Big Sky has around 5,850 acres of skiable terrain, which puts it among the largest ski areas in the United States, and it has almost nobody on it. The resort has historically reported skier density measured in single-digit acres per person on a busy day, and the practical consequence is that lift queues are rare in a way that anyone used to Colorado or Utah will find slightly disorienting.
The Lone Peak Tram takes fifteen people at a time to the summit at 3,403 metres, from where the descent is committing in every direction. Below it the mountain spreads across four connected peaks with long groomers, glades and a bowl network that absorbs everyone who turns up.
The valley
Big Sky is not an old town. It was founded in 1973 by the news anchor Chet Huntley, who bought ranch land and built a resort, and the base areas are consequently modern and spread across the valley rather than clustered in a historic centre.
Bozeman, an hour north, is the actual town: a university, a main street of brick buildings, an airport that has grown faster than almost any in the country, and the Museum of the Rockies, which holds one of the largest dinosaur collections in the world including a great deal of Montana-dug Tyrannosaurus material.
The Gallatin Canyon between them follows the river, which is the fly fishing every angler in America has heard of — this is the water in A River Runs Through It.
Yellowstone's west entrance is about an hour south of Big Sky, which makes the valley a genuine two-season base.
The seven below are grouped that way.
Big Sky
The mountain.
Montage Big Sky occupies a ski-in ski-out position at the Mountain Village base with a spa, a pool, a bowling alley and the most complete facilities in Montana. It opened recently and it changed what the resort offers.
Montage Big Sky
Mountain Village, Big Sky · 5★ · $$$$
Ski-in with the fullest facilities in Montana
Check availabilityOne&Only Moonlight Basin sits on the Moonlight Basin side of the mountain with an adults-oriented tone, a spa and its own lift access, in a building of considerable restraint.
One&Only Moonlight Basin
Moonlight Basin · 5★ · $$$$
Its own lift access and a restrained build
Check availabilityLone Mountain Ranch occupies a 1915 ranch in Meadow Village with cabins, a Nordic ski centre, horses and a dining room that predates the resort by sixty years.
Lone Mountain Ranch
Meadow Village, Big Sky · 4★ · $$$
A 1915 ranch with a Nordic centre and horses
Check availabilityThe Wilson Hotel sits in the Town Center with contemporary rooms, a good bar and rates below the mountain properties.
The Wilson Hotel
Big Sky Town Center · 4★ · $$$
Contemporary rooms below the mountain rates
Check availabilitySummit Hotel at Big Sky Resort occupies a position at the mountain base with straightforward rooms, ski storage and the tram a short walk away.
Summit Hotel at Big Sky Resort
Big Sky mountain base · 4★ · $$$
Ski storage and the tram a short walk away
Check availabilityBozeman
An hour north.
Kimpton Armory Hotel occupies a converted 1920s armoury building downtown with a rooftop bar, a cinema and the main street outside.
Kimpton Armory Hotel
Downtown Bozeman · 4★ · $$$
A converted 1920s armoury with a rooftop and a cinema
Check availabilityThe Lark Bozeman sits on Bozeman's main street in a reworked motor lodge with a design-led interior and the best value in the valley.
The Lark Bozeman
Main Street, Bozeman · 4★ · $$
A reworked motor lodge at the best value in the valley
Check availabilityWhat we have left off
The private club residences and rental homes across Big Sky are excluded, and in this valley they are a very large share of the beds. They are houses rather than hotels.
What to do
Ski the tram terrain if you are competent, and take a guide the first time. Lone Peak is serious and the runs off it do not forgive mistakes.
Fish the Gallatin, the Madison or the Yellowstone. Guides run float trips from Bozeman and Big Sky and the season runs through summer into autumn.
Go to Yellowstone for a day from the valley — the west entrance is an hour and the Norris and Madison basins are the closest.
See the Museum of the Rockies in Bozeman, which holds Montana's dinosaur material and is a serious research institution rather than a local museum.
In summer, ride the lifts for mountain biking or walk the Beehive Basin trail, which is the best short hike in the valley.
Practical notes
Bozeman's airport has grown rapidly and now has direct flights from most major American cities. Big Sky is an hour south on a road that can be slow in snow.
The ski season runs late November to mid April. Summer runs June to September with fishing, hiking and Yellowstone. April, May, October and November are the quiet shoulders when much closes.
Big Sky is at 2,300 metres at the base. Take the first day gently.
Every hotel bookable in the Gallatin valley
Why are there no lift lines?
Around 5,850 acres of terrain with historically very low skier density. It is the resort's main selling point and it is real.
Big Sky or Bozeman?
Big Sky for the mountain, Bozeman for a town with restaurants and an airport. An hour apart.
Is it good in summer?
Yes — fishing, hiking, and Yellowstone's west entrance an hour away, at much lower rates.
How many nights?
Five in winter, four in summer.