With so many activities right on the ranch, many of our guests choose to stay put and enjoy the wonders outside their back door. However, there is quite a bit to do and see in the general area, and Sweet Grass Ranch can arrange day trips to area museums, Indian ceremonials, and Yellowstone National Park, the nation’s first National Park.
In Big Timber, just 40 miles away, there is a very good 9-hole golf course, and it’s easy to round up a foursome at the ranch. There are also two gun manufacturers in Big Timber, making reproduction black powder rifles, that give tours of their facilities.
The Crazy Mountain Museum, located just outside of Big Timber, features a detailed model of Big Timber in 1907, a Norwegian stabbur, and a one-room rural schoolhouse, formerly the Sourdough School. The pioneer room also has many pictures and histories of early settlers.
The Bair Museum, located about an hour from Sweet Grass Ranch, details the story of Charles Bair who came to Montana as a conductor on the Northern Pacific Railroad in 1883 and made his fortune in the Alaskan Gold Rush. Investing his money in building one of the world’s largest sheep ranches, Charles Bair counted among his friends artists such as renowned Western painter Charles Russell, Crow Indian leader Chief Plenty Coups, and a few U.S. Presidents. The family home, now a museum, houses an eclectic mixture of Americana and European antiques. His daughters created a foundation that funds the Alberta Bair Theater in Billings.
Yellowstone National Park has a variety of options for self-guided and guided tours. Travel through the Park’s geological wonders with hundreds of geysers, including the world-famous Old Faithful. We can take guests on a long day trip of Yellowstone, or some guests plan for a few extra days to travel through Yellowstone Park either before or after their week at the ranch.
Any interested guests can be taken to local rodeos on the last weekend of June and the 4th of July at no additional charge, and other rodeo trips can be arranged if they’re close enough. Travel within a 50-mile radius is free of charge, with a minimal fee charged for all day trips requiring a ranch vehicle.
Guests often visit Native American sites, including Chief Plenty Coups State Park, the Little Big Horn Battlefield and the annual Crow Fair. These sites are close to Billings, Montana and well worth a visit. For more information about the Big Timber community and area events, check out: www.bigtimber.com
For more information about Yellowstone National Park, check out:
www.yellowstonenationalpark.gov
