyoming Whiskey, Honey Syrup, lime juice) or a Cowgirl Cosmo made with 44North Huckleberry Vodka, listen to live music, shoot some pool, and enjoy all the unique western decor as the bar has been there since 1937.
On your first full day in Jackson Hole, explore the town and get acquainted with the area. Jackson Hole has so many beautiful art galleries, great western-style shops, classic spots to eat like Jackson Drug, and a lively town square surrounded by arches made of antlers. Leather goods, fur items, outdoor coffee shops like Persephone, breakfast spots like The Bunnery, and little ice cream parlors are everywhere, and if you are feeling nostalgic, get dressed up and take an old-time photo. The costumes and accessories the shops offer are excellent and, in many cases, handmade by locals. Kids will love Teton Toys, which has some of the most unique toys and Lego sets to shop. Favorite restaurants in town included Snake River Grill for a fine dining experience, Snake River Brewing for a casual vibe, and Gun Barrel Steak House, where you can eat bison, elk, and other delicious meat options.
Get out of town and explore the Tetons, which are nearby and offer a 42-mile scenic loop with many vantage points to stop at along the way. Smaller than Yellowstone National Park, you can enjoy this as a guided tour or on your own, but remember, the guides usually know where the wildlife can be seen and the best times and spots to find them. Grand Teton National Park boasts 310,000 acres of lush valley floors, mountain meadows, alpine lakes, and the rising peaks of the Grand Teton Mountain Range. If you want to set out on foot, you may enjoy the shuttle boat ride on Jenny Lake and the hike to Hidden Falls and Inspiration Point. If you are traveling with children, you may only make it to the falls, but those who can continue on can soak in beautiful views and wildlife. This is not for the faint of heart on a hot summer day, so if you prefer casual hiking, you can also walk around the lake, a scenic and flat path. Wildlife is best viewed at dawn and dusk, and you will find many people lined up along the rivers, waiting with scopes and cameras to catch a glimpse of the majestic animals in the park.
Back in town the next day, we recommend exploring the mountain. The Jackson Hole Mountain Resort Aerial Tram to the Grand Teton Skywalk is a perfect way to get a bird’s eye view of Jackson and the Tetons. Adventure seekers can paraglide from the top or hike down, and those who prefer to soak in the views can enjoy some great waffles stuffed with Nutella or other great options at Corbin’s Cabin. There is also a playground for kids that is reachable by another chairlift, where kids can swing and slide with those fantastic views. Since you are still so close by, it’s hard not to go back and spend at least another full day in Yellowstone Park. There are so many places to explore, and the wildlife experience is different every time. A little tip when going to Old Faithful is to park at the Old Faithful Inn, a great colossal log cabin hotel, grab a coffee on the second floor, and a seat on their outdoor deck, offering the best geyser views without the crowds. There is also a website, geysertimes.org, that tells you approximately when it will erupt so you can plan accordingly. Take your time, explore backroads, stop for a break along the river, and take in the silence and the landscapes. When you are not out exploring, enjoy relaxing at the hotel. The Rustic Inn has a great pool area with hot tubs, fire pits open for s’mores at night, and an adventure center that offers tubing and other activities.
Not far from the resort is The National Museum of Wildlife Art, which features a sculpture trail, an outdoor cafe with endless views, excellent wildlife art and landscape imagery, and a Children’s Discovery Gallery that includes a hands-on artist’s studio, life-size diorama, animal costumes, reading nook, and puppet theater. Children will love it here and can easily entertain themselves while you explore the museum. New as of June 2024 is the Snow King Observatory and Planetarium. It’s open to visit during the day but really shines at night from 9 p.m. to midnight when you can take the gondola up and stargaze using their state-of-the-art telescope. This facility, sitting at 8,000 feet, offers astronomical displays, multimedia experiences, and live presentations of the night sky by expert guides. Hosting under 40 people per session due to the boutique size of their planetarium, you are able to get a lot of time utilizing the various telescopes and observing the moon, Saturn, and different star constellations. In the wintertime, staying at the base of Teton Village at properties like Four Seasons Jackson Hole or the Caldera House seems like the way to go for a ski-in-ski-out experience. Other properties in town, like The Cloudveil and Autograph Collection, offer multiple shuttles daily to the mountain in ski season if you prefer staying in the center of it all.
Utah
Continuing south to Deer Valley to soak up some warm weather moments on Park City Mountain…With towns with populations of 502, we were given the chance to enjoy the solitude and nature this part of the country provides. Park City Mountain offers everything from thrilling mountain bike rides to scenic chairlift rides and serene hikes like the Ontario Mine Trail nearby–there are endless possibilities for adventure.
Staying at the Stein Eriksen Lodge Deer Valley right on the mountain was terrific because of its convenience. You can walk right out their doors to the chairlifts, there are beautiful views in every direction and live music and entertainment right below the hotel. They have stunning one-bedroom suites with full kitchens, a washer and dryer, a hot tub on the patio, two bathrooms, and a Murphy Bed in the living room. This layout provides a lot of space and superior amenities like an extra large bathtub with jets and a kitchen island great for evening cocktails while you get ready for a night in town. The fireplace in the living room and large dining table make it feel cozy, and the views of the pool, chairlifts, and mountain can be enjoyed will eating breakfast in the morning on the terrace.
The Champions Club is great for a casual dinner or milkshakes. Troll Hallen and Glitretind offer great upscale options where you can dine al fresco, and across the street from Stein Eriksen Lodge and easily within walking distance is Cena Ristorante at The Chateaux Deer Valley, their sister property, which offers outdoor dining and Italian food. You can also enjoy your own personal movie-viewing experience at the hotel’s movie theater.
Favorite restaurants in town include 350 Main, Oishi Sushi, and over at the Canyons, The Edge Steakhouse, all offering extensive menu choices. From the stunning scenery, the high-end shops on Main Street, and small-town charm, Park City has a lot to offer travelers year-round.