Dispatch from Big Sky

Updated: April 8, 2025

I’ve been going to Big Sky for about a decade now. It started as a house swap through friends—our three kids pretty much learned how to ski there—and has continued more or less annually, now just with friends and without the kids. The truth is that until a couple of years ago, renting (or swapping) was really the best way to stay—there were no decent hotels to speak of, but plenty of spacious slopeside and valley houses with that kind of kitschy frontier décor (branding irons, bucking bronco wallpaper) that, even if not normally your taste, feels just right in context. That has all changed dramatically, as a Montage hotel landed here in 2021, a One & Only is opening later this year in adjacent Moonlight Basin, and Lone Mountain Ranch, with its cozy cabins and miles of XC trails, recently underwent a tasteful glow-up.

The first thing to know is that Big Sky is not a charming, old-timey western town. It lacks the rustic mining village vibes of Telluride, CO, or the cowboy flavor of Jackson, WY. There is also zero style scene to speak of. (Unless you are lucky enough to score a stay at the elite Yellowstone Club, which has its own private mountain.) This is a place where you come for the outdoors. And in winter, that leads with skiing, as the resort earned its name through what had been the largest skiable acreage in the US—5,800, to be exact. (They lost that claim when Vail Resorts bought and combined Park City, Utah, with Canyonlands a few years back.) It is also big in the sense that its terrain is wildly diverse—there are plenty of groomed green trails, some of the most thrilling and endlessly winding blue runs (which would be blacks anywhere out east), and the showstopper, Big Couloir, a triple-black run that begins with a drop-off at 1,400 feet from the summit at Lone Peak. And because it is fairly remote—you fly into Bozeman, which has limited nonstops from the coasts, and drive an hour and change to the mountain—it means the slopes are extremely uncrowded. I think I’ve waited more than 5 minutes in a lift line twice! The other thing is that Big Sky has invested massively in its terrain and infrastructure in the last decade, roughly $150 million plowed in, and the results are evident, including new high-speed lifts with heated seats and chairs enclosed by a glass bubble. This past winter, they debuted the Lone Peak Tram, which zips even non-expert skiers to the 11,166-foot summit for a vertiginous peek down said couloir.

If you’re not that into skiing, there’s plenty of X-C and snowshoeing terrain, not to mention Yellowstone National Park an hour-ish away, where you can spend a day on a winter safari. And honestly, as I’ve gotten older and more risk averse, any hard-core approach I once claimed has fully softened. Now I tend to ski every other day, taking off to snowshoe, or spa, or just sit in a hot tub with a glass of wine, gazing at those massive meringue peaks, letting the cold air tickle my lungs and feeling lucky to be alive.

I hear Big Sky is awesome in summer, too, though I haven’t been. Anyhow, here’s my list for everything off the slopes, starting with Bozeman, where you will inevitably fly into!

BOZEMAN

There are a ton of restaurants here serving variations on new western cuisine—Bozeman has been upping its food game for the last few years. As creatures of habit, though, when we land early (which works if you take the 7:30 nonstop out of Newark—you arrive by 10!), we like The Western for breakfast (think huevos rancheros, biscuits and gravy and the best cinnamon rolls), in a diner-style room with taxidermy and a long wooden counter with stools populated by chatty locals. Lunch is usually Ted’s Montana Grill, which has an old-school saloon-like feel, reached via the Art Deco lobby of the historic Baxter Hotel. I love a big weighty menu, which feels appropriate for a steakhouse with leather booths and buffalo motifs. Their trout is delicious, as is the bison burger, sourced from Ted Turner’s own herd.

There are a few good vintage shops in town, like Bozeman Vintage for denim, cowboy hats and outerwear, and Antique Barn with 50 vendors, where you can pick up a pair of mounted antlers or a vintage camp blanket. On your way out to rte 191, stop at one of the many drive-through coffee kiosks on the side of the road!

BIG SKY

Lunch

Big Sky has upgraded its offerings in the food hall at the base of the mountain (with an Illy café, taqueria, stone-fired pizza and sushi/bowls spot), but our hack is to to head to the Hungry Moose grocery (a smaller offshoot of the main one in town) to buy one of their excellent overstuffed sandwiches, and sit by the fire in a quiet corner of the basement of The Summit hotel. Everett’s 8800 is a lovely option at the top of the RamCharger lift, but we like to save that for a dinner expedition (see below).

One great new addition is The Landing, the restaurant at the new One & Only, which opened to the public ahead of the hotel this ’24-’25 season—it’s over on the Moonlight Basin side of the resort, which used to be a favorite secret place to get lunch before the luxury chain acquired it. You get there via a spanking new gondola from the base of the old Explorer lift (which itself is being upgraded for next season!). The restaurant occupies an airy glass box with blond wood flooring and a spacious bar that was already hopping at lunchtime. We had a delicious black truffle pizza and a Mexicali grain bowl (with avocado, cotija, radish and shrimp—a refreshing break from all of the usual fried fare on ski days!). As a preview of what’s to come, I’m relieved and excited to see the new property fully open.

Après Ski

You can join the crowds at one of the outdoor bars at the bottom of the mountain—The Summit’s patio can be fun, with chairs surrounding fire pits. But we usually drive over to Lone Mountain Ranch, where you can beat the dinner crowds at the Horn & Cantle, a post-and-beam style saloon with a deep whisky selection and, usually, live music. No one minds if you’re there in your ski pants.

Since the Montage opened a couple of years back in the Spanish Peaks area of Big Sky, it’s become another great spot for a drink. Sit outside at Backcast, a somewhat rowdier watering hole, or inside at Alpenglow. If you plan ahead, you can even park your car there in the morning and ski out and back in at the end of the day.

Dinner

We are still mourning the post-Covid closure of Bucks-T-4, a locals’ favorite and true Montana steakhouse with a warren of dark connecting rooms (though rumor has it it’s reopening in ‘25!). But maybe even better is Riverhouse BBQ, a super casual roadside pit along the Gallatin River. Brisket, pulled pork, baby back ribs, fried chicken served on trays family style, with all the sides (beans, cornbread, onion rings…) that you won’t have room for. So good, and cheap!

Another favorite is s Ousel & Spur, in the town of Big Sky, which turns out delicious pizza with a local twist—including, naturally, elk sausage and pork belly, and also wild Montana mushrooms—in a casual setting.

It’s worth the splurge to have dinner at Everett’s 8800 (as in feet elevation), with a great view from the top of Andesite mountain, accessed via the Ramcharger Lift. It’s a bit on the fine-dining side, but it’s always been very good (I remember a Swiss-style rosti with bacon).

Another meal experience that is worth the expense is the sleigh dinner at Lone Mountain Ranch. I know that sounds campy, but it was genuinely so much fun. It starts with drinks around a roaring campfire, then you are towed through the woods on a horse-drawn sleigh to a small candlelit cabin, where (after a shot of whisky at the door) you dine on prime rib, potatoes and cornbread while listening to tales of heartbreak and hardship sung by a cowboy-balladeer. 

Non-skiing things to do

If your legs are sore, Santosha Spa is a great resource right in town that offers all kinds of bodywork at affordable prices. For something splurgier, the Montage’s new spa has an extensive menu, and booking a treatment will allow you use of the pool and other spa facilities.

This part of the northern Rockies are full of hot springs, which have mostly been commercialized. Norris Hot Springs is 30 miles west of Bozeman, an hour from Big Sky. These artesian springs have rustic timber pool frames around them and a geodesic dome housing the grill, for a full-on hippie homestead feel. And it’s a fun day trip to Chico Hot Springs, about 90 miles from Big Sky. The hotel/resort, which has been open since 1900 and retains a nostalgic Victorian-Western aesthetic, is open to day guests, with a restaurant and saloon, a large outdoor spring-fed pool heated to 96 degrees and indoor pool that is even hotter. The drive from Big Sky to Chico takes you through the town of Livingston, which is newly thriving with great thrift shops and restaurants, and also through Pray Montana, some of the most beautiful landscape you will see in this neck of the woods.

Yellowstone Tours – We’ve done this a couple of times, with and without kids, and it’s always fun. In the off-season the park is quite empty, and you can take snowmobile or snow coach trips to fly past bison, moose and elk while watching the park’s iconic geysers spew up through the snow.  

Places to stay

As mentioned earlier, while we’re loyal to our house swap, the hotel scene in Big Sky has seen a big turnaround. The Summit Hotel at the base of the mountain has been renovated to fairly luxurious standards and is certainly the most convenient stay if you’re going to ski every day.

Lone Mountain Ranch definitely has the lock on western charm. First homesteaded in 1915, the 48 rustic log cabins are all a little different, but decorated in rough-hewn wooden bed frames, wood stoves and cozy patterned blankets. It’s set on 148 acres of wilderness, with 80 km of XC ski trails, and a main building with a cozy bar and an excellent gift shop. Also available to overnight guests is the new private members’ club, Auric Room 1915. A hidden door opens to a vestibule where you check your phone, then a staircase ushers you to a warmly glowing alpine-themed room centered around a bar, where members keep private whiskey lockers and dine on the only licensed Kobe beef in the state. I had a chance to eat here (dress code: “western chic”), and while I couldn’t take photos to show you, I can report that the kobe sliders are delicious, the shrimp is flown in fresh each day, the vintage whiskey selection will please savants—and altogether, it’s by far the shnitziest space in Big Sky outside of the Yellowstone Club.

Montage Big Sky is a short drive over to the Spanish Peaks area. In contrast to the usual neo-rustic options, it’s mountain-modern in style, with cozy groupings of armchairs by fireplaces, the walls lined in large-scale wildlife photographs and windows overlooking 3,530 acres of wilderness. There are 100 guest rooms (plus 86 residences), a good option for families, with six restaurants, indoor and outdoor pools, a bowling alley and game room. Not to mention a tubing hill, a golf course (used in winter for XC), and you can ski out and in right from the back door.

One&Only Moonlight Basin will be opening on the far side of Big Sky resort next year, the brand’s first U.S. location.

I can’t say I’m fully embracing all of these changes. For me, part of the magic of Big Sky has been its vastness, its emptiness, and frankly, its unfashionability! I’d like to think that it’s big enough to handle the influx and that the mountain’s upgrades will mean more options for runs and lifts, less risk of new bottlenecks. Also, that the likes of Gucci would never feel welcome in town. But mostly, I’m kicking myself for not following my instinct and investing in real estate years ago!