Lone Peak in Big Sky Montana

It's official: With a vertical drop of 4,350 feet, Lone Peak – the centerpiece of Big Sky Resort and Moonlight Basin – is the biggest ski area in the U.S.

Overview

Not only does Big Sky boast the biggest vertical drop in the United States, it has some of the most expansive expert terrain anywhere, and is renown throughout the industry for its short or non-existent lift lines. Paired with its neighbor Moonlight Basin, it encompasses 5,512 skiable acres. These days, it also is becoming well known for its summer activities.

Location/Directions

Located in the middle of Montana’s Madison Mountain Range, Big Sky Resort is nearly equal distance from Bozeman and West Yellowstone. From Bozeman, travel 41 miles down the Gallatin Canyon on U.S. 191 – or, from West Yellowstone, drive 48 miles north on U.S. 191 – to the blinking yellow light that marks the turn up Lone Mountain Trail, heading west up to the resort. The area is well-marked for easy navigation.

Seasons

Big Sky is open for skiing, snowboarding and other winter adventures Thanksgiving weekend through mid-April. The summer season starts in June, with biking, hiking, golfing, tennis, site seeing and endless other outdoor activities available in the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem.

Skiing & Snowboarding

Big Sky Resort opened on 11,166-foot Lone Peak in 1973 with three chairlifts and a gondola. Back in those days, the highest the lifts carried skiers was about 9,800 feet. Even then, skiers were looking up past the snow-rimed upper faces toward Lone Peak’s summit. Lifts were added over the years to expand terrain, and in 1995 the resort reached up to 11,150 feet with the Lone Peak Tram.

This engineering feat gained riders access to some of the most challenging double-black diamond terrain found in-bounds (i.e. Big Couloir, diving right off the top of the peak), a range of steep chutes from glorious to gnarly (the South Wall); and some of the most pleasurable high-country bowl skiing in the biz (the 1,500 vertical feet of Liberty Bowl).

Despite its reputation for being extreme, the 3,812 acres of Lone Peak is 40 percent intermediate and beginner terrain. The 8,500-foot-long Swift Current high-speed quad rises to just above treeline for a wealth of options, including long fast groomers and cold steep glades.

Five terrain parks cater to novice to advanced tricksters, tons of beginner terrain keeps new athletes interested and learning, and a snowshoe course, a tubing park and a “Family Fun Zone” offer alternatives to making turns. A three-leg zipline allows you to “fly” through the forest and over gullies like a raven.

If that’s not enough, to the north of Lone Peak is Moonlight Basin, offering another 1,900 acres of skiing and 90 more named trails, including the extreme terrain of the Stillwater and Deepwater bowls, and another full-service, self-contained resort.

Summer Activities

The outdoor fun continues in the summer, with nearly a dozen on-site activities to pick from, as well as all the wonders of Yellowstone Country within easy reach.

At the base of Lone Peak, in Mountain Village, visitors can make arrangements to ride the zipline, rise to the challenge on a high ropes course, play paintball, go for a mountain bike ride, and bounce on the bungee trampoline. There’s also hiking, tennis, golf and disc golf, as well as scenic lift rides.

Within easy travel is a wealth of hiking and some of the best wildlife watching in the world. The flyfishing is legendary in these parts – the Gallatin, Madison, Big Hole, Yellowstone and Missouri rivers all beckon – as is the whitewater rafting. Gallatin Canyon is a regional rock-climbing destination, and of course, this being the Wild West, a horseback ride is always a phone call away.

And then there’s Yellowstone, with the west entrance to the world’s first national park just 55 miles south. Proximity and plenty of friendly local expertise about where to go, what to see, and how to get there make Big Sky Resort a convenient base camp to Yellowstone National Park.

Restaurants & Shopping

Big Sky-Moonlight Basin is home to more than 40 restaurants, with options ranging from ultra-casual to fine dining, and dozens of shops offering outdoor gear, chic apparel, Native American jewelry and more. There’s also a fitness center, swimming pools, and the Solace Spa, as well as dozens of special events – arts fairs, musical performances, classes and workshops for kids and adults, contests and competitions – scheduled throughout the summer.