LOCAL Houston | The City Guide DECEMBER 2015 | Page 72

DESTINATION | PAWS UP
It’s all about group fun at Paws Up. Though you’ll find honeymooners
and other privacy-seekers at the ranch-style resort – which sits on
37,000 acres of spectacular, mountain-backed Montana countryside,
about an hour outside Missoula – the general setup here encourages
lots of interaction and quality bonding time, making it a favorite for
holiday getaways, family reunions, weddings, retreats and birthday
celebrations. (Just ask Leonardo DiCaprio and crew, who gathered
here for Tobey Maguire’s 40th earlier this year.) And with the resort’s
extended winter season making the most of the snow-covered landscape, there’s never a bad time to soak up Big Sky Country with your
nearest and dearest.
HOME ON THE RANGE: Paws Up’s convivial atmosphere starts with the
accommodations. In warmer months (from late-May to early-fall), guest can
overnight in one of five tented camps, each with several upscale tents (with private
bathrooms), a dedicated chef and butler, dining pavilions and communal lounges
for playing board games and sipping drinks around the firepit. Year-round, book
one of the log cabin-style homes, with anywhere from one to four bedrooms, plus
kitchens, living areas (with cushy leather couches, fireplaces and satellite TVs), private decks, laundry rooms and six-person hot tubs. Each home also comes with a
green Kia four-door, which you can use to zip around the vast property. (You can
also request on-demand shuttle service from anywhere via the free WiFi and
handy Paws Up app, which acts as your one-touch link to the concierge and
transport desks.)
CAMP FOR GROWN-UPS: Once you’re settled in, it’s time to play. Paws Up
offers a lengthy list of activities, most of which take advantage of the 100 miles of
trails and 10 miles of Blackfoot River found on property. (1.5 million nearby acres
of protected Bob Marshall Wilderness are also accessible to guests.) In addition to
included things like mountain bike and fishing equipment rentals, and group games
(like Bocce ball, horseshoes and volleyball), guests can hop on a horse to participate in a cattle drive, ride ATVs up the side of a mountain, go clay shooting
through a forest course and spend a meditative morning fly fishing on the river. In
the winter, dog-sledding, cross-country skiing, tubing and snowmobiling connect
you to the surroundings, while private indoor equestrian lessons help you up your
saddle game.
MAKE MERRY: Of course, nothing brings people together more than food, and
Paws Up has that covered, too. All meals, soft drinks, and house beer and wine
are including in the rates, and you’ll often find guests lingering over huckleberry
pancakes or bison tenderloin at the two restaurants, or sipping Pinot around the
fireplace at the Tank bar. In warmer weather, riverside Chuck Wagon meals and
outdoor Montana Long Table dinners are also options. The resort also hosts a full
calendar of three-day foodie events throughout the year, including Montana Master
Grillers and Montana Top Chefs – each featuring nationally renowned chefs – and
Upper Crust, during which you’ll learn hands-on how to make perfect pie and
gourmet cookies – then leave the clean-up to someone else.
www.pawsup.com

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L O C A L

| december 15

by Sandra Ramani
Photography courtesy of The Resort at Paws Up