WESTERN MONTANA PARADISE!

My husband and I spent 10 nights at the Homestead in late September. It’s a beautifully built, spacious and comfortable cabin on a 500-acre ranch. The views from every room are wonderful - of meadows and mountains. The property and house are as described, but the photos don’t do it justice. You will find better information at the Krutar website.

There are fishy-looking spring creeks on the property, and the North Fork of the Blackfoot borders the ranch. We enjoyed fishing on the ranch, but we had much better luck on the Big Blackfoot which we floated with a guide on three days. Some believe the Blackfoot to be the most beautiful of Montana’s great trout streams. We wouldn’t disagree (having fished the Madison, Missouri, Bighorn, Big Hole, Bitterroot, etc.) and we would add that the trout (all caught on dries) this September were plentiful and hungry. Great fishing.

We wondered what we’d do for 10 days on what we consider a very isolated piece of land. We had no trouble filling our days - with fishing, of course; hiking on the ranch property; driving to buy farm eggs from a nearby potter, where we filled a suitcase with her lovely, river-hued bowls. We drove to nearby Browns Lake and to the more beautiful Coopers Lake, exploring the area.

We cooked most meals at home as the restaurant offerings were poor. Little Ovando is worth a few visits, and we had a good lunch and excellent breakfast at The Stray Bullet. The small grocery is fairly well-stocked for its size. But the main attraction of Ovando is the Blackfoot Angler where one can hear the latest fishing report, and pick up some can’t-miss flies.

And last, but certainly not least, we enjoyed visits with Jon Krutar, and learning from him about Montana ranch life. He and his wife live on the ranch, and were most helpful with our questions and requests.

We highly recommend The Homestead for a fishing vacation, or for a get-away-from-it-all vacation in a true Montana setting.