Tag Archives: cowboy

Lewistown

A Lot to Love in Lewistown

RED LODGE POST

A small town feel with big time dreams.  Lewistown answers the call from all those who make this town home and to all who visit.

With miles upon miles of paved walking and biking trails you can explore the town on foot and see the historical views, bubbling spring creek, and wildlife all while staying within minutes of city center.

Surrounded by four mountain ranges Lewistown’s opportunities for camping, hiking, fishing, and hunting are endless.

Visit for the famous Chokecherry Festival in September and you are guaranteed a good time from morning to night. The famous painter, Charlie Russell, has a namesake dinner train that travels along miles of the Old Milwaukee rail system.   With entertainment on board and outside you are sure to enjoy your journey.

Lewistown offers a variety of dining as well.  You can get many styles of food, and all eateries offer friendly service, with gusto and a smile.  The dining experience will keep you wanting to come back again and again.  Lewistown offers plenty of good lodging options to suit everyone’s needs.

There’s more fun year-round in Lewistown.  In the spring, enjoy the opening of the Central Montana Museum, a visit to ways of the past at Pioneer Power Days, and join in at Montana’s Longest table for a taste of foods produced in Montana.

Summer offers golfing, car racing, and the annual Montana Poetry gathering.  Fall gives way for fossil hunting, homestead tours, and the famous Bale Trail.

In the winter season, the North Pole Adventure Train takes trips to the North Pole (well, Lewistown’s North Pole).  There are ski hills nearby, and the mountains offer places to snowmobile, snowshoe, or go cross-country skiing.

Lewistown comes together for an annual Christmas stroll on Main Street having s’mores, parades, bonfires, and, of course, the man in red, Santa Claus, makes a stop!  It’s a community event of sharing and friendship, and so another season ends, with a magnificent celebration showing why Lewistown is so special.

So much is nice in Lewistown that you may even want to stay on and make Lewistown your new home.  With an excellent school system, parks scattered through the town, and established youth activities families are sure to find many opportunities to stretch their legs or put down roots.

Karisa Perryman
Lewistown Area Chamber of Commerce
408 NE Main
Lewistown, MT 59457

https://www.MontanaTraveler.com
Copyright © 2020 John Sandy

Guest Ranches, Horseback riding

Wyoming guest ranch

RED LODGE POST

Northwest Wyoming Guest Ranch A Best Kept Secret

Shell, Wyoming: population 83….people, that is….not horses or cows. Lots more of the four-legged variety in that vast and open expanse.

I’ve just returned to California from The Hideout Lodge and Guest Ranch – my second visit and wish I had extended just ONE more week, but alas! This all-inclusive destination resort has a loyal and well-deserved following that is not about to wait for me or you to figure it out – the Hideout gets booked up fast!

If you are looking for a truly special guest ranch experience, you will find the most unexpected pleasure you’ve sought about an hour and a half east of Cody, Wyoming.

Since 1992, the Hideout’s current owners Marijn and Peter De Cabooter have made this family-owned operation the guest ranch lover’s dream come true.

If you want to learn about horsemanship as a beginner or enjoy the skills you already possess on lovingly cared-for animals The Hideout Lodge and Guest Ranch is a wonderful place to go: At the Hideout, you’ll feel both free and safe on horseback; explore some of the most beautiful and varied terrain in Wyoming; be part of a cattle drive or roundup on a working cattle ranch; and feel embraced as a single, couple or family group. You will really enjoy The Hideout. It is the best kept secret I know of.

And aside from feeling like family with owners and staff, you are treated to end-of-day slide shows of your adventures, a social hour before your gourmet dinner, comfortable, rustically elegant accommodations and stimulating conversation with an international group of 25 or so VERY interesting dudes and dudettes!

The Hideout is not for young kids or spa-loving softies looking for facials, massages and general pampering, but the accommodations and meals are top notch, as are the guests, owners, staff and stock.

You will never forget your week at the Hideout Lodge and Guest Ranch and will reluctantly leave, longing for your next visit.

A. McDowell
Southern California

https://www.MontanaTraveler.com
Copyright © 2020 John Sandy

Activities, Horseback riding

Horseback Riding

RED LODGE POST

Montana horseback riding
On a horeback ride in the wilds of Montana. Photo courtesy Summer Star Ranch, Helena.

Horseback riding is an activity many visitors enjoy in Montana. The rider and horse come together in a way nothing else can match. Horseback riding takes skill but anyone with patience can learn. Fun for sure. A bonus, ranches which offer horseback riding are found in scenic areas of the state.




This is an activity that families can enjoy together in the great outdoors. Memories never forgotten. If you stay at a guest ranch, horseback riding is usually part of the package. Ride as often and as much as you like.

For other visitors a short ride, maybe an hour or half-day, is all that’s wanted. Many ranches/outfitters offer this more limited service. A few are listed here. Always contact the ranch/outfitter in advance before arrival to make sure horses and wranglers are available when wanted.

Billings: Bitter Creek Outfitters (406) 855-6075

Absarokee: Paintbrush Adventures (406) 328-4158

Livingston: Bear Paw Outfitters (406) 222-6642

Bozeman/Gallatin Gateway: Broken Hart Ranch (406) 586-5421

Red Lodge: Elk River Outfitters (406) 860-3699

Missoula: Dunrovin Ranch (406) 273-7745

Whitefish: Bar W Guest Ranch (406) 863-9099

Gardiner: Yellowstone Horseback Riding (406) 848-7510

Glacier National Park: Swan Mountain Outfitters (406) 387-4405

Cooke City (near NE entrance to Yellowstone): Skyline Guest Ranch (877) 238-8885

Helena: Summer Star Ranch (406) 461-2659

West Yellowstone:  The Diamond P Ranch (406) 646-0606

Pray (south of Livingston): Rockin’ HK Outfitters (406) 333-4933

Big Sky: 320 Guest Ranch (406) 995-4283

 

https://www.MontanaTraveler.com
Copyright © 2020 John Sandy

Guest Ranches, Lodging

Guest ranches in Montana

RED LODGE POST

Montana
Photo courtesy Summer Star Ranch, Helena.

Montana is the heart of the West. You can experience a western lifestyle when staying at a guest ranch. Wranglers saddle-up the  horses when guests are ready for horseback riding, a most popular activity. Of course Montana’s guest ranches offer much more, activities galore. Here are a few of the ranches:

So how to choose the best fit. You want to pick the right guest ranch to satisfy your interests and needs. The Montana Dude Ranchers’ Association provides valuable insights. Paradise Guest Ranch is helpful too. Other tips are shared by the Dude Ranchers’ Association.

Travel tip: Before you go be sure to ask the guest ranch about their horses. How many do they have? Are the horses suitable for pros as well as riders with little or no experience. What sort of terrain is near the ranch’s corral? Horseback riding on flat land is okay, but trails off in the hills and up in the mountains are more fun.



https://www.MontanaTraveler.com
Copyright © 2020 John Sandy