Groups that book mountain states usually want a taste of Western culture, old and new, and the possibilities are as boundless as the terrain inside Idaho, Montana and Wyoming.
Following are a few great programs sure to add some giddyup to agendas.
Walk in the Treetops, offered by Montana’s Whitefish Mountain Resort, is a memorable adventure that lifts participants above the natural beauty. An interpreter-guided, half-mile hike through subalpine forest begins the two-plus hours of activity. Following a safety orientation, participants get into climbing harnesses for their journey on a canopy boardwalk suspended about 70 feet above the forest floor. What they see are Douglas fir, grand fir, pine, larch, and spruce trees between 50 and 200 years old, with some even older than that. Vistas of Flathead Valley are a bonus.
Wyoming’s Snake River Ranch is a family-owned cattle ranch that began in 1930 and still has buildings constructed during that era. Ranchers tell guests how the ranch evolved from two homesteads into a vacation home, and into one of today’s largest year-round natural yearling operations in the Teton Valley. Ranch tours include a cutting horse demonstration. A catered Western barbeque in Jackson’s historic downtown district completes the ranch experience.
Vintage Red Buses are a wonderful way to ride back in time while consuming the magnificent scenery in Montana’s Glacier National Park. Participants ride throughout the park and over Going-to-the-Sun Road in the historic vehicles with roll-back canvas tops.
What’s more Old West than riding a wagon train through the foothills of the Rockies? Wagons West near Jackson Hole, Wyo., gives groups of up to 50 the quintessential pioneer experience for two to six days during summer months. Some ride replica covered wagons (with rubber tires and padded seats for 21st century comfort). Others opt for horseback along the trail. Hearty camp dinners and breakfasts are all staff-prepared.
The Idaho Territory was young when a prison appeared in 1870 east of Boise. Some famous inmates and lawmen were associated with the Old Idaho Penitentiary, as it served the state for the next 100 years. Now the Old Pen, listed on the National Register Historic Places, is a museum filled with stories of Idaho’s wild and raucous past within its walls and cell blocks. The prison’s grounds and gardens can host private events.
