Big Sky

Big Sky is a high mountain resort in southwest Montana, a very long way from any sea. The Gallatin River is fast, rocky and cold even in July. The small ponds and reservoirs in the area are fine for a quick paddle on a hot afternoon, but nobody comes here to swim. In summer the closest thing to beach time is a hotel pool or a riverbank picnic.

Eating in Big Sky means resort dining. It is spread across Mountain Village at the foot of the lifts, the Town Center and Meadow Village down the valley, and the roadhouses along the Gallatin Canyon highway. The food is hearty mountain cooking: bison and elk, Montana beef, trout, wood-fired pizza and big breakfasts before a ski day. A few kitchens in the lodges and upscale hotels aim higher, and there is a local brewery culture.

The range is narrow and prices are high, and some places close or cut their hours between the ski and summer seasons. Anyone who wants more variety drives an hour to Bozeman.

Big Sky was built as a ski resort from the 1970s on and has almost no historic fabric. The one real piece of heritage is the Crail Ranch homestead, a pair of early log cabins kept as a small museum in Meadow Village. Apart from that, the architecture is lodges and timber-clad condos. Museums and history are a drive away, so visitors come for the mountains.

In winter, going out in Big Sky means après-ski. Late in the afternoon skiers clump off the mountain in their boots to the bars and sunny decks at the base of the lifts in Mountain Village, for local beer, mulled drinks and loud talk about the day's runs. After dinner a few taverns in Town Center keep going for a while, and some old roadside saloons in the Gallatin Canyon have pool tables, wooden bars and a ranch-country crowd.

Few people stay out late, because most want to be on the first lift. There are no clubs, and in spring and autumn the resort is almost silent after dark. It is a friendly place for a drink, not a place to go out.

This is the reason to come. Lone Peak rises to 3,403m above one of the largest ski areas in North America, with steep, high runs and long cruising groomers. Cross-country trails wind through the meadows below. In summer the lifts carry hikers and mountain bikers, and trails head into the Spanish Peaks and the Lee Metcalf Wilderness. Beehive Basin and Ousel Falls are the classic walks.

The Gallatin River runs through the canyon and is known for fly fishing and whitewater rafting. The west entrance of Yellowstone is about an hour south, so geysers, bison, elk and wolf-watching are within a day out. Snow lasts from late autumn to April, and summer is short, bright and cool at night.

Most outings from Big Sky are into the landscape, and the towns are modest. Bozeman is about an hour down the canyon. It is a lively college town with a Western main street and the Museum of the Rockies, known for its dinosaur fossils. West Yellowstone, at the park gate, is a small tourist town.

Further out, about two hours away, Virginia City and Nevada City are preserved 1860s gold-rush towns with wooden boardwalks. Livingston has an old railway-town centre. There are no wine regions or historic cities within reach.

Big Sky works well for families who like the outdoors. The ski school and gentle beginner slopes make winter easy. In summer the base area turns into an adventure park with zip lines, a climbing wall, ropes courses and gondola rides. Horse riding, rafting on calmer stretches and spotting bison in Yellowstone are real highlights for children.

The resort is safe, quiet and uncrowded. There are no zoos, aquariums or rainy-day museums close by, though, and Mountain Village sits at about 2,300m, which tires small children at first. Winter cold and long drives also take some planning.

Big Sky is spread along about 15km of road, from the Gallatin Canyon up through Meadow Village and Town Center to Mountain Village at the base of the lifts. A free local bus links these areas, and many slopeside lodgings let you ski straight to the lifts. Within each village everything is walkable, but walking between them is not practical.

Bozeman airport is about an hour's drive away by shuttle or hired car. A car is close to essential for Yellowstone or anything beyond the resort, and winter roads through the canyon call for care and good tyres.

Shopping is limited to ski and outdoor gear shops, a few clothing boutiques with a Western feel, and galleries selling wildlife and landscape art in Town Center and Mountain Village. It is fine for replacing gloves or buying a fly rod. For real shopping, visitors drive to Bozeman.

Big Sky is one of the most expensive places to stay in the American West. Slopeside lodging and luxury resorts set the tone in winter, and lift passes, ski school, guided fishing and restaurant meals all cost a great deal. Summer and the shoulder seasons are cheaper, and staying in the canyon or in Bozeman saves money but adds driving. A trip here needs a generous budget.

For a resort this size, Big Sky does more than you might expect. A small performing arts centre in Meadow Village hosts touring musicians, chamber music and theatre through the winter. In summer, the arts council stages free outdoor concerts on the lawn in Town Center and a short classical music festival. Après-ski bands play at the base area. Outside those seasons there is very little, and Bozeman is the nearest place with a regular theatre and concert life.

Relaxation here means a hot tub on the deck after a day outdoors, and the large lodges and resorts have full-service spas with massages built around sore ski legs. The pace is slow and the nights are quiet and starry. The nearest natural hot springs are towards Bozeman, about an hour away. There is no local bathing tradition, so wellness here is pleasant but secondary to the mountain itself.