I wrote about
glamping at Paws Up resort in Montana a while ago, and here is a bit more about the one-of-a-kind resort. I highly recommend Paws Up if you are looking for a getaway to relax and enjoy nature but still want to be pampered with luxury accommodations, or if you are looking for original Montana adventure.
Paws Up in Montana
Paws Up wilderness resort is located 35 minutes northeast of Missoula, in Greenough, and it is very easy to get there from the Missoula airport. I recommend renting a car if you would like drive around in Montana while your stay, but there is a resort transportation at Paws Up that will have you covered too during your stay. There is also a complimentary, round-trip transportation between the airport and Paws Up is included in all room rates.
I didn’t really know what to expect when arriving to Paws Up, but I had not realized how large the area was until I saw it. The entire resort is 37,000 acres and it includes plenty of trails, and a working cattle ranch and forest areas for wild animals like deer to roam. The main lodge doesn’t include hotel rooms, and you will always get a private lodge or a tent for your stay making the resort not really feel like a resort at all, but your own private vacation.
Activities
While enjoying the serene surroundings and the beautiful Montana mountain side would be enough to draw me to Paws Up, their superb list of activities makes it even better. There are plenty of inclusive activities you can do (that are included to your nightly fee) from hiking to geocaching and fishing to disc golfing. The Montana resort is a perfect place for kayaking, swimming, mountain biking and rappelling and in addition to many activities you can do on your own, they also offer instructed activities. You can take it to the extreme by rolling down the hill in a gigantic zorb ball, take a hot balloon flight or take a river adventure in the Alberton Gorge, a full day whitewater adventure featuring class III+ rapids.
My visit to Paws Up was (too) short, but I was able to spend a few hours horseback riding and had an archery class. The horseback riding was very mellow, and anyone can do it, even if you haven’t been horseback riding before. We had as authentic Montana cowgirl as possible guiding us and telling us about the life in Montana while riding through the beautiful forest trails. I love horses and riding, and it was such a great way to reunite with an old hobby. I had not tried archery before but I think I did OK – I was just happy to try something new that I would normally never do. My friends on the trip tried sporting clays, shooting clay targets that simulate real hunting. This is so not for me, but the ladies had a lot of fun with it.
Lodge
Paws Up has several lodges in different sizes, starting from 1,300sq up to 3,248 sq wilderness estates, in which I stayed. I heard that several celebrities like Carrie Underwood and the Rolling Stones like to rent a few lodges for themselves and their posse for relaxing getaways, and the luxury lodges truly are rock stars of lodges and I now understand why they are popular among people who can afford it all and could choose anywhere in the world to go to.
The attention to detail like original art work in the houses, or wine cooler for keeping the wine chilled combined with the breathtaking mountain views from the front porch and the hot tub in the back created a perfect relaxing environment, where I urged even my friends not to open their laptops and just enjoy the moment.
We were told that “just dial 1 if you would like to order food” and we wanted to test how well it really works; would we be able to order what we wanted, and how fast it would be delivered. I felt little spoiled yet it felt so luxurious to dial 1, and order pizza, wine and the fixings for S’Mores. It is absolutely mind blowing to me to order pizza and S’Mores in the middle of the mountains and have rustic pizza and everything needed for S’Mores on a platter delivered to your lodge within 30 minutes. And the S’Mores – we roasted them in the majestic fireplace in the lodge.
The house I stayed was so well equipped and absolutely gorgeous. The glassed in showers and separate a jetted spa tubs made even taking a bath after mountain activities a luxurious experience. But if you wanted more activities, the hot tub outside was great for jumping in, the full house surround system allowed music streamed to every room, and the upstairs game room was filled with games to play. Of course, gigantic flat screen TV’s were found all over in case the quietness of nature came too much to bare for you. The kitchen was equipped for a private chef with Viking appliances and everything you would think of needing preparing gourmet meals (in case you didn’t want to dial 1 to order anything).
Glamping in glamorous tents
And then there is glamping… Paws Up is famous for glamorous camping in their luxury tents. Read more and see all of the
photos of glamping at Paws Up in a post I wrote earlier.
Disclosure: Mercedes-Benz paid my stay at Paws Up, and I was not asked to write this post. All of my opinions are my own.
