Yellowstone

Yellowstone National Park in the Winter — eating out — Big Sky, Montana

Nick Morris

Jan 1, 2014 — 4 min read

Eating out in the Big Sky area

January 2014

When we stayed at Big Sky, Montana, occasionally, we wanted to get away from the hotel and eat out, but there was limited choice.

Big Sky is relatively isolated, and if we wanted an evening out, we either had to drive 45 miles (ca. 72 km) back to Bozeman or 50 miles (ca. 80 km) to West Yellowstone. Going out for the evening was quite a trek.

We visited three places to eat out during our stay: Buck's T-4 Lodge, the Blue Moon Bakery, and the Slippery Otter Pub.

Buck's T-4 Lodge, Big Sky, Montana

We had an excellent meal at Buck’s T-4 Lodge, about a 25-minute drive from the Big Sky Ski Resort on the road to West Yellowstone.

Buck's T-4 Lodge was on the righthand side of the road, a short distance from the main turn-off to Big Sky if heading from Bozeman to West Yellowstone.

Buck’s was a series of log cabins that have been pulled together (initially to make a bar) and then extended over the years to give a restaurant, bar area, and lodging.

I had some excellent lamb chops with ‘blue-cheese’ mashed potatoes and carrots.

Photo by Author — dinner at Buck's T-4 Lodge, Big Sky, Montana

I had the ‘house speciality’ for dessert, a chocolate-chip cookie cooked in a small skillet and served with ice cream.

Photo by Author — dessert at Buck's T-4 Lodge, Big Sky, Montana

The place was also educational, as the placemats explained how to interpret (and correctly say) the different styles of cattle brands used by the various ranches in the area.

Dinner and education — how could you go wrong?

Overall, a delicious meal and undoubtedly worth visiting.

Blue Moon Bakery, Big Sky, Montana

The Blue Moon Bakery was an interesting little place in the main village.

The bakery offered a range of bagels (pretty good), coffee, cakes and an excellent pizza.

Photo by Author — pizza at the Blue Moon Bakery, Big Sky, Montana

And there is also some interesting decor outside.

Photo by Author — decor at theBlue Moon Bakery, Big Sky, Montana — I like the outfit

Great pizza and bagels, I would go back.

Slippery Otter Pub, West Yellowstone, Montana

The Slippery Otter Pub was a lucky find.

We drove into West Yellowstone from Big Sky (some 50 miles (ca. 80 km)) and stopped at the Slippery Otter for a drink and a snack.

The Slippery Otter was a warm, welcoming pub with an impressive range of micro-brew beers and served a superb pizza.

Photo by Author — Slippery Otter Pub, West Yellowstone, Montana

Photo by Author — inside the Slippery Otter Pub, West Yellowstone, Montana

The town of West Yellowstone was a summer season town, as a lot of the shops were boarded up for the winter, and the Main Street was relatively quiet.

Photo by Author — Main Street, West Yellowstone, Montana

We had a fantastic drive from Big Sky to West Yellowstone, Montana. The route was truly stunning and passed through some spectacular scenery of cliffs, forests, and rivers. Of course, everything was covered in snow, including the road.