GUEST RANCHES OF MONTANA'S FLATHEAD COUNTRY

EXPLORE MONTANA’S GORGEOUS SCENERY FROM THE BACK OF A HORSE, THEN RELAX AND BE PAMPERED AT THESE STUNNING MONTANA GUEST RANCHES.

- KENT AND CHARLENE KRONE

Northwest Montana is a land of magical landscapes filled with beautiful green valleys, lush forests, and majestic mountains. But one of the best parts of this region might be Flathead Country, which surrounds Flathead Lake—the largest natural, freshwater lake in the lower 48 states west of the Mississippi River. We stayed at three incredible dude ranches where we were able to explore the area’s pristine scenery.

Cheff Guest Ranch

Located near the Mission Mountains at the mouth of BartlettCreek on the South Fork of the Flathead River sits Cheff Guest Ranch (cheffranch.com), a guest ranch and outfitting business that has been in the family for four generations; the ranch is currently run by brothers Micky and Toby Cheff.

The Cheff family has been ranching and outfitting in the Bob Marshall Wilderness (also known as “The Bob”) for 86 years. A big part of their program includes raising and training all their own horses for guided rides and wilderness pack trips.

The opportunity to take a real, TrueBlue pack trip into a vast, gorgeous wilderness with a seasoned guide who has done this for years is becoming rare. Often, so-called “pack trips” consist of horseback ride a mile from the lodge to a stationary tent. However, Toby Cheff and his wife, Kendall, say their goal is to give you the Montana vacation you dream about. They run the pack trip portion of the business, Legacy Outfitters, which typically consists of four-pack trips into The Bob per year.