Guest Retreats
  The Torgrimson Place   
 Built in 1904, the Torgrimson Place harkens back to simpler times, yet is comfortably modern. This intimate, year round sanctuary ideally situated in a setting of rolling pastures, meandering streams and lush bottoms land rests under the watchful gaze of the granite peaked Beartooth Front. It was a favorite retreat of Pulitzer Prize winning author, Wallace Stegner and has been enjoyed by such notables as humorist, Dave Barry and poet, Allen Ginsberg. However, every guest at Bench Ranch is a notable. That’s why the Torgrimson Place becomes an annual destination for our guests – they’re part of the family, and Bench Ranch feels like home.

The Torgrimson Place offers a master bedroom with king sized bed, second bedroom with queen bed, sofa bed, and an extra roll away bed, a fully equipped kitchen, living room with fireplace, laundry facilities, phone and no TV await your arrival. It is an ideal retreat for small families, and will easily sleep 4 to 6 people. A small sleeping cabin next door is ideal for a kid’s bunkhouse. The Torgrimson Place has easy access from a paved road but is within the sound of mountain water.

EXTRAS:

  • While the cabin does stock a few basic condiments, we can do additional grocery shopping for you before you arrive or during your stay.

  • A guided tour of Bench Ranch, its history, future goals and incorporation of the Holistic Resource Management philosophy in everyday operations.
  • Low-key river rafting –invigorating but not to rigorous.
  • Horseback riding trips can be arranged in advance or at your leisure when you arrive.
  • Babysitting services can be arranged by trusted local youths.
  • Call ahead, and we’ll even put a log on the fire.

RECREATIONAL AMENITIES ABOUND; A Retreat For All Seasons

Bench Ranch is opened all year – perfect winters get away for the city dweller daydreaming of sunshine sparkling off acres of clean white powder. Superb downhill and cross-country skiing and snowmobiling are less than an hour’s drive from the doorstep; just twenty two miles along the majestic Beartooth Range. Skiers can revel in the powdery snow of the massive Red Lodge Mountain from November thru spring.

Cross Country Skiing and Snow Shoeing are also available.

Take a hike to Silver, Emerald or Mystic Lake for an unforgettable mountain-top picnic. The well graded trail climbs over 1,500 feet, yet for the sound walker it’s a fine day hike and the reward of seeing the high mountain lake stretch away to glacier-clad peaks is well worth the effort, A photographer’s delight!

You’ll love tubing the West Rosebud River. Smaller, gently running tributaries contain waterholes perfect for wading and dipping. Experienced kayakers will want to challenge the roly-poly Stillwater. Whitewater rafting is also available. (The name is certainly a misnomer; the Stillwater has less quiet water than any river in the state!)

Everyone should experience the Grizzly Bar in nearby Roscoe on their way to a rodeo in Red Lodge. Take a drive up the canyon to the Stillwater Mine, the only platinum/palladium mine in the Continental U.S.

*Rental horses and guides available for full or half day. Riders will marvel at the experience of journeying over acres of uninterrupted land.

* Guided Fly fishing lessons available upon request.

  • A stunning 18 hole golf course in Red Lodge and a smaller course in Columbus are just a short drive away.
  • Bicycles for rent are available nearby
  • Or just be still… Listen for the sounds of Rocky Mountain bluebirds, vireo, finches, chickadees, thrushes, magpie in the plentiful hay meadows and pine clad hills that frame the Beartooth Front. Early risers will welcome the clear, clean, morning song of the meadowlark, Montana’s state bird.

*A trip to our neighborhood would be incomplete without a drive to the top of the world via the Beartooth Highway.

"The most beautiful roadway in America is U.S. 212 which leaves Red Lodge, Montana, climbs to Beartooth Pass at 11,000 feet and plummets down to the northeast entrance to Yellowstone Park,"

-CBS correspondent, Charles Kuralt

 

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