Big Sky / Yellowstone

[Irwin F Fletcher 3550]

Heading to Big Sky in July with the family (wife and two teenage daughters). We'll be up there for seven days. We plan to hit Yellowstone for two days, white water raft one day and possibly hit up Virginia/Nevada city. I'd like to get away on a fly fishing excursion, any other suggestions of sights or things to do as we probably won't be back. Dinning recommendations also appreciated. 

[Patricio Swayze 17058]

Wish I could help, but it’s been a long time since I was there. Well, exactly 23 years ago. A friend’s family had a house in Big Sky and we drove there from Houston after graduating high school with a few friends.

Yellowstone was amazing. Had a buffalo running alongside our truck which was awesome and a little scary. I am just chiming in to say I wish we had taken the time to drive to Glacier National Park since it isn’t so far away. Not sure if I will ever be up that way again, so I regret not going when I could have.

[miguelito 11266]

Go see a movie and have a beer at Lone Peak Cinema.  My cousin owns the place.

[Kahuna 41]

I spend summers about two hours south of Big Sky in Idaho (it was 11 degrees in West Yellowstone a few days ago BTW), and drive through Big Sky about once each summer going to visit Bozeman.  I can vouch for Rainbow Ranch Lodge and Buck's T-4 for some good food.  Buck's T-4 is the restaurant at a Best Western Motel of all things, but has a fine dining restaurant and bar.  They have a separate menu in the bar area (you may have to ask for it) that is designed for the locals, so fishing guides can come in for a few beers and a less expensive meal.  I haven't eaten at Rainbow Ranch in a long time, but it was definitely fine dining and very good.  We got trapped in the restaurant for a while because a moose was roaming the parking lot and it wasn't safe to wander out there.  We aren't in Austin anymore!

I've only stayed at Big Sky once, and that was for a ski trip.  It looks like you have a pretty good line up of activities, but I would add hiking, if you enjoy that sort of thing.  There are lots of good trails in the area, or so I am told.  Regarding Yellowstone, be prepared for a lot of traffic.  It really pays to suck it up and get there as early in the morning as possible.  There can be lines of cars just to get into the park, then increased traffic the longer you wait.  Also the animals tend to be more out in the open in the early morning, and then again at dusk, to stay out of the sun.  We were in the park a week ago and it was already surprisingly busy.  Lots of baby bison (they're born burnt orange)!  Aside from all the natural wonders in the park, I would advise making a point of looking around the Old Faithful Inn, the largest log structure in the world.  There is a free hosted tour of the inn that doesn't take long, but gives you a view of how the park and the inn functioned back when it was served by stagecoaches.  It's also fun around happy hour to hit the upstairs bar and sit on the deck to watch Old Faithful do its thing.  There are also very good visitor's centers at both Old Faithful and at Canyon.  They are both worth touring, but the one at Canyon focuses on the super volcano activity that has taken place in Yellowstone.  It'll make you want to haul ass out of there.