Montana’s Moonlight Basin Mixes Luxury And Winter Adventure

by Kraig Becker on

If you’re looking for an adventurous, not to mention luxurious, winter escape, it’s tough to beat a visit to Moonlight Basin. Located in Big Sky, Montana, Moonlight is a beautiful and exclusive resort that offers guests world-class skiing, fine dining and a full-featured spa. The resort is a wonderful oasis of refinement in a spectacular mountain wilderness, and they’re currently offering travelers a winter adventure package that will provide memories for a lifetime.

The Montana Adventure Package includes lodging for two at Moonlight Basin, where guests will enjoy ski-in, ski-out accommodations for a minimum of four nights. The resort features some of the best skiing in all of North America, with more than 100 runs spread out across 1900 skiable acres. Those numbers expand to more than 230 trails and an astounding 5532 acres when you add in the interconnected routes that link Moonlight with nearby Big Sky Resort.

For many travelers, the skiing and snowboarding at Moonlight is quite the experience in and of itself, but the Montana Adventure Package offers even more opportunities to explore this impressive winter wonderland. Guests who purchase the package can also elect to go dog sledding or visit nearby Yellowstone National Park via either a snow coach tour or on a guided snowmobile excursion. Alternatively, they can also choose to take a romantic dinner sleigh ride after a long day on the slopes. Guest can pick any two of these experiences as part of the package.

Rates for the Montana Adventure Package start at $1509 per couple. This special is available by call-in only and Moonlight Basin can be reached at 877-822-0430. If you’re looking for a winter escape that will both thrill and pamper you, it’s tough to beat this option.

[Photo Credit: Moonlight Basin]

Celebrate National Park Week: 5 Luxe Places You Can ‘Camp’ Sans Tent

by McLean Robbins on



National Park Week has begun! Many travelers will be taking advantage of free access to our country’s best national parks but, if they’re anything like this writer, won’t want to sleep in a tent after.

So, instead of camping try “glamping” at some of these great hotels near national parks that let you enjoy nature without giving up your creature comfort – no camping required.

Four Seasons Resort Jackson Hole, Wyoming
Just minutes from Grand Teton National Park and a short drive from Yellowstone National Park, Four Seasons Jackson Hole offers a famed wildlife safari program, complete with an in-house wildlife biologist. Can’t make it during National Park Week? Enjoy special backstage access to these National Parks through the hotel’s summer packages.

Moonlight Basin, Montana
Located just 18 miles from Yellowstone National Park, Moonlight is surrounded by Montana’s spectacular Rocky Mountains. Moonlight Basin’s Mountain Concierge Team can plan experiences from rafting on the Gallatin River to fly-fishing adventures and more.

Estes Park, Colorado
As a gateway to Rocky Mountain National Park, the year-old Della Terra Mountain Chateau is one of the area’s most luxe boutique properties.

Terranea Resort, California
This Destination Hotels & Resorts property located on the Southern California coast in Rancho Palos Verdes offers a unique starting point for exploration of Channel Islands National Park.

Travaasa Hana, Maui
The closest lodging to Haleakala National Park, filled with beautiful hikes through bamboo forests, past towering waterfalls and the famous “Pools of Ōheo.”

[Image courtesy of Yellowstone National Park]

Great destinations for fall foliage viewing outside of New England

by McLean Robbins on

One of our favorite fall trips is a long drive into the country to view the changing leaves. Last year was considered one of the best on record, and we’re hoping this year will be no exception. Break from the expected and enjoy these five off-the-beaten-path destinations for fall foliage viewing:

Moonlight Basin, Montana
Montana seems to constantly get overlooked by more publicized destinations like Colorado and Wyoming, but come autumn, take advantage of this fact and skip the crowds. Rent a rustic, but very luxurious Cowboy Cabin at Moonlight Basin, complete with front porch hot tub and views as far as the eye can see.

Asheville, North Carolina
Take a scenic drive through the North Carolina mountains before stopping to enjoy some of the East Coast’s best breweries and chic indie art galleries. We’d bunk at the luxe Grove Park Inn, where the President stayed on his last visit, or perhaps continue the drive into the mountains and rent a cabin at Fontana Dam.

Jackson Hole, Wyoming
Leaf peeping in the rugged Teton National Park is tough to beat, and the prime spot to stay during the autumn season is at the luxe Four Seasons Resort Jackson Hole, where you can enjoy amenities including nightly s’mores. As an added bonus, the hotel also offers Wildlife Safari Tours, hosted by its own in-house Wildlife Biologist, Tenley Thompson.

Whistler, British Columbia
Enjoy some of Canada’s most scenic glaciated peaks and roaring rivers. Arrive early enough and you’ll also catch quite the leaf show. We’d opt to stay at the Fairmont Chateau Whistler or the Four Seasons Resort Whistler.

Colorado Springs, Colorado
Colorado Springs is dwarfed by the surrounding Pikes Peak National Forest, and the towering 14,000-foot Pikes Peak. The number of easily accessed areas for leaf peeping the city is astounding. Cheyenne Mountain Resort is the perfect base camp for a trip to Colorado Springs. The resort boasts its own golf resort, on-site herb garden and ease of access to Garden of the Gods and the Pikes Peak National Forest – including the Pikes Peak Cog Railway.

[Flickr via ForestGladesIWander]