Big Sky, USA - Montana

Snow Forecast admin from UNITED KINGDOM writes:

Big Sky is a growing resort community set midway between Bozeman and West Yellowstone, Montana. Still surrounded by Wild Montana (elk are usually in the neighborhood, bear are a little more shy), this is a place where the ranching world meets modern life.

Big Sky guests can enjoy all the comforts they want, but golfers may notice moose wandering across the course, and wolves roam the spectacular mountain scenery. You may see snow flurries on the higher peaks any time during summer, but days are mostly warm and sunny.

Fly into Bozeman's Gallatin Field, about an hour north, rent a car and head south through the Gallatin Valley, following Highway 191 through the Gallatin Canyon, following the Gallatin River. (Curiously, the Swiss-born Secretary of the Treasury who gave his name to all these places never visited the region.) Then turn west on a spur road and wind your way up to Big Sky Resort.

The Big Sky community is home to one of the largest ski resorts in North America. It's young (just over 30 years old), and vibrant in winter.

Something like 10 percent of the community's 1,000 residents are involved with real estate, but come summer it's a very peaceful place to visit or live.

"Peaceful" doesn't mean there's nothing to do -it just indicates you have a lot of choices and not much competition. You'll find blue-ribbon fly-fishing on rivers and streams. Dominated by Lone Peak (11,166 feet), there's hiking in surrounding mountains (the Gallatins, Madisons and Spanish Peaks), where carpets of wildflowers can last well into July at higher elevations.

You can go horseback riding (the area has several famous guest ranches), try mountain biking, take a sunrise balloon ride, enjoy whitewater sports on the Gallatin River, swim, rock climb, play tennis, or just kick back and reeelax. Most visitors venture into Yellowstone National Park at least briefly. It's an hour south of the resort along Highway 191, but try to avoid weekends and holidays, when crowding is pretty much inevitable.

Big Sky gets quiet after Labor Day. Fall colors change the landscape with bursts of brilliant gold aspen. Days are crisp and clear; there's hunting and still fishing; and many mornings there's fresh snow creeping down from the higher reaches, a reminder that skiing often opens before Christmas.

2005-11-22