The Mountain Village of Big Sky is blessed with amazing beauty compliments of the Gallatin and Madison Mountain Ranges and more activities than a mere mortal could ever dream of doing. During summer you can fly-fish, hike, bike, raft, horseback ride, golf, camp, watch wildlife or simply relax and enjoy the scenery while trying to figure out how to do it all. Winter provides for some of the best downhill skiing in America; offering a combined 5600 acres of pure adventure. Nordic skiing, dog-sledding, trips to Yellowstone and moonlit sleigh ride dinners complete the winter experience.

Gallatin River winter

Located midway between Bozeman and West Yellowstone, in southwestern Montana, Big Sky shares Gallatin Mountain splendor with its neighbor, Yellowstone National Park. In addition to extensive recreation opportunities and fine resort amenities, Big Sky is known for its breathtaking scenery, abundant wildlife, and gracious hospitality. Here you'll find much contrast, from casual fleece to western elegance from gentle meadows to the rugged magnificence of Lone Peak.

Big Sky Ski Resort is 3,812 acres of downhill skiing, snowboarding and snowshoe trails. Recognized for lack of lift lines, amazing steeps and the biggest skiing in America with the new Big Sky and Moonlight Basin interconnect.

Montana is known for its fly-fishing, and the Big Sky area is no exception. With the Gallatin River within minutes of any rental property in Big Sky or you could be fishing the World Famous Madison River in an hour, it is great for tourists and locals alike. The Big Sky Area has multiple local outfitters with trips for beginners to even the most experienced fishermen. Choose from a variety of trips including floating trips, walk/wade trips, and horse-pack trips. Please contact the following businesses for guided fishing information and locations to purchase you fishing license.

Fly-fishing the Gallatin River

Winter’s nearly perpetual blue skies are interrupted in a timely fashion by millions of snowflakes that blanket the landscape, 400 inches of annual snowfall or three mountains with lots of elbow room. Lift lines are nonexistent here. The skiing and riding is the ultimate experience, explore the backcountry on snowshoes or take a relaxing sleigh ride. The choice, like Big Sky itself, is all yours.

For backcountry skiing you may with to venture next door to Beehive Basin, Porcupine Creek, or other parts of neighboring Gallatin National Forest, or tour Yellowstone National Park. Stop in the local shops for area maps, advice on trails, rental equipment and updated avalanche forecasts. The Cross-country skier will find 65 groomed kilometers of' nationally ranked' cross-country ski trails at Lone Mountain Ranch. Lessons, rentals, and guided tours are available. Or check out the Rendezvous Trails in West Yellowstone.

Gallatin River Whitewater Rafting Mountain biking in and around the Big Sky area means miles of backcountry scenery, wildflowers, and wildlife, with few human encounters. Ski lift mountain bike access and forest roads offer off-pavement, out-of-traffic experiences. There are trails on and around the mountain which to explore. New beginner and advanced trails are being constructed this summer. Down-hillers can also find a plethora of trails to get their thrills on.

Bighorn sheep can often be seen along the Gallatin River or on the acces road up to Big Sky Mountain Resort.

Big Sky’s proximity to Yellowstone provides dividends for the wildlife watcher and photographer, it's not everyday you get to see a bighorn sheep or bull elk, but at Big Sky it's a very frequent occurrence. Some spots that you are likely to see animals include: bighorn sheep at the entrance to Big Sky off Hwy. 191, elk and coyotes in the meadows of the Gallatin River headwaters in the northwest corner of Yellowstone Park, bison on the Madison River near West Yellowstone, moose and geese in the Big Sky Meadow Village, mountain goats in the high cliffs of Lone Peak and Beehive basin.

Most visitors get acquainted with Mother Nature during their Big Sky stay. Peace of mind will return the moment you pull on your hiking boots and explore the miles and miles of trails in our Gallatin National Forest. Right at the resort, you can elect the easier route by taking our scenic lift ride up the mountain and then enjoy a leisurely hike down to the base on our self-guided nature trails. Wildflowers, roaring streams, distant snow-clad peaks, and clean, crisp mountain air.

Greater Yellowstone News

Yellowstone in Recovery

In June 2022, unprecedented amounts of rainfall caused substantial flooding, rockslides, and mudslides within Yellowstone National Park. Historic water levels caused severe damage to roads, water and wastewater systems, power lines, and other critical park infrastructure. ......... All you need to know

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Winter is here

Come See It

Lightning Flashes over Yellowstone Lake Campsite

Backpacking The Thorofare in Yellowstone – The Most Remote Place in the US Lower 48 ~

The logistics of planning a backpacking trip in Yellowstone are a bit tricky but manageable. The biggest challenge is the lack of commercial airline service in Wyoming. Cody, West Yellowstone, and Jackson Hole airports are all extremely expensive, offer few options, and almost always require a connection. Rental car availability and price can also be a challenge in those markets. I have opted for Salt Lake City for all my Yellowstone trips as the logistics, aside from a long drive, are easier to manage at a fraction of the price. ........ Rest of the story

Fire is good;

Yellowstone has long been shaped by fire and not just the cool, creeping ground fires often described as "good" for grass production. The natural history of fire in the park includes large-scale conflagrations sweeping across the park's vast volcanic plateaus. Most Americans steeped in Smokey the Bear's "Only you can prevent forest fires!" mantra, the very thought that forest fires might have a positive side seemed preposterous. We all learned this as children and it is damned hard to change, as our indoctrination to this policy was total. ...... Learn More

A forest reborn

The Greater Yellowstone Bald Eagle:

Bald Eagles are again a common site along the rivers and lakes of the Greater Yellowstone Region, and they always bring a thrill to Yellowstone visitors when they set their eyes on one of these magnificent birds. The thrill of seeing our national bird soar above never fails to awe a spectator........ read more

Is social media ruining our nature excursions?

Social media, the curse and blessing of the twenty-first century. A focus on the evolution of the problem inflicted on nature, ways of to mitigate how it affects our beautiful places, our wildlife, our experience. Dichotomies and conundrums to ponder. Since the advent of the digital photography and its ease of use and economy after initial investment, America and the world have hit the road and the road comes back to us on our social media. .................... rest of article Addendum, this is getting worse than ever.


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Study: More elk killed by cougars than by wolves in Idaho: More elk are being killed by cougars than by wolves in Idaho, a study by the state Department of Fish and Game has found.The study found that wolves accounted for 32% of adult female elk deaths and 28% of elk calf deaths, while cougars accounted for 35% of adult female elk deaths and 45% of elk calf deaths. The study also found ............ rest of story

Return of the Yellowstone cutthroat trout by Kelsey Dayton

The water in Atlantic Creek in the remote Thorofare region of Yellowstone National Park was clear. So clear that Dave Sweet could see the fish before he even cast. They were everywhere: dozens of beautiful trout with distinctive red slashes under their jaws. Sweet had journeyed for two days on horseback to the major spawning tributaries of Yellowstone Lake for those fish. Over the next few days he and his daughter would see thousands of Yellowstone cutthroat trout and catch some as long as 25 inches. But just as exciting were the younger, smaller fish. They, Sweet realized, mark a turning point in a battle to save a species..................... Rest Of Story

Huge Yellowstone Cutthroat trout

The Resort Town Curse
by Daryl L. Hunter

In 1962 as a child my family went through Carmel California, and after my exclaimation how beautiful the place was, my mother explained to me that it was against the law to cut down a tree in the town and it was so beautiful. I wondered why every town didn't do that. A few years later my hometown, San Luis Obispo, did enact all kinds of restricted zoning like Carmel's as a part of an urban renewal plan, and now I couldn't afford to move back there if I wanted to. This town is now populated with what they call "Grey Gold", rich retired people that ran up the property values so high that native born could no longer afford to live there. I have lived in many resort towns since, and I have noticed a trend. I am attracted to them when they are still little, quaint and undiscovered, but it usually isn't long before word spreads about the next great place. .............. Rest of story

A Protective Firewall For Grizzlies
By Daryl L. Hunter

The delisting of the Yellowstone Grizzly Bear is imminent and this we should celebrate (''''dancing''''). Now that our happy dance is complete, we must ensure the grizzlies' recovery is permanent. To ensure "continuity of achievement," the grizzlies need a firewall to protect the success of this achievement from human foible.

The Interagency Grizzly Bear Committee was formed in 1983 to help ensure recovery of viable grizzly bear populations and their habitat in the lower 48 states through interagency coordination of policy, planning, management, and research. Many people have been working on this recovery for decades, for some; it has been most of their career. I can understand why the delisting of the grizzly before their retirement is their goal. A metaphorical gold watch if you will.

Many will argue differently,................. Rest of Article

Grizzly 399 and her quadruplets doing their part in Grizzly Recovery in the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem.

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Buy Here

Helpful ebook for photographers

The Grand Teton Photo and Field Guide is an encapsulation of the flora, fauna, and photography of Jackson Hole Wyoming and Grand Teton National Park. Also included are thumbnails of the history and geology of the valley. This book is for all visitors with a desire to seek out wildlife, photograph the landscape, or merely learn about the history, geology, and lay of the land of Grand Teton National Park. The author provides general overviews including hot links with more in-depth descriptions of subjects of individual interest.

In the “Lay of the Land” section, includes the obvious highlights along the loop through Grand Teton Park. Hot links to side roads will give you more in-depth description of side roads and feeder roads and their highlights. Also included are descriptions of all two-rut roads that are legal to travel on in Grand Teton Park. GPS links to Google Maps are provided throughout.

As a field guide, profiles of most of animals and birds in the area are described. Jackson Hole is full of wildlife but there are places where animals are, and there are places where they are not. It is a waste of time to scrutinize a landscape devoid of what you are looking for, so this guide narrows options down to the hot spots. I provide maps of the likeliest places to find the popular critters of Grand Teton National Park. I also touch on trees, shrubs, and wildflowers with minimal explanations.

Huge Bull Moose, dwarfed by the giant peaks of hte Grand Tetons.

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The grandeur of Grand Teton Park has made it one of the most photographed places in the world. The opportunity to harness multiple juxtapositional elements has drawn photographers for over a century since William Henry Jackson took the first photos here in 1878. Grand Teton Park’s plethora of famous vistas are profiled as well as many which are less clichéd that can bring new perspectives of a well-documented landscape. Grand Tetons’ iconic landscape photo opportunities are described in detail; however, they barely scratch the surface of opportunities as it takes a photographer with an artist’s eye to unveil as they follow their own intuition and vision. The author who shies away from clichéd landscapes provides a chapter of his favorite places that aren’t landscape clichés.

In the photography section the author includes chapters on composition, exposure basics, when to shoot and why. Daryl has summarized what he teaches in his, half day, Grand Teton workshops in a simple concise way.

If you are only in Grand Teton Park for a day there is a chapter called the “Portfolio Packer Morning Trip,” that does just that, all the icons and several favorite places in a five our blitz. But it is better to spend more time and dig deep into the embarrassment of riches of Grand Teton National Park................. More Info

Fine Art Panorama Landscapes by Daryl L. Hunter

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