Checking In: The Resort at Paws Up, Greenough, Montana

The ultimate luxury vacation used to be a trip to a five star resort on the beach. While there are certainly occasions for toes in the sand, these days discerning travelers are eager to spend their vacation days off the beaten track. Situated on over 37,000 acres of undeveloped Montana ranch land The Resort at Paws Up is just that. With activities ranging from mushing sled dogs and skiing behind horses in the winter to wrangling cattle, fly fishing the Blackfoot, and ATVing in the summer, the ranch is the Wild West in style.

I recently joined adventurous foodies, wine aficionados, and celebrity chefs on the ranch for Winterfest, a four-day celebration of food, wine, and big skies. In an event focused on a well-balanced life well-lived, we rode snowmobiles through bear country, practiced skiing behind horses, and followed in the footsteps of Meriwether Lewis along the Blackfoot River. In the evenings, we joined Chef Sunny Jin, Executive Chef at Paws Up and veteran of French Laundry, Ehren Jordan, owner and winemaker at Failla Wines, Chef Bruce Kalman, James Beard Award Nominee and 2018 contestant of Bravo's Top Chef, and Chef Brooke Williamson, chef and winner of Bravo's 2017 Top Chef, for cooking demonstrations and laid-back, multi-course dinners. A trip highlight was after-hours at the "Tank," the ranch watering hole. Good whiskey and fine Failla wine flowed as we danced late into the night to the bucket blues beat of local band, Mudslide Charley. Snow fell outside and a hearty fire roared.

As vacations become a game of coordinating schedules, taking time, and unplugging, getting off the grid is a luxury. Montana is breathtakingly beautiful and a visit to Paws Up is like checking in to a good friend's private piece of heaven. The resort is open all year and offers a wide range of seasonal activities. In the summer, families hike, bike, horseback ride and more from luxury tent campsites situated along the river. In the colder months, multi-bedroom lodges with full kitchens and patio hot tubs are the perfect places to unwind after active days in the snow.

Contact us at lcanter@departurelunge.com for more information. With each booking clients receive complimentary activity credits, upgrades and other perks! 

A real-life Winter Wonderland.

Learning to curl with local pros.

Dogsledding through the snow.

Skijoring is harder than it looks!