The Bar W Guest Ranch has been a staple in the Whitefish, Montana community for almost two decades! This dude ranch is nestled at the base of Spencer Mountain and is a stone’s throw from Glacier National Park that offers a variety of activities for guests!
Horses are core to the ranch. Guests also enjoy Spencer Lake activities, the trading post gift shop, archery, skeet shooting, the local rodeo, campfires and so much more. The main lodge is where the ranch first got its start, and it’s expanded to multiple log cabins, glamping tents and covered wagons to accommodate everyone’s needs. Guests also enjoy the western style outdoor arena where horseback riding lessons, barrel races, team penning, and kids’ rodeos are held.
The vacation paradise of the Great American West was named one of the Top 12 Best Dude Ranches for 2024 by U.S. News and World Report.
During the winter, Bar W offers winter sleigh rides on property where you can glide across Montana’s snow blanketed landscape while cozied up under a blanket on a horse-drawn sleigh.
Winter Maintenance
Keeping the ranch open for all seasons is no easy task, especially since it is located in the Northwestern Montana region, which overall averages nearly 300 inches of snow per year. That’s roughly 25 FEET of SNOW!
Bar W Ranch’s offerings are all connected by a couple of miles of gravel and asphalt roads. Tasked with keeping those roads and parking lots clear is Jay Daniels, who has been with the ranch for 7 years – the last 5 as the Maintenance Manager.
Jay and his team keep the grounds clear using plows on a pickup and skid steer. When he started, the skid steer plow he was using was constantly having breakdowns.
“It had bent cylinders if you looked at it wrong,” Jay said.
So just over 2 years ago, Bar W purchased a used KAGE SnowFire System from a local general contractor for use on the skid steer, and it’s been a complete game changer. The independent snow box and blade system gave Jay the versatility he needed to angle plow long stretches of road with just the blade and then quickly attach the box to move and stack large volumes of snow.
“The box has been great for that!” he said.
“Previously, it would have taken a thousand passes with the plow truck (which utilizes a v-plow)! I like that the box comes off. The quick detach feature is marvelous. You can dump it when you don’t need it.”
With the box off, Jay says the SnowFire blade is “great for back dragging” and complimented the plow for how sturdy it is, noting that back dragging was the most common cause for breakage with the previous skid steer plow.
“I’ve had no maintenance issues with the KAGE,” he said. “We’ve been using it for two winters, and it was used for at least three years before we got it.”
Another feature that has worked out well for the ranch is the ability to easily lift the plow when needed as the Bar W’s daily winter sleigh rides run through the middle of the parking lot, requiring some snow cover to be left on that part for the trail.
While Jay has only used a KAGE plow for the last two winters, he’s no stranger to the KAGE systems.
“I’ve seen the KAGE brand in all the store parking lots on the big loaders.”
Check out all of KAGE’s 2-in-1 snow blade and box systems and other snow removal products at https://kageinnovation.com/snow/. And learn more about the Bar W Guest Ranch at https://thebarw.com/.
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