Get Ready

A Week at Lone Mountain Ranch, Big Sky Montana

Getting ready: Most of what you need for a ranch vacation is probably already in your closet. The Lone Mountain Ranch recommends the basics for a summer stay:

• jeans
• hiking shorts
• hat – durable for an afternoon shower while keeping the sun off
• rain gear
• light weight jacket
• hiking shoes
• riding boots (1” heel, flat soled)
• small day pack
• swim suit
• warm hat & gloves for cooler days and nights

Pack these basics into a bag with a few of your favorite comfort clothes and you are ready to go!

Day 1

Your flight takes you into Bozeman MT. The mountains surround the area and you get an understanding of why this state has the nickname “Big Sky country”. At the baggage claim, you are met by the ranch staff who pack you up for the drive up the Gallatin River to the ranch.

You arrive at the ranch and move into Larkspur, a 2 bedroom cabin with a wood stove and sitting area by a stream. The porch invites you to settle in and return to put your feet up and relax and you can’t resist at least for awhile.

But it’s hard to stay still for too long as the ranch and the variety of activities beckons. You head down to the lodge to find out plans for the next day and the rest of the week – riding, hiking, fishing, biking… Lots of choices.

The kids have located the Discovery Center and have found the schedule for the day. The Adventure Camp (ages 7 – 12) group should be in soon from their afternoon at the climbing wall. And there is no denying the wonderful smells of dinner being prepared. A peak into the dining room reveals tables set for dinner in different groupings and a fire laid in the stone fireplace.

You join the other guests, some newly arrived - some staying on, in the Saloon for some pre-dinner beverages and stories of ranch activities for the day. Again, that nagging question – what to do tomorrow? Your newly met ranch family for the week has plenty of ideas and you start to make the mental to do list. Everything sounds great!

Dinner is served between 5:30 and 8:30 and having traveled you are ready to sit down and get a taste of the ranch’s offerings. Your roasted elk loin comes with green beans and fingerling potatoes. But it also includes an appetizer, salad, and desert. Who can resist the crab and tuna cakes, Caesar salad and finishing with the Myer lemon tart with fresh raspberries!

You can not believe how good the food tastes – and it’s not just because you are out in the middle of Montana! After ranch introductions are made, it’s time to take a stroll around the lodge and take in the mountain air. You will sleep well tonight.

Day 2

You get up at 7 AM intent on getting a good breakfast in before the day’s activities. The Adventure Camp starts at 9 AM and the kids are excited having met most of the others the night before. The coffee is waiting as you enter the dining facility.

The ranch staff recommend the horse sense “clinics” offered to those who intend to ride during their stay. “The clinics are designed to help guests learn to properly control their horse and to understand how to behave around horses. The clinics provide the skills needed to comfortably enjoy riding” (From the Lone Mountain ranch web site, http://www.lonemountainranch.com/). The half day ride proves to be the perfect follow up to the clinic and to get your riding legs.

You arrive back at the ranch for lunch where you find a wonderful selection of food in the buffet. Soups, salads, freshly-made bread and main courses set you up for an afternoon of adventure or of relaxation with a book on your porch and an afternoon hot tub.

But you are not ready to kick back yet! The afternoon hike guided by a staff member with a passion for the local flowers sounds to idyllic to pass up. The chance to see yellow columbine, paintbrush and silvery lupine with a mountain back drop becomes too tempting. You go back to the cabin to put on shorts and hiking boots and grab your camera.

When you return, its time for a quick hot tub and then back to the cabin to freshen up before joining the other ranch guests to talk over today’s adventures and tomorrow’s offerings. You find room to eat another great meal including the desert.

Days 3 – 7

Each day presents opportunities to choose from half or full day rides. On a full day ride, the ranch staff trailers the horses to Yellowstone National Park. From the back of your horse, you can see the Park from a unique vantage point.

To get your feet wet, ranch staff recommend the introduction to fly fishing which they adjust to the level and experience of the guests. Fly fishing outings show up on the daily schedule of ranch experiences.

The wonderful food continues to flow from the kitchen and you look forward to the BBQs. And who can resist the hot tub at the end of the day to soothe away sore riding muscles or just to relax and enjoy the outdoors.

The final dinner arrives and it’s hard to believe how much you have done over what seems like a few days not a week. Everyone celebrates their week of adventure – some firsts – fly fishing and riding for some. But all of these experiences add up to a very contented crowd around the fire after dinner, smiles all around.

Day 8

Your gear is packed and it’s hard to think about leaving. The ranches’ employees and guests have bonded into an extended family. Looking forward, the coming days will seem a little empty without the beautiful scenery and your horse companion to take you to the best vistas.

Many guests have penciled in their names making plans for next year. And after such a wonderful experience at the ranch, you can’t help but think about next summer as well!

The ranch staff pack you into the car and take off back down the Gallatin River to the airport in Bozeman. It has been a week to remember and one to do again.

Trip Summary

DAYS/NIGHTS: 8 Days/7 Nights

ESTIMATED COST:

The Lone Mountain Ranch offers a Discovery package for the summer of 2007. For 1 week, the all-inclusive price includes airport shuttle, 7 nights lodging, 3 meals daily, barbecues, naturalist guided programs, Outdoor Youth Adventures, horseback riding everyday except Sunday.

The package price does not include: alcohol, fishing guides, river rafting and a few other off-ranch activities and flights to and from Bozeman.

1st adult in larger cabin $3355

Each additional person 6+ $2095

Children 4-5 $1375

Children under 4 $510