TRAVELS | Montana Made Me Do It – Five Days at Alpine Falls Ranch

Alpine Falls Ranch is located just an hour outside of Missoula, Montana, on the western side of the Big Sky state. The 850-acre property provides an incredible backdrop for weddings, corporate events and retreats, bachelor and bachelorette parties, et al. But bridal showers and PowerPoint presentations aren’t why we came all the way to western Montana.

An email landed in our lap suggesting we make a stop at Alpine Falls on our way across the States last summer. It’s the kind of invite you never say no to. So, with little time to plan or prepare, we pointed our motorcycles toward Superior, MT and began daydreaming about some of the things we’d like to do out west.

While the ranch itself has played host to The Real Housewives of Orange County, the week we were there was all about exploring the outdoors and taking full advantage of the summer weather in the Pacific Northwest. The property itself boasts an array of lodging options, from the massive Mountain View Villa – a nearly 10,000 sq-ft dream home – to the more modest Stable View Cabin, and a bit of everything in between.

Through the gate and across Dry Creek you’ll be greeted by Jason at the Six8 Saloon, an on-site common space complete with pool table and a very well stocked bar. Jason and his wife, Sarah, are the ranch managers and live on the property year-round. They’ll be your go-to guides for everything Western Montana has to offer, arranging outfitters and guides for fly fishing, horseback riding, skeet shooting, and most importantly setting you up with a Can-Am Defender so you can wander the ranch as well as the surrounding forest, which offers thousands of acres of wildland to explore.

Our first day at Alpine Falls was spent on the ranch itself. We piled into a Defender HD10 with an enclosed cab, popped the windshield up to let the summer weather sneak in, and headed out across the property. Along with all the traditional lodging, the ranch also has options for camping – whether it’s an old-fashioned rough camp or full blown “glamping” – the folks at Alpine Falls can set you up. After a few hours riding along the rim of the 850-acre ranch we circled back to the saloon for lunch and then heeded Jason’s suggestion to try our hand, er, rather, hands at axe throwing. We wrapped up the day with a movie in the theater of the Mountain View Villa.

The next few days were divided between backcountry exploration in our unstoppable Defender HD10s, and time spent on the ranch – shooting skeet at their world class clay course, a few games of pool in the saloon and even getting in a bit of horseback riding. The dirt roads and trails we rode lead us up to elevation where we’d been stopped by snow years prior. This time, however, it was late enough into the summer for us to cross into Idaho, albeit briefly. 

The Defenders, with their enclosed cab and HVAC systems, kept us cool on the valley floor as temperatures tipped towards 90-degrees, and also allowed us to be comfortable at elevation where the remnants of snow were still visible along the peaks and ridges in the distance. No, they’re not performance machines capable of rallying the backroads at speed, but they were the perfect companions for our expeditions into the Montana backcountry and afforded us a capable platform to explore from.

We wrapped up our time at Alpine Falls with a guided fly-fishing trip arranged by Jason. My father had come across the mountains from Seattle to join us on the endeavor, as this would be the first time any of us had cast a fly into a creek. But I’ll save that story for another time. 

In all, Alpine Falls Ranch provided the opportunity to experience everything the western side of the state has to offer, so much so that five days was not nearly enough. Jason and the staff at the ranch can cater to just about any wants or needs guests might have, and with a range of lodging options, you can come out on your own, with the family, or a handful of friends to ride, shoot, fish, camp and just generally do Montana things. We can’t wait to go back!