The eight-hour Dino Dig begins with a chopper ride.
Lone Mountain Aviation
Forget a Nature Walk. You Can Dig for Dinosaur Fossils at This Luxe Hotel in Montana.
The next big thing in luxury travel is the fossil dig—according to Montage Big Sky, at least.
The five-star hotel, which opened amid Montanna’s soaring Spanish Peaks in 2022, just unveiled a new experience centered around digging for dinosaurs.
Available exclusively to guests of the 100-key resort, the eight-hour Dino Dig includes a helicopter ride over the Spanish Peaks and Yellowstone National Park in which guests can learn more about the region’s diverse wildlife and landscape. The dig itself will take place at the Wickens’ Ranch excavation site. Guides will share more about the prehistoric life that once roamed the area as guests channel their inner paleontologists rummaging through the dirt.
Any fossils discovered on the expedition are yours to take home. Be prepared to stumble across something, too: This area is a font of fossils. Paleontologists have found 75 different species of dinosaurs in Montana, more than any other state in the U.S. The first skeleton of Tyrannosaurus rex was unearthed in Montana in 1902, in fact. After (hopefully) making grand discoveries, guests will be flown back to the hotel for some R&R.
Guests will fly over Yellowstone National Park.
Montage Big Sky
Spanning 500,000 square feet, Montage Big Sky is Montanna’s largest hotel. It also has the highest nightly rates in the state, with rooms and suites ranging from $525 to $12,000 per night. Balancing the big fees are the big amenities. The alpine retreat features six restaurants, a 10,000-square-foot spa, a boutique stocked with cowboy boots, Big Sky’s only bowling alley, and a high-tech fitness center with Pelotons.
Guests can keep anything they find on the dig.
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Outside, the grounds are outfitted with a pool, an ice skating rink, a tubing hill, and a chairlift that connects skiers to 85 miles of trails at Big Sky Resort. Outdoorsy folk can enjoy everything from fly fishing and horseback riding to mountain biking, hiking, and ziplining. Dino digging is on the menu now, too.
The hotel lobby.
Montage Big Sky
Interestingly, Montage Big Sky isn’t the only hospitality outfit focusing on fossils. The Luminaire rolled out the world’s first luxury dinosaur expedition last January. The five-day trip gives private parties of up to 10 the chance to unearth a Diplodocus skeleton in Wyoming.
Maybe fossil digs really are the next big thing in five-star travel.
