“A Quiet Weekend in Paradise”
My family is lucky enough to own a small cabin in Paradise Valley, just north of the North Entrance to Yellowstone National Park. It is situated on the hill above the small community of Emigrant, MT, and affords and excellent view of what in my opinion is one of the top three most beautiful valleys in the state. (The other two are Mission Valley and the Little Blackfoot Valley from Elliston to Garrison.)
We have been coming to this valley every Presidents’ Day weekend for the last 27 years, ever since my dad’s boss recommended he take us to Chico Hot Springs for a long weekend and we all fell in love. So the area seemed like an obvious choice when Dad set out to complete his dream of building a small cabin to retreat to whenever he felt the need. Now we can visit this beloved spot all year long, but we are a people of tradition, and we still come every February.
The cabin itself is very small–a common area with a couch and a kitchenette, a small bathroom, and a sleeping loft. There is a little crawl space underneath for some extra storage. But it is all we need as a base of operations.
Because we come several times a year, I look forward to having lots of opportunities to tell you about this wonderful area, but for this first post I will focus on the two biggest attraction of the area (and long standing parts of our Presidents’ Day weekend): Chico Hot Springs and Yellowstone National Park.
Chico Hot Springs:
I know what you are thinking. Another hot spring. Geez. Don’t they ever get tired of those? The short answer is no, we don’t. But the other thing to keep in mind is that for me, this isn’t just another hot spring. It is the first hot spring. I’ve been coming here since I was five years old, and I love it.
Established in 1900, this Chico Hot Springs is a hotel and resort. The old hotel has lost none of it’s historical charm (you can even find a few bathrooms left with old claw-foot bathtubs), but there is also a new wing–the Warren Wing–and a lower lodge with more modern rooms and amenities. Dogs are allowed, which we always consider to be a serious plus; we don’t stay at the hotel anymore because of our cabin, but we still like to spend the occasional afternoon hanging out there, playing card or board games and catching up on things (no wi-fi at our cabin).
The Pools:
Obviously, one of the main draws to Chico for us these days is the hot pools. Soaking in the pools is included as part of the room, or if you are just visiting like us, you can buy day passes at the front desk of the hotel or at the Poolside Grille at the back of the complex. There are changing rooms, although I have never liked the showers there, so I always skip the shower and pack a hat. Because secure storage is limited, we always keep our bags out on a chair on the deck where we can see them.
There are two pools at Chico: a larger hot one, and a smaller really hot one, which is also conveniently situated right next to the bar, which has a deck side window (no one was using it, however, because our unfortunate cold snap continues). The big pool ranges from 3-6 feet deep, and has a ledge around it. It is often crowded, and very family friendly. The hot pool is all about 3 feet deep, and I find I can really only sit in it for a few minutes at the end. The small pool is also covered with an awning, which is nice when you have to contend with weather, a frequent occurrence during Montana winters.
The Restaurant:
Living in Montana, you don’t have a lot of chances to go to a 5-star restaurant, but the dining room at Chico Hot Springs is one of them. The room has a warm, old-timely elegance, and the food is delicious. They have a fairly wide range of steaks, chicken, fish, seafood, and pasta, and they are always willing to work with you if you don’t see what you want on the menu. (My brother is addicted to shrimp scampi, and it hasn’t been on the regular menu for a few years, but the cook is usually manages to whip one up.)
My personal favorite from dinner is their famous flaming orange for dessert. They hollow out an orange, line the peel with dark chocolate, mix the pulp and some liqueur with vanilla ice cream, fill it back up, and top it with meringue. Then they bring it out to the table, pour rum over it, and set it on fire, letting it cook until everything is nicely caramelized. It is amazing (and fun to watch, too!). To learn more about this delicious concoction, check out this feature from Mountain Living.
But I personally think that the best way to enjoy the restaurant at Chico is the Sunday morning buffet. It is all you can eat for twenty dollars, and they put out the works. There are eggs dishes like quiche or frittatas, usually some sort of fish, French toast, bacon, sausage, biscuits and gravy, bread pudding with a vanilla bourbon sauce, fruit, pastries, and an omelette bar. Whew! A little something (or a lot of something; your choice) for everyone. And for those of us with no qualms about drinking in the morning, a complimentary mimosa is part of the deal. It’s first come, first serve, only in the morning. So if you are in the area, drop by, and prepare to dig in!
Other Options at Chico:
Along with the pools, hotel, and dining room, Chico is a full resort with a lot to offer. There is the aforementioned bar by the pool which shares a kitchen with the Poolside Grille, so if you are not feeling quite so fancy, you can always get a delicious burger and a beer instead. The bar has live music and dancing nearly every weekend, along with pool tables, keno machines, and a few TVs usually showing sports (which my family has always found helpful when we have been down there during the Winter Olympics.
While there is complimentary coffee in the hotel lobby in the mornings, there is also a full espresso bar in the gift shop. The resort also has a day spa, which my mother tried out this visit and said was a very pleasant experience. And one of the things that I hope to one day take more advantage of is Chico’s adventure service, which offers a range of activities (depending on the season) from dog sled rides, to horse back rides, to river rafting. So whether you are visiting Chico to rest or to play, there are plenty of options.
Yellowstone in the Winter:
Montanans are fond of our rivalries. Perhaps the most well known is the Cat-Griz rivalry between our two university teams. But just as pervasive, though not quite as loud, is the debate as to whether Yellowstone or Glacier is the superior national park. Just about everyone I’ve ever met has a very decided opinion about it. I grew up in Cody, Wyoming, just outside of the East Entrance of Yellowstone, and am soundly on Team Yellowstone.
Pete, regrettably, grew up in Polson, and thus falls on the Glacier side of the debate, but I try not to hold it against him. No one is perfect, after all. And if I were to step back for a minute and try to be completely objective, I would have to admit that it is hard to beat the stunning vistas up in Glacier. But for the naysayers who argue that Yellowstone is lacking in beautiful mountains, I submit the following:
In objective discussions, Yellowstone gets its edge in terms of wildlife viewing (although there are certainly animals to be seen in Glacier as well) and geothermal features like mud pots, hot springs, and geysers. Another major advantage of Yellowstone is that more of it is open in the winter, although how much you get out and enjoy depends somewhat on much you are willing to contend with the snow.
We were just there for the day, and fairly truck bound because my leg was still injured (for more on my ice misadventures, click here) and we had the dogs (because I may not have gotten Rocky’s vaccination record printed for the local kennel). So here are a couple of easy options if you ever happen to have the opportunity to spend sometime in Yellowstone in the winter.
Wildlife Viewing in the Lamar Valley:
Winter or summer, the Lamar Valley is one of the best places in the park to see wildlife, often right by the road, and in the winter, the road is open all the way to Cooke City. (We didn’t go there this time, but the historical mining town is also a fun place to explore; keep in mind that the Beartooth Highway is closed in the winter, so the only way in or out of Cooke City is through the park.)
And we were kicking butt at wildlife bingo this trip. We saw buffalo (and more buffalo and more buffalo; they were everywhere), elk, bighorn sheep, coyotes, wolves, and a moose. The only big things we were missing were bears (who are hopefully asleep this time of year) and mountain goats, both of which we saw last time we came though the Lamar Valley. So if you are hoping to see some wildlife, the Lamar Valley is the place to go.
***We weren’t able to get a decent picture of the wolves. They were just finishing up eating a kill a ways up the hillside from the road. We got a good look at them through the binoculars; they definitely had the longer snouts and bigger build of wolves rather than more coyotes. But it was more than our cell phone cameras could handle. We are hoping to find Pete’s scope attachment before our next trip.
The Hot Spring Terraces at Mammoth:
Mammoth is famous for it’s beautiful hot spring terraces, which are fun to explore just for the interesting colors of the bacteria in the water (another difficult thing to capture on camera, particularly on a cold day with lots of steam. The boardwalk is very accessible to people of all ages, and you can go for as long as you want, and then head back to the gift shop for a hot chocolate (I traditionally get one at the hotel, which is a beautiful place to just sit and relax after a day of playing, but it is being renovated this winter). We didn’t end up staying too long, both because a storm was rolling in, and because a large group of obnoxious tourists (another common form of Yellowstone wildlife) showed up just after us.
Instead, we headed north out of the park and took a back road until we stumbled across the Beattie Gulch trailhead (part of the Gallatin National Forest) and let our very patient boys out for a proper run.
Other Options in Yellowstone:
Again, we were somewhat limited in our outdoor activities by our dogs (who are required to stay on a leash and near the road) and my sore leg. However, for the more active folks, there are a number of trailheads that are groomed for cross-country skiing, and plenty of others that had deep enough snow to snowshoe. Our family has enjoyed snowshoeing to Tower Falls (Mom has also skied it) on a couple of occasions. If you are looking for a more exciting winter getaway, you can take snow coaches from Mammoth to either Old Faithful or Canyon, where you can also ski, snowshoe, or curl up by the fire.
In Conclusion:
Paradise Valley has a little of everything to offer, from hiking and wildlife, to spas and hot springs, to evenings spent dancing to live music and enjoying a few beers. It is also an easy jumping off point to Yellowstone, a place I truly believe everyone should visit at least once in their lives. I know I may be biased, having practically grown up here, this may be one of the best places to spend a long weekend.