Said to be the birthplace of “glamping”—a.k.a. glamorous camping—Paws Up has 30 one- and two-bedroom tents, clustered in sequestered groups of six campsites. The tents all have full bathrooms, luxe bedding, and colorful eclectic design, featuring such elements as chandeliers crafted from Coca-Cola bottles. Incentive qualifiers from a California-based insurance brokerage company who took over the Creekside campsite for a three-night program while I was there in May raved about it: “Everyone in our group loved Paws Up,” one attendee told me on the program’s final morning. “We go to different destinations every year—from Charleston to Cabo San Lucas—but nothing beats the luxury wilderness experience we had here.”

Each campsite includes a dining pavilion with a huge stone-and-timber fireplace, an outdoor fire pit, and a dedicated butler, seen here. The look is informal, but the service is five-star.

Accommodations at Paws Up also include 28 two-, three-, and four-bedroom vacation homes. Homes are outfitted with such amenities as full kitchens, outdoor hot tubs, and lime-green Kia cars to get around the property. (Van service is also available.) The three-bedroom Wilderness Estate home seen here has breathtaking views of mountain-ringed meadows, a massive wood-burning fireplace in the living room, and three en-suite bathrooms with jetted tubs and showers. The homes are popular for family incentives, says Director of Group Sales Graham Stanley, adding that whole-property buyouts for family programs is a growing trend.

Executive Chef Ben Jones adds diversity to locally-sourced Montana ranch cuisine, offering not only the expected beef and game but also delicious vegetarian and vegan options, such as avocado toast for breakfast. “We have a banquet menu as a guideline,” he says. “But I get involved with planning all kinds of menus for groups, and also do special cooking classes and demonstrations.”

There are no generic meeting rooms at Paws Up. A variety of conference spaces and event venues, scattered around the 37,000-acre campus, feel indigenous to the Montana esthetic and reflect historic decor from the days when the resort was a full-time working ranch. Seen here: vintage barn doors recycled as design elements in a reception area/meeting space.

Every participant gets suited up with a safety harness for the aerial adventure course, a newly opened, high-adrenalin activity. Expert guides instruct and supervise—as with all Paws Up activities—and there’s a low-level practice area to try first.

A favorite horseback activity is a working cattle drive, where ranch hands guide participants in driving a herd of cattle to their corrals, sort them, then trail them back to the home pasture. 

There’s plenty of retail therapy at a new 25,000-square-foot store with one-of-a-kind art, jewelry, and fashion by local artisans, plus a designer jeans bar, luxury-lifestyle brands, and outdoor gear—and Montana does not have a sales tax.

Pampering in the wilderness: The white tents of Spa Town, nestled in a meadow setting and linked together by a wooden boardwalk, include welcome tents with toilets and showers, and individual treatment tents with heated massage tables where expert therapists work their magic. There’s also a new glass-enclosed exercise room and yoga studio.

It’s easy to see why fly fishing on the Blackfoot River is always a favorite activity.