America’s West is the embodiment of ruggedness. Here, miles of open plains sprawl almost endlessly, interrupted only by towering, snowcapped mountain ranges. The landscape brims with all manner of wildlife and pristine nature, quaint towns and saloon-lined streets steeped in Americana. In the heart of this vast setting is a haven that oozes rustic luxury while providing a soul satisfying wellness retreat and a myriad of outdoor adventures. Located just outside the ski mecca of Steamboat Springs, this health retreat unlike any other is the Three Forks Ranch.

At Three Forks Ranch, the usual touchstones of rustic luxury are simply givens, the obvious features of high-end accommodation that form the foundation for its utterly unique, genuinely world-class experience. Yes, Three Forks—whose enormous parcel of land straddles the border between Colorado and Wyoming, an hour or so north of Steamboat Springs—checks all the usual luxury boxes.

There are the spacious 1,200 square foot suites, the  personalized dining options, and the endless array of available activities with the facilities to match. Beyond that there is the legion of dedicated staff—numbered at three times the guest capacity—who attend to every aspect of the Three Forks world, or the sheer beauty of the Ranch’s location. Yet the whole is somehow even greater than the sum of its extraordinary parts.

By all accounts, this ranch-resort offers an inimitable all-inclusive retreat that awes and restores in ways unexpected and unquantifiable. Perhaps this x-factor—whatever accounts for it—is the secret responsible for the Ranch’s astonishing 90 percent rate of guest return?

The story of this unequalled Western destination begins in earnest a hundred and fifty years ago, when wealthy Chicagoan Thomas Gardner built the original Three Forks Ranch (though of course the natural bounty of the land drew Native Americans much earlier than this, the history of the land’s modern development can only be traced so far). From there, a string of agricultural ventures exploited the Ranch’s natural plentitude: cows, sheep, horses, and people all left their marks on these forests and fields that sweep out from the Little Snake River.

Fast forward to 1998, when businessman David Pratt selected Three Forks as his dream Western property, and set about restoring the valley to the natural splendor he supposed preceded the agricultural mismanagement of the last century. With careful planning and thoughtful building, this settler Ranch has been reborn into the paragon of rustic refinement and secluded grandeur so admired today.

Rustic Luxury: A Skier’s Sweet Spot

For skiers especially, a winter trip to Three Forks promises to be the experience of a lifetime. Knowing nothing of the Ranch itself, the location alone is enough to whet any powder-lover’s appetite. Nearby Steamboat Springs has long been a snow sports hub, famous for producing the most Olympic skiers of any town in America, and for Mavericks, the longest superpipe (basically an extra wide halfpipe) in North America. With 160 trails, 18 lifts and over half a mile of vertical, Steamboat ranks among the finest ski resorts around.

As a point of entrance and egress to the world of Three Forks, the town of Steamboat Springs provides its own signature selection of diversions with which to while away a few wayward hours. From craft breweries and whiskey distilleries to independent apparel and gift ‘shoppes’, there is something in Steamboat for every taste. And rest assured, Three Forks is fully aware of this perfectly eclectic waypoint, offering shopping trips to town on its extensive list of possible activities.

That said, many folks will find little reason to leave the Ranch. With days highlighted by expertly guided adventures through vast and pristine terrain, and bookended by sumptuous comfort and service, a stay there is already the ultimate winter getaway, raised to the umpteenth degree.

It all starts at Three Forks’ centerpiece, the 37,000 square foot rustic luxury lodge. With only fifteen suites and an occupancy limit of thirty, all the guests are made to feel they have the run of the place—you’re guaranteed plenty of space to wander, relax and reflect. On the other hand, the Ranch wisely recognizes that socialization is just as important in a luxury retreat as tranquil solitude: in the Middle Forks Lounge, lavish leather chairs arranged before a 17’ by 7’ Wayne Cooper oil painting await all manner of revelry.

With premium wines and spirits served from behind a magnificent 1860s mahogany bar, the Middle Forks Lounge is ideal for recounting the day’s excitements with guests and guides, enjoying their company amidst the singular stylistic blend of old-world elegance and Western immensity.

Down the hall, the Lodge’s architectural feats culminate in a meticulously detailed, richly adorned Great Room where a three-story cathedral ceiling, hard walnut floors and hand-carved Russian pine wall paneling surround a space perfect for ruminating or regaling your companions.

With an autographed 1866 Steinway providing background music, a substantial art collection with pieces by famed Old West masters Charlie Russell and Frederic Remington composing a scene for contemplation, and lush oriental rugs lending a worldlier air, your moments spent in the Great Room can’t help but feel especially, well… special.

And making your stay special really is the name of the game at Three Forks. As past guest Bill Philip emphasized: “the attention to detail [at the ranch] is incredible… everything just makes you say wow.” This attention to detail is all the more impressive when you consider the scale at which Three Forks and its staff are operating.

For starters, they manage 200,000 acres for both bovine and human recreation (yes, the ranch really is a ranch, with a substantial herd of Black Angus); within those acres sit the aforementioned Lodge, a 6,000 square foot, fully appointed spa and, coming in 2021, a brand new 22,000 square foot wellness facility, and 12 freshly built treehouses.

For the winter visitor, the really jaw-dropping features are a tad further afield—and reached by a variety of snow machines and vehicles. A network of over 100 miles of private roads—which also grants guests and guides snowmobile access to the stunning breadth of the Little Snake Valley—connects the Lodge to an 1,100 vertical foot private ski mountain and an additional network of excellent cross country ski trails.

Beyond their beauty and perfectly balanced mix of glades, bumps, drops, powder runs and groomed rollers, the downhill slopes are set distinctly apart from the norm by their lack of any sort of chairlift. Instead, Ranch staff will drive you to your preferred starting point by snow-cat, delivering memorable (and heated) rides up as well as totally private, personalized, and absolutely exhilarating runs down.

Lest you doubt the potential titillation of a smaller-sized private ski mountain, Three Forks had Olympians test the trails for adrenaline production—suffice it to say, the results were positive).

A Wellness Retreat With all the Fixings

It is important to note that this exhilaration is not, for Three Forks or its guests, simply a matter of thrill-seeking. The Ranch has partnered with the Mayo Clinic in order to center the guest experience on what they call “Sustainable Wellness”—in General Manager Jennifer Clements’ words, this means “we [at Three Forks] believe in moderation over depravation, so we want to teach our guests how to be healthy in their everyday lives without making huge sacrifices.

Wellness can be fun and is sustainable when done well!” Skiing operates here as the perfect wellness activity, which does not deprive you of enjoyment but harnesses the physical exertion that is the byproduct of a great ski day.

And though downhill skiing is the obvious example of this balance, Bill Philip noted that during one of his stays at Three Forks, cross country skiing proved an invigorating workout that simultaneously showed him a breathtaking new perspective on the Little Snake Valley—and that’s saying something, as Philip is local to the area.

With so many kilometers of gently rolling terrain (depending on the day’s grooming) twisting and looping through the valley, Three Forks presents cross country skiers with hills aplenty that get your heartrate up on the climb, and let you catch your breath on the descent. Just as sustainable wellness aims to fold exercise into enjoyable activities, Three Forks’ snow sport offerings impeccably combine sweat with sweet times and stellar views.

What’s more, the wellness initiative goes well beyond working out. As a guest you start your day with a delicious breakfast of adventure-fueling favorites, key to a balanced and healthy lifestyle. For lunch, you might take a cooking class at the Ranch’s Kitchen Academy, where you can dig into the principles of good nutrition—and eat the fruits of your labor. Fitness classes, massages and endless ways to be active—all informed and tailored to your needs by the Mayo Clinic’s expertise—will help fill out both your day and your understanding of your own body and what it needs to be well.

But world-class fitness centers, private mountains, immaculate and ornate interior spaces—these can only bring so much to the table. Remember what we said about the Three Forks experience exceeding the quantifiable measures of its massive facilities and features? Recounting both his skiing and fishing exploits at Three Forks, Philip mentioned another ingredient that adds to the wondrous emotional gestalt the Ranch leaves patrons with: the staff.

Guests are paired for activities with expert guides, who can in turn get the best possible sense of the guest’s needs, wants and capacities, and maximize the guest’s time in the Little Snake Valley.

This personalized dedication of the staff pays off: for Philip, unlike other guides he’s known who could be “impatient and micromanaging”, the Three Forks guides were—across the board—finely attuned to what worked for him, and clearly took their time to learn about their guests, carefully crafting the day’s outings accordingly.

On the trails, this means that the guides can lend their thorough knowledge of the land, select the perfect routes and runs for skiers, provide technical advice and instruction, or simply offer their excellent company on your chosen excursion—no matter how they work into your stay, these folks work to perfect it. As Clements explained, they “hire people, not positions.” Though the staff is highly skilled, trained and experienced, it’s their integrity and care for the guest that finally sets the level of service a step above.

Asked whether there was one feature of Three Forks Ranch that stood out in his memory as extraordinarily exceptional, Bill Philip answered “No. The place is spectacular… every piece of the experience was tremendous… just tremendous.” Though no particularity stood out, this result is not produced by sheer magic—as I’ve mentioned, Philip could not say enough about the attention to detail at Three Forks.

Earlier in our conversation, he gave as an example of this attention the small staging area known as The Igloo, a restored barn from the 1800s where skiers can get changed and lace up their boots before embarking on their snowy expeditions. The Igloo is sided in its roughly weathered original boards, while its interior has been totally revamped with a fine cherry finish—such that the land retains its antique frontier-sy look while the guest space exudes a luxurious warmth.

It is this elevation of a simple waypoint into a subtle showpiece in its own right that characterizes the Three Forks approach. The devil may be in the details, but at this Western ranch-resort, the secret to a truly one-of-a-kind experience of the nigh-divine caliber is there as well.