Montana Gone Luxe

The Resort at Paws Up is my neighbor up the road. It spreads out like a great green quilt across sixty square miles between the Mission and Swan Mountains, just a half-hour east of my small mountain town of Missoula, Montana. The locals—populists, as a rule, possessing the frugality of their pioneer forebears—regard the resort with the sort of hushed awe and slight suspicion usually reserved for, say, a top-secret military facility or maybe a garish gated community. Last summer, Paws Up even warranted a special report on one of our hard-hitting local news stations: The Resort at Paws Up—What really goes on at this luxury ranch?

To put it in context, imagine a gold-spired Four Seasons pleasure dome going up somewhere outside of Willmar, one that leads trophy fishing trips for out-of-state zillionaires and pushes lefse on A-list celebrities at $50 a plate.

Paws Up’s relationship to its Western Montana locale is relevant because it’s Montana itself that the resort is selling—the glittery, rustic utopian idea of it. Welcome to the gilded West, a wagon-wheel paradise where the trout practically leap onto the china plate and the cowboys drink sauvignon blanc beneath a star-filled sky. Paws Up is luxe to its core, and as such, it represents the real Montana like the Magic Kingdom represents medieval Europe. But to hell with authenticity and the skeptical locals—a couple of nights at Paws Up will inspire giddy hedonism among even the most prudent pioneers.

Paws Up is vast. The place is still a working cattle ranch, and you can sometimes glimpse the 400-head herd in the pasture. You can also spot pronghorn antelope, the occasional elk herd, and any number of waterfowl and raptors that thrive around the Blackfoot River. Fields of lupine and Indian paintbrush roll into cliff faces and foothills, and there’s virtually no place on the property that lacks a panoramic mountain view.

The considerable acreage is matched by the breadth of activities offered. Outdoor adventure junkies will revel in more than 120 miles of trail and countless acres of adjoining land open variously to hiking, mountain biking, horseback riding, off-roading, and winter sports. The Blackfoot has a bit of a reputation with fly-fishermen—perhaps you’ve heard of a little book called A River Runs Through It?—plus several stretches of whitewater for rafting and kayaking. The Wilderness Outpost outfits trips to match schedules and skill-levels, so beginners can scope the scenery while die-hards get their adrenaline fix. A slate of kids’ activities includes gentler hiking and horseback trips, plus hayrides and nature programs.

At the edge of a prairie near the heart of the resort, eleven small white tents cluster along the tree line like grazing elk. This is Spa Town, and it boasts one of the most idyllic spa settings in the West. A full treatment menu includes aromatherapy and couple’s massage, and the things these people can do with hot stones will melt you.

Eighteen guest homes constitute the primary lodging at Paws Up, and each beats the chaps off any real-world cowboy bunkhouse or dude ranch. Count on private outdoor hot tubs, fully equipped kitchens, stone fireplaces, 300-thread-count linens, and multiple flat-screen TVs in every “cabin.” Owner Nadine Lipson hand-selects decorations and furnishings that run wild with the notion of rustic Montana luxury—you can’t throw a rock without hitting an antler lamp, stone moose, mounted wooden snowshoe, or hand-carved grizzly bear–head chandelier. Still, if the décor is somewhat over the top, it is so in the manner of a rich backcountry Versailles, not a cluttered curio shop.

In the classic two-story Morris Farmhouse—along a silent country road, a short drive from the guest homes—Western bric-a-brac is kept to a minimum. Instead, four bedrooms (and three baths) are furnished with upscale, country-modern fixtures. Rich woodwork is noticeable in the restored oak chests that serve as reading tables and in the detail work on window frames and baseboards. Lush upholstery and antique furnishings give the open living/dining area the feel of a lavish show room. The view from the wide veranda is all purple mountains majesty, and the air is bucolic cologne of hay and alfalfa from surrounding pastures.

If the farmhouse has the feel of American aristocracy (and not of, say, the less glamorous Montana sharecropper), this can actually be attributed to a certain Minnesota dynasty. Brothers Land and Jon Lindbergh owned much of today’s Paws Up ranch from 1965 to 1986. Legend has it that a neighboring field was a landing strip for the pair’s then-aging aviator dad. One Lindbergh relative is even said to have remained—the resort staff occasionally catches a glimpse of a ghostly girl gazing out the window. And the little Lindbergh specter isn’t the only former resident with one foot in the grave—Mick Jagger bunked at the farmhouse when the Rolling Stones played Missoula in 2006.

The most charming accommodation at Paws Up is Tent City, six canvas A-frame tents surrounded by pines that are within earshot of the gurgling Blackfoot. From outside, the whole affair looks pretty backcountry, but part the flaps to find the same accouterments as in any of the guest homes: rich carpeting, luxurious sheets and mattresses, electricity, and—yes—even antler art. Private bathrooms in a central bathhouse are decked out with heated floors, rain-dome showerheads, and fist-thick towels. Because Tent City, like the farmhouse, is a few miles from Spa Town and resort headquarters, a nearby prairie hosts a separate spa tent.