Big Sky, Montana

Montana’s premier ski-country destination is primed to lose its under-the-radar status as flocks of all-weather outdoor enthusiasts embrace its proximity to Yellow­stone and the cowboy energy of nearby Bozeman. Big Sky is reveling in its cool-kid status, thanks in part to a pandemic-related boom (and hit TV shows Yellowstone and Big Sky). This year’s most seismic shift is the November opening of the luxury Montage Big Sky, a ski-in, ski-out resort with a private golf course, a bowling alley and access to four miles of private riverways for fly-fishing. Airlines, too, are betting on Big Sky’s appeal: Alaska recently added more flights to Bozeman, and new Southwest flights began taking off in the spring. —Stacey Lastoe

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