The West is defined for many by westerns filmed in the 1950s and '60s, which typically featured ranches and small towns flanked by towering, majestic landscapes. But while there are plenty of these vistas, lots of alternative pictures of "the West" are available, and planners and attendees with a bit of imagination can easily experience them, especially with a comfortable retreat usually lurking nearby.
Here are just a few of the places that will introduce visitors to the many faces of the West.
Yukon Ho! Sled-Dogging
Always wanted to live out a Jack London fantasy in the Far North? The Alyeska Resort in Girdwood lies about 40 minutes outside Anchorage, Alaska, at the neck of the Kenai Peninsula. It's not only a comfortable place to explore "the last frontier," as Alaska bills itself, but a good jumping-off point for Seward, where visitors can hire Ididaride Sled Dog Tours to get them behind some huskies. Why Ididaride? It's run by the Seavey family, which counts five wins and numerous other entries in the Iditarod, the grueling 1,100-mile sled-dog race from Nome to Alaska. (Dallas Seavey won the 2015 edition in mid-March; his dad Mitch had to settle for second.) Don't care for snow? Summer sled-dog tours, with huskies pulling a wheeled cart, can be arranged as well.
Lovin' the Ruins
The Four Corners area—the intersection of Arizona, Colorado, New Mexico and Utah—is generally high desert, which allows symbolic Native American drawings and paintings called petroglyphs to persist for centuries. Just outside Albuquerque on West Mesa is a prime place to view them: Petroglyph National Monument. This is a protected, 17-mile-long area of 400–700 year old petroglyphs (some by Spanish conquistadores) that the Park Service has made accessible by constructing both dirt and paved trails. After viewing the ancient, visitors can head to the modern, Native American-designed Nativo Lodge (www.nativolodge.com), many of whose rooms are entirely decorated as original works of art by local artists, or to the boutique Hotel Parq Central or Hotel Andaluz in downtown Albuquerque.
Classic Ranch
We couldn't help throwing in a couple of properties that are straight out of a John Ford western, except that the cowboys here may find themselves galloping alongside mountain bikes.
Questions at the Resort at Paws Up in Greenough, Montana tend to center around which of its 37,000 acres you'll walk, horseback-ride or bike today. This working cattle ranch is crossed by 10 miles of the Blackfoot River and hosts both luxury cabins and safari-style tents. Plus, there are more than enough activities—flyfishing, horseback riding, archery, sport shooting, river rafting, ATV tours, hiking, even driving a wagon team—to rank high on your list of incentive destinations.
The Lodge at Brush Creek; open May 22–October 17 in Saratoga, Wyo. is an all-inclusive dude ranch where you relax and enjoy living among horse, cattle and bison herds on 30,000 acres along the North Platte River. A main lodge, luxury cabins, and the seven-building Magee Homestead enclave provide space for up to 150 to sleep when they're not at the spa, fishing, horseback riding, shooting, doing yoga, or playing team paintball on Brush Creek's own hillside course, with all equipment and referees included. If Brush Creek's 50 miles of trails aren't enough, try the roughly one million acres of Medicine Bow National Forest just a few miles east.
Talk of Your Town
If a whole ranch isn't enough, rent your own town. Christoph Henkel bought Dunton Hot Springs, a 125-year-old mining town northwest of Durango, and converted its residences, town forge, general store and other buildings into high-end resort lodgings. Today, its dozen guest cabins fairly scream "executive retreat": Privacy is assured, the buildings are absurdly comfortable hand-hewn log structures—even the walled tent—and all meals and beverages are included. Here's how good that can get: Dunton's chef sources the resort's grass-fed beef from another employee's ranch in nearby Cortez. Dunton also has its own vineyard and two cabins just for spa treatments, plus yoga and Pilates instructors a phone call away.
Relaxing on the Sunny Side
Finally, there's the Modern West, typified by big, up-to-date resorts built in stunning locations. For example, Suncadia Resort in Cle Elum, Wash. is a relatively new property that enjoys sweeping views of the Yakima River. Its two main lodgings, the Lodge at Suncadia and the smaller, slightly more luxe Inn at Suncadia, are inspired by the grand lodges at Washington's national parks and feature the archetypal trappings of Western resort hotels: tall lobbies with awe-inspiring fireplaces; sweeping views of the Cascades; a big, family-friendly fire ring; 54 holes of golf (Prospector, Rope Rider, and Tumble Creek courses); spa treatments (Glad Springs Spa); and lots of outdoor function space, weather permitting—and here on the sunny eastern slope of the Cascades, it permits a lot.
