Ranch Life

Melissa Biggs Bradley created Indagare in order to inspire transformative journeys and meaningful global connections. She says her favorite hotels are “passion projects” where the owners feel a deep connection to the purpose and design […]

Happy Earth Day from The Ranch at Rock Creek! This year marks 5 years since we eliminated single-use plastics, as well as another year dedicated to sustainable forestry and working with Trout Unlimited to install […]

The Ranch Earns its 11th Consecutive Forbes Travel Guide Five-Star Award It’s our privilege to share that The Ranch at Rock Creek has once again earned the prestigious Forbes Travel Guide Five-Star award, based on […]

Feeling those middle-of-January blues? Frigid dawns, quiet evenings and ambitious resolutions might have you pegged squarely in the winter doldrums – but over at The Ranch, we’re still reliving the magic of the holiday season […]

According to Forbes Health, nearly half of respondents report fitness as their top priority, while 36% will try to improve their mental health. As a destination built on the spirit of play, we know that […]

Caring for a team of 70 beautiful horses is a labor of love at The Ranch at Rock Creek. Horses are photoperiodic, like most animals in Montana. As the days get shorter, they develop winter […]

Learning the Art of Birdwatching When you retreat to our 6,600 acres of Montana wilderness, we invite you to tap into the world of the bird population that surrounds us. From the tiniest Rufous Hummingbird […]

Finding a Family’s Happy Place There’s no denying that the Internet has streamlined travel research and booking. Despite the amount of information at our fingertips, many leisure travelers desire a chance to unplug, decompress and reconnect with nature. […]

Happy the man to whom every tree is a friend. ~ John Muir Peeking out any window at The Ranch at Rock Creek you might see a herd of elk migrating, a Northern Pygmy owl […]

Historically, ropes on a Montana ranch are lariats and lassos, the tools of the cowboy trade. In 2014, we expanded the concept of “roping skills” at The Ranch at Rock Creek by building a year-round ropes course, […]

Join us as we follow our new colleagues—the bees—through their second year homesteading in the Rock Creek Valley. The story is in reverse chronological order so scroll down to start from the beginning, or read more about […]

The Honey Flows with the First Snows Join us as we follow our colleagues—the bees—through their third year homesteading in the Rock Creek Valley.  Read more about their first year and second year on The Ranch.   by Kelsey Bruns, Beekeeper, Master […]

Behind the Lens During a Summer Stay Photo courtesy of Benjamin Morgan. We often host photographers looking to capture migrating wildlife, iconic ranch scenes and high country views. We delight in seeing our wild landscape from different […]

Third Annual Granite County Festival of Trees While we are just finished decking our halls for the upcoming holiday celebrations, we’ve been in the Christmas spirit for over a month. The sun sets before the Gala Auction. Look closely […]

The words “experiential travel” sound a lot more mature and serious than they need to be. The experience of traveling to The Ranch at Rock Creek should be an escape from normal routine. It should be at times […]

Gourmet Food with Big Sky Balance National Culinary Arts Month couldn’t come at a better time. Summer produce is rolling in and The Ranch kitchen is highlighting Montana’s freshest food with creative, ever-changing menus. We want to […]

Ranch Life Behind-The-Scenes A job at The Ranch at Rock Creek is not your average 9-to-5 job. In fact, it’s far from the average hospitality job. Last year, we wrote about the unique careers we […]

The tradition of decorating a Christmas tree can be traced back to 15th century Germany. For many, it is the epitome of family, history and Christmas. In addition to those meanings, we also adore it as a […]

We’re happy to share with you not just our 10th Forbes Travel Guide Five-Star award but the Greener Pastures initiative that has sought to rehome horses that are no longer able to live on The […]

Mercantile Style In the first hundred years of Montana’s history, ranchers, cowboys and miners had only one place to go for dry goods—the Mercantile. A Western “Merc” was a general store, part refueling station, part […]

Join us this week for a very special guest blogger, Cherie Hedenskog. Cherie visited The Ranch when she was five and shared her experience with her class by writing a book this past year. As […]

Luxury in the Wild The Ranch at Rock Creek stays true to our frontier roots, welcoming guests to private accommodations across our 6,600 acres. With a maximum occupancy of 125 across 29 accommodations each guest […]

Geology of the Rock Creek Valley The land on which The Ranch at Rock Creek sits is part of the Rocky Mountain range, which stretches from New Mexico to Canada. The Sapphire, John Long and […]

The Ranch at Rock Creek Earns 9th Consecutive 5-Star Award Living out in the wild, it’s easy to disconnect from the buzz of modern life. But every year when we learn we’ve won another Forbes […]

22 Ways We’re Reducing Our Environmental Impact As a destination rooted in the landscape, there isn’t a day that goes by where we don’t consider the importance of the natural world that surrounds us. Each […]

The Ranch at Rock Creek on Calm Narrated in a gentle, unhurried pace, Calm’s sleep stories are meditative tales designed to usher you into dreamland. Thanks to a collaboration with writer Dibs Baer, you can visit […]

Fly fishing doesn’t stop for winter. In fact, Inside Hook recently published the story, “Why You Should Go Fishing on Your Next Ski Trip.

Living in the land of the cowboy, cattle and horses are often the stars of this blog. This week’s guest post allows us to feature Montana-raised lambs as well as Montana-made writer and photographer, Lynn Donaldson. The […]

Since The Ranch at Rock Creek opened as a guest ranch in 2010, we have become increasingly invested in the Granite County, Montana

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Beyond the necessary business aspects of marking cattle, brandings are big springtime social events on Montana’s ranch lands. The valley snow has melted and green grass permeates the rolling hills of Big Sky Country. When neighbors […]

Unplugging During an Unprecedented Year in Travel By Jon Martin, General Manager at The Ranch at Rock Creek Thanksgiving is not a day of rest in the hospitality industry. This is when we work harder; […]

Trails, Trailers and Tales When I was growing up, the beginning of July meant the end of a 45-mile cattle drive that stretched from my family’s ranch to the mountains near what is now The […]

In our 11 years as a guest ranch, we’ve never had a bigger celebration for Earth Day than we’ve had this week. This year we’ve found more ways to say thanks to nature, which has […]

On the Bright Side 2021 is looking brighter. The first reason is we’ve just earned our 8th consecutive Forbes Travel Guide Five-Star award! We are proud of that achievement in a normal year, but during […]

The falling snow might as well be confetti today. We’re thrilled to announce that we’ve earned our 7th consecutive Forbes Travel Guide Five-Star award! Forbes Travel Guide is the only independent, global rating system for luxury […]

In 2017, The Ranch started its Master Naturalist program to better explain the beauty of our exceptionally diverse eco-system. In 2018, it expanded to include National Geographic’s Year of the Bird, and in 2019 we’ve […]

Sustainability from Field to Stream Guest blog by Teresa Scanlon, project coordinator with Trout Unlimited Why We Love Rock Creek It’s no secret that Rock Creek, the fabled blue-ribbon trout stream tucked away in the […]

Cream-colored ponies, crisp apple strudels and sleighbells may be a few of Maria Von Trapp’s favorite things, but they are also some of ours. While the first snowflakes fly at The Ranch, and we gear […]

Family Ties This Father’s Day we’re celebrating the Ranch dads that have chosen to live, work and raise their kids in the wide open spaces of Granite County. Families are an essential part of the […]

As we approach 10 years as a property, sustainability is on our minds. We occupy a remote corner of the world, and keeping consistently high standards in the sticks, so to speak, is a challenge. […]

Behind-the-Scenes with Lead Archery Guide Quinn Wilson One could say Quinn Wilson’s passion is archery, but that would be an understatement. Quinn’s first experience with a bow and arrow during Boy Scouts has blossomed into […]

More Than a Snapshot Travel and photography go hand in hand like big skies and majestic mountains. (As any Ansel Adams fan can attest.) Since the advent of smart phones, almost everyone can capture the […]

Five for Five Five is our lucky number! We’ve just received the Forbes Five-Star award for the fifth consecutive year. Forbes Travel Guide offers the only independent global rating system for luxury hotels, restaurants and […]

Working at the world’s first Forbes Travel Guide Five-Star guest ranch requires a special type of person. Our jobs require people who are highly social, working with The Ranch team and guests day-after-day, and thriving in a […]

Giving Thanks Before thanks have even been given in the traditional American way, we’re giving thanks to our community through a local tradition. This Friday and Saturday, we will host the 4th annual Granite County […]

The Ranch’s Fall Harvest Festivities This October, we are channeling The Ranch’s beehives and buzzing around diligently in preparation of our biggest celebrations of the year, Autumn Harvest Weekend and Thanksgiving. Although we celebrate most […]

Downhill Skiing, Alpine Outpost & Ski Concierge Escape the city and busy ski hills this winter for an all-inclusive skiing adventure in snow-kissed Montana. Winter guests enjoy reduced all-inclusive rates, airport transfers from three local […]

Join us as we follow our new colleagues—the bees—as they homestead in the Rock Creek Valley.    Chapter 1, Spring: Welcoming Bees to Rock Creek by Kelsey Bruns, Beekeeper, Master Naturalist and Little Grizzlies Kids […]

Since The Ranch at Rock Creek opened in 2010, we’ve centered our guest experience around the Montana traditions of outdoor adventure and family ranching. Guests discover a still-pristine natural world through a spirit of play. What […]

A Doggone Good Time at The Ranch at Rock Creek Striving for Pet-Friendly Perfection This week we welcome Zeus, an imposing and good-natured Leonberger dog, and his better (human) half, Katie Jackson. A native of rural […]

The Ranch Receives Fourth Consecutive Five-Star Rating We are thrilled to announce that we’ve just received the Forbes Travel Guide Five-Star award for the fourth straight year! We’ve been the world’s only Forbes Travel Guide Five-Star ranch, […]

As the seasons change and the holidays approach, we are reminded that a photograph of the exact same spot in the summer looks entirely different in the spring, fall and winter. But, things don’t only […]

Silver spurs, gold nuggets and riding off into sunsets—these are the icons of the legendary West. Since the Western states were formed and the barbed wire was strung, the Rocky Mountain states have changed in a myriad of […]

After Memorial Day weekend, guests start seeing a Saturday barn dance on our list of weekly activities, along with the Friday breakfast ride, Tuesday rodeo and Sunday Wells Fargo stagecoach rides. They are now a feature of our […]

Sunday, April 8th marked the close of a memorable, powdery snow season at Discovery Mountain. Winter refuses to be ushered out without a fight, so late spring skiing was some of the best we’ve ever […]

10 Dreams Turned Reality at The Ranch Every vacation is a chance to fulfill a lifelong dream. Here are 10 classic bucket list adventures that The Ranch at Rock Creek fulfills each year. 1. Become […]

The Ranch Retains Forbes Travel Guide Five-Star Status We’re thrilled to announce that we have garnered the Forbes Travel Guide Five-Star award for the third year in a row!

The 2015 Granite County Festival of Trees This year, we started celebrating Christmas early. With Thanksgiving still on the horizon, we had the opportunity to welcome the Granite County community to The Ranch at Rock Creek […]

A staff member and talented photographer, Robert Cole, spent his summer at The Ranch documenting our weekly ranch rodeo at Camp Roosevelt Arena. Robert traveled from Northern California to work in Montana this summer. Although he has […]

Summer Cowboy Breakfast at The Ranch at Rock Creek If you’ve never been given the nearly impossible task of trying to book an ideal family vacation, then we envy you. It’s hard to please everyone, especially when […]

Huckleberry Bear Traps in the Great Room Montanans take pleasure in foraging for seasonal ingredients. Guests who visited us in the spring might have enjoyed cuisine filled with flavorful morel mushrooms, gathered in the local forest. Now, […]

Montana Fly Fishing During “The Hatch” We’re biding our time in the Rod & Gun Club, because the spring melt has begun in the lower elevations. We know that with the end of spring runoff […]

The Ranch Wins 2nd Forbes Travel-Guide Five-Star Honor The skies have been clear for stargazing lately, but the most exciting constellation we’re seeing today is from one of the world’s most trusted travel authorities. Forbes Travel […]

We started out our New Year’s Eve celebration with a drink named The Resolution, so it’s only fitting that we sit down to write our resolutions for the year. With a sky this big, we […]

The Ranch at Rock Creek’s Mercantile has been stocking clothing for winter adventures. In our first volume of Mercantile Style, we noted that a wild west “Merc” was part refueling station, part department store and part […]

If you are searching for fall vacation ideas, our Ranch at Rock Creek staff is a living, galloping guidebook of Montana experiences. They are our knowledgeable instructors, our wildlife scouts and our adventurers thanks to personal […]

An Event Barn in Big Sky Country Although the sky in Montana takes center stage, barns are an essential part of the western horizon. Barns dot the countryside in shades of weathered gray and red. Some […]

Photo by Michael Chilcoat Photography Philipsburg, Montana’s Hidden Gem To our delight, but certainly not to our surprise, our hometown community – Philipsburg – recently received a Montana Tourism Award at the Governor’s Conference on […]