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Lone Mountain Romance
Getting Away from It All in the Montana High-Country
By Johnathon Allen
At the end of an epic day cross-country skiing, you and the love of your life take a horse-drawn sleigh ride through snow-covered woods looking for moose and elk in the moonlight. You enjoy a gourmet meal accompanied by candlelight and guitar music and, after indulging in a long hot tub soak, return to your own private cabin nestled in the woods and cuddle by a crackling fire. Though it sounds like the setting for an unbelievably sappy romance novel, this idyllic scenario is experienced by hundreds of couples who visit Big Sky, Mont., every year to stay at Lone Mountain Ranch (LMR).
A vast network of cross-country ski trails, numerous secluded log cabins, a chef who produces some of the most highly acclaimed cuisine in Montana and an incomparable location 30 miles north of Yellowstone National Park combine to make Lone Mountain Ranch one of the premiere romantic winter getaways in the United States.
"The staff at Lone Mountain are exceedingly friendly and helpful," says Scott Boswell, of Denver, Colo. "They were very good about respecting our privacy while making sure we felt pampered. The cabins are well separated from each other and tucked into the trees, which gives the feeling that you really are all alone in the back-country."
Lone Mountain Ranch features 23 private cabins of various sizes sprinkled around its 165 acres, providing the perfect setting for a lovely liaison. Each one has a bath, wood burning stove or fireplace and, since it is Montana, supplemental electric heat. The smaller cabins have a single cozy bedroom/living area, while the larger ones have a separate living space and two to three bedrooms.
"The private cabins are certainly one of the most romantic features of the Ranch," says Nancy Cooke, LMR's director of marketing. "They're secluded and quiet. They each have thick patchwork quilts on the bed and a cozy fireplace. There are few things more romantic than waking up to a Montana morning with fresh snow on the ground, a fresh log crackling on the fire and not a sound outside except for the occasional bird."
