What to do: 

• On the property:

  • Play in the Creek! (In june the creek is high enough to float it in certain places)

  • Fish 

  • Shed hunt- spring is the best time to look, but Joe has had some awesome luck!

  • Hike the property 

  • Ride horses on property- Ask about booking this. Roughly $100/per person for a 3 hour trail ride. HIGHLY recommend!!

  • Visit national forest access just down the road (search Carey gulch) 

• In Big Timber (20-25 min from ranch):

  • Fun public playground for kiddos-called Lion’s Club Park 

  • Shop around- see section about my favorite shops 

  • Grab a drink at Circle T Brewery

  • Visit the public library-sweet little library with a small kids section. Check out hours bc they are a bit obscure 

  • Visit the Crazy Mountain Museum: super cute but only open Memorial Day through Labor Day 

  • Big Timber Rodeo (in 2022, this rodeo is only in the month of August)

  • Absaroka Beartooth Outfitters is a local shop in Big Timber that leads hunting expeditions, fishing, White water rafting, horse back riding, etc.  

    • They do a fun paddle/saddle combo where you ride in the morning and then raft in the afternoon

 

Day trips from the ranch:

• Macleod-(45 minutes from ranch)

  • Natural bridge falls state park -beautiful views of this cliff without having to walk more than 5 minutes-great picnic spot and paved path along the cliffs of the waterfall. Great for kids bc you don’t have to hike a ton but also pretty cliff-y so felt like we had to keep a close eye on our kiddos. There are also great trails around the falls- didn’t go but seemed awesome! 

• Livingston (45 minutes from ranch)

  • Great hiking trails 

  • Cute downtown 

• Red Lodge (1 hour 20 min from ranch)

  • Beautiful drive there, and a skiing spot, if you’re looking for it! 

  • Yellowstone sanctuary-really cool for kids and almost like a mini zoo 

  • Candy Store-this candy store is epic and has any candy you can think of! 

  • Eat at Bogarts (pizza and mexican, what’s better than that?!) Or Wild Table 

• Bozeman (1 hour 20 min from ranch) 

  • Breweries- MAP, Montana Ale Works

  • Trails- the “M” trail is super popular and has an easy and harder track, lots of families do it. Also get the “all trails” app and it will show you every trail near you

  • Museum of the Rockies-great for kiddos especially if kids love dinosaurs 

  • Grizzly Bear Experience- honestly we did not love. You do get to see some grizzlies up close which is awesome, but not much other than a small zoo exhibit feel 

  • Dinosaur Park- again if your kids love dinosaurs, this park is pretty awesome! 

• Billings (1 hour from ranch)

  • Honestly I to Billings if I need to do a Costco or Target run (closer than Bozeman)

  • Billing’s zoo-good experience and lots of  local animals here. Could do this zoo in an hour if you wanted to, very small but my kids loved it!

  • Wise wonders is like a cool little kids play and activities center connected to Ebon coffee shop! Super cute and a great option on a rainy or cold day 

• Chico/Pray-(1 hour 20 min from ranch)

  • Sage Lodge- such a fun place for a good cocktail, lunch/dinner and beautiful scenery 

  • Wild Flour- omg this breakfast sandwich is insane. Go! 

  • Chico Hot Springs- this hot springs is a lot more like a community pool look than a natural hot spring but also very fun (has a bar next to the pool!), a very rich history (super vintage interiors) and has a fun family camp style. Great activity for a rainy or cold day! 

• Gardiner- (2 hours from ranch)

  • Yellowstone Park north entrance- Mammoth Hot Springs is only 20 minutes once in the park, good spots along the way to get out and look around. 

  • Gardner has a cute little downtown

• Harlowton-(1 hour from ranch)

  • The drive is worth going alone. Beautiful views of the crazies!

  • Cute little playground for kiddos at Camp Joseph park 

  • Sun Dog Coffee is great for coffee/lunch/Breakfast 

  • Have not been to the museum here, but want to go!

• Big Sky (2 hours from ranch)

  • Big Sky resort has tons of kiddo activities in the summer at Base camp 

  • Cliff Wade Lakes-rent paddle boards, canopies, and and kayaks at Wade Lake (call morning of to reserve)

  • Hike Ousel Falls 

  • Take lift up to mountain at Big Sky Resort 

  • Lone Mountain Expedition

  • White water rafting 

  • To eat: Olive B’s, Michelangelo’s, Blue Buddha, Lotus Pad Thai, Corral, Bucks T-4, Horn Cattle 

• West Yellowstone (3 hours from ranch)

  •  Grizzly Discovery Center 

  • Awesome rodeo here in the summer! 

• White Sulpher Springs 

  • Red Ants Pants music festival end of July-great line up 

• Whitefish/Kalispell/Glacier (6 hours 20 min from ranch)

  • To eat: 

    • Which-haus- great higher end sandwiches 

    • Bonsai-amazing tuna bowls and easy for kids 

    • Sweet Peaks-ice cream 

    • Fleur bakeshop-great pastries and coffee!

  • Glacier National Park-must get a pass and a ticket on park’s website before going (tickets go on sale 2 days before at 8am)- Going to the Sun road is the route you will enter and so many stops.

    • Best stops for kiddos- Lake McDonald, Trail of the Cedars, or John’s Lake Loop (you can eat at Lake McDonald lodge or would pack a picnic)

  • Walk downtown of Whitefish-so so cute!! 

  • City Beach-great lake access 

  • Ride the Alpine Slide

  • Strider Bike Park 

  • Whitefish Mountain Resort

• Absarokee (45 min from ranch)

  • There is a beautiful drive to Absarokee that is accessible if you keep going past our house on Bridge Creek. Let us know if you want to do this drive and we will walk you through it. It’s awesome and dumps you out into downtown Absarokee. It’s cute (not much there), but has some cute restaurants!

  • To do- Absarokee offers horse back riding and white water rafting. 

    • Hose back riding- for horse back riding call Paint Brush adventures. This is a great option if you have beginners with you. Scenic but nothing fancy happening 

    • White water rafting- make sure they are putting you in on the Stillwater River (if not, find a place rafting on the Yellowstone, like Absaroka Beartooth Outfitters in Big Timber). Options for white water rafting are 

• East rosebud lake (1 hour 30 min from ranch, heads up last 30 min is gravel road) 

  • This place has maybe the most stunning views I’ve seen in Montana! So worth the drive!

  • The lake at the entrance is private all the way around so no access to swim but you can hike up to elk lake (3-4 mile hike) to swim and see the most gorgeous lake! 

  • I would drive through Fishtail Montana and stop in the fishtail general store and load up on sandwiches and beer and do one of the shorter hikes at the base of the lake then have a picnic at one of the picnic spots at the entrance to the forest (you pass these on your way in) 

• West rosebud 1 hour 30 min 

• Mystic Lake 

• Fairy Lake 

• Great day trips for adults 

  • Drive the Beartooth pass from red lodge to Cooke city -supposed to be epic! Some say it is the prettiest drive in Montana! 

  • Base of the crazies trail-Twin Lakes