Southwestern Montana and really the entire region is a paradise for activities; winter or summer. We hope that when you wrap up your time at our home, you are relaxed from your vacation but muscle are sore and tired from doing and seeing so many great things!
The weather forecast here is, as in any mountain area, unpredictable. Summer days are hot and dry, evenings and nights are cold. It can snow in June, September- pretty much whenever. Winters are cold, rarely above freezing. Pack accordingly!
Here is a link to the Big Sky Mountain Resort Cameras
Gear gear gear…
I am very loyal to Grizzly Mountain Outfitters in the main village of Big Sky. They have lots of gear and are very knowledgeable. Encourage you to check them out before your trip or once you get here.
For skiing, cannot recommend more highly the crew at Ski Butlers. They will bring your rental equipment right to the house (make sure you provide them with the Ulery's Lake Road gate code.
The House does have a lot of gear that you can use but please treat it well, let us know if something breaks or isn’t working and please return it to where it was so that we and other friends can find it when they arrive. Things that you can use at the house and do not need to buy:
Hiking backpacks, bear spray, trekking poles, stand up paddleboards, innertubes for lakes/rivers, several mountain bikes, headlamps, sleeping bags, camping gear (mats, chairs, tent), snowshoes, water bottles. If you have questions on whether you should bring some type of outdoor gear before your trip, let me know.
house & property activities
Ulery's Lake is a high alpine lake (maybe a pond!) that house looks out over. Generally before the heat rises in August, you can swim in it but in August, the pond can get an algea bloom.
If you want down to the lake from the house and turn left and walk around on the path, you'll cross a small bridge and find canoes and kayaks. Feel free to use them.
If you walk down and turn right, you'll come to meadow and keep walking around the lake and you'll come to a camp site with a fire pit. Fun evening activity (when fire controls are not in place and it isn't super windy).
We have inflatable stand up paddle boards that are fun to use on the lake. See above about fire pit- SUP to that spot.
We have a couple of spinning rods and a tackle box as well as you can rent fly fishing gear at the Moonlight Outfitters. There is a great population of wild rainbow trout and feel free to keep one or two - here is an awesome recipe for smoked trout - but in general, please practice catch and release so that the population continues to be healthy.
The pond is a magnet for wildlife and you'll regularly see a herd of elk in the early summer and fall. I recommend bringing bear spray down there if you are there in the morning or evening.
Finally, the last two years, we've had breeding Bald Eagles that nest and hunt trout on the lake. You can typically see them from the deck and when you do, I recommend taking a camping chair (in the garage) down with a cup of coffee on the morning, cocktail in the evening (or the inverse) and watch them!
Fishing
The house sits 50 acres, across the lake and then to the East(right) but it is also part of an HOA where the land is open to use- people just avoid walking close to houses. So feel free to just walk out of the house( on snowshoes or x-country skis in the winter) and explore.
If you want a nice walking/jogging loop, go out of the driveway and go left. Ulery's Lake is a loop road and it will merge into Jack Creek Road where you continue left and that will merge into the main road across from the Lake Lodge. The Ulery's Lake road gate is right up the hill. The loop is almost exactly 3 miles.
I'm currently building a hiking/mountain biking loop out of the house. If you walk down the driveway and turn left, you'll see orange tree marking tape. You can follow that and it will wind through the trees up to the left. Once you reach the end, best bet is to just turn left and start heading downhill and you'll come to the lake.
Feel free to use Google Maps and just go for a walk in the woods. Bring bear spray in the summers and walk for signs of moose in the winter.
Hiking
We have a couple of mountain bikes at the house that can be used and you can rent mountain bikes at the Moonlight Outfitters (include a link) located at the Lake Lodge. There are a number of great mountain biking trails plus you can get a lift ticket and transport your bike up to the top of Lone Mountain.
Biking
winter activities
Big Sky is the largest ski area in the lower 48 and it is awesome. If you are keen, consider renting a ski guide for one of your early days as it will help you “understand the mountain”- it is massive and there are efficient and effective ways to move around it.
Big Sky is notorious for Triple Diamonds, a designation invented by Big Sky. The Trips include awesome chutes, steeps and couloirs. The most famous is Big Couloir. To ski The Big, you have to register with Ski Patrol and you have to carry an avalanche beacon, probe and shovel. We have four sets already in backpacks in the gear garage. Feel free to use them and good luck!
If The Big Couloir is too much, a trip on the Tram is really a must if weather and snow conditions cooperate with you. Liberty Bowl is a LONG and very manageable drop down to the top of the Dakota and Shedhorn lift systems- which also offer great Bowl and Glade skiing. You can start at Liberty Bowl and ski down to Mountain Mall and that is a 6 mile downhill ski! Another great Tram option is to ski The Dictators- Lenin and Marx Bowls- both incredible and have slightly less southern exposure so the snow can be better. They drop into the top of the Shedhorn lift. To do a quick Tram Loop, take the Marx bowl and then the Gullies Traverse and ski into the top of Powder Seeker or ski the chutes into the Powder Seeker bowl but I recommend you start by going from the Tram all the way down to either Dakota or Shedhorn rather than cutting off early onto the Gullies Traverse.
Best to buy your lift tickets ahead of time and all you need is your cell phone and one of the Big Sky express tickets (in mountain village on your drive up or next to the Iron Horse lift by the Moonlight Lodge. Pre-purchasing can be done on the Big Sky website.
If you plan on shipping your skis, we recommend using Ship Skis.
If you plan to rent skis, we REALLY recommend you use Ski Butlers. Rather than deal with the the rental process- which no skier has ever enjoyed (I bet the ski rental shops have a negative NPS globally), you can sit in your jammies, sipping a cup of coffee and Ski Butlers will bring it all to your home- and it is less expenive! Make sure to give them the Ulery's Lake Road Gate Code when you make your order.
Alpine Skiing
There are groomed x-country ski and snowshoeing trails that are maintained by Moonlight Basin. To access these as well as rent additional snowshoes and x-country skies, visit the Moonlight Outfitter at the Lake Lodge. You can also go right out from our house and explore the surrounding area- there are lots of meadows, ponds, glades and forested areas.
Snowshoe/X-Country Skiing
This is a surprisingly fun activity. Don't let go of the sled with young kids in it as the dogs are likely to run all the way to their kennel!
We recommend using Spirit of the North Dog Sledding.
Dog Sledding
Most of you reading this site will know Megan and her “deep love of the cold”... So it might blow you away that Megan LOVED the snowmobiling trip we took into Yellowstone National Park ending up at Ole Faithful. I can say without hesitation that she gives her highest recommendation to this one; that is rare for outdoor activities in the Montana winter. Top Two is a well-regarded outfitter in West Yellowstone but there are plenty of options.
Snowmobiling
There is pretty amazing backcountry skiing in the area. Mostly hiking with skins so an amazing experience and a great workout!
The best guide in town to get you started is Montana Alpline Guides. They can organize a trip basically out of our backyard or do a more detailed backcountry trip into Yellowstone National Park or places inbetween.
Backcountry Skiing
summer activities
We love floating a river- whether in kayaks, innertubes or stand up paddle boards... a cooler, bluetooth speaker, flyrod. What sucks about that?
There are three SUPs in the basement- feel free to use them. We also have inflatable tubes- those are awesome to use in the lakes or rivers (just not in class 3 or higher whitewater!)
The local rivers are amazing for whitewater rafting. For the Gallatin, Madison and Yellowstone rivers, Montana Whitewater is a good option. There are others if they are booked. BearTrap canyon on the Madison is supposedly the most aggressive float. Paradise Valley from Yankee Jim Canyon down to Livingston is probably the most scenic. The Gallatin river and canyon is awesome and very close. You can't lose.
If you have experience river rafting, we have a 14' Flycraft inflatable raft with a steel frame. It seats 3, has an overnight gear stand and we have everything needed for an overnight river adventure. We also have a trailer to transport everything. Let me know ahead of time if you are keen and I can help with good options and gear etc.
White Water Rafting/Float Trips
If you have never been to Yellowstone National Park(YNP), it is hard to recommend it more. The town of West Yellowstone, which serves as the western gate to the park, is around 1:15 from the house. We have an annual season pass to the park located in the “storage cabinet” to the right of the main floor laundry machines in the mudroom. Please return it once you have used it. There are different strategies for accessing the park based on the time of year but if going in the summer, we recommend leaving early and either driving to West Yellowstone and heading towards Old Faithful, on to West Thumb (make sure to stop at the Painted Pots), heading north to the Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone River- don’t skip the hike out ot the observation point and then continuing north over Tower Roosevelt and through the Lamar Valley, exiting at the Gardiner gate for the 2 hour drive home to Big Sky (the drive winds through Paradise Valley/Livingston and so the beautiful scenery continues).
There are lots of deriviatives of ways to see YNP and really there is a lifetime of exploration there so you can take your time in one spot or move through quickly if you only have one day. We have done amazing kayaking, mountain biking, fishing, hiking, wildlife watching.
We have a Swarkovski spotting scope that is typically on a tripod in our living room. Please feel free to take this to YNP with you- it is ideal for seeing the wolves, bears and other crazy wildlife. But please be careful with it and put it back when you are done.
Yellowstone National Park
What can I say... Big Sky and the surrounding region is a mecca for fly fishing. It was one of the reasons that we decided to build here. We are within 30 minutes of both the Madison River and the Gallatin River and within 60 to 120 minutes from Yellowstone, Henry’s Fork of the Snake, the Missouri River (Three Forks MT), the Smith River and the numerous rivers in Yellowstone national park and many smaller creeks and lakes. Within 3 roughly hours, you can get to the river systems around Missoula as well as Jackson Hole. It arguable the greatest place to fly fish in the US.
If you are looking to fish the Madison, my favorite store and guide service is Madison River Fishing Company in Ennis. You should drive to Ennis via Jack Creek Road, which is a private road for Moonlight members. Let me know if you plan to go to Ennis to fish the Madison or otherwise and I'll get you the code and pass- it will save you two of driving to Ennis. The Valley Gardens section of the Madison is an epic wading location and about 20 to 25 minutes down Jack Creek Road. While in Ennis, make sure to stop at Deemo's for beef jerky.
If you are looking to get a guide for the Gallatin River, I would recommend you check out Gallatin River Guides.
For the Henry’s Fork, reach out to Trout Hunter.
For the rivers in Yellowstone National Park, check out Big Madison River Outfitters.
Fly Fishing
There are tons of great hikes in the area and my recommendation is to use the All Trails app. Some of our favorites are:
Lava Lake- 6 mile out and back with an incredible high alpine lake where you could bring a picnic lunch and spend an afternoon.
Beehive Basin- 5 mile plus out and back. Gorgeous views, high alpine lake. Moderate difficulty.
Bear Basin- Distance is up to you- can be 8 or 18… just when you decide to turn around and recommend you go to the top of the Basin. It is a great hike with gorgeous scenery.
Hiking
The Yurt is available for Moonlight Members and guests. There are lake activities, lots of trails for hiking, mountain biking, x-country skiing and snowshoeing leave from here. An epic taco truck makes the Yurt it's home if you are visiting during the summer. The Yurt itself serves as a bar.
It is a great spot to kill some time in the afternoon in the summer.
Ulery’s Lake Yurt
The Reserve at Moonlight Basin is an incredible golf experience. It hosted the 2021 "The Match" which showed off their 777 yard 16th hole (and the rest of the course with a grizzley bear chewing on television cables during the tournament).
Moonlight is breaking ground on a second 18 hole course and a 12 hole par 3 course but I'm not totally sure why as I'd play The Reserve for ever and not get bored. Every hole is a mind-blowing view. The elevation is crazy and the the cars are loaded with bear spray! If you would like to golf, please let us know and we will get you tee times at The Reserve or the Spanish Peaks Golf Course where we have reciprocal rights.
If you plan to ship your golf clubs, we recommend using Ship Sticks.
Golf
