By DONNA HULL
Getting away doesn’t have to mean an exotic vacation or a multi-week road trip. Sometimes, traveling close to home will do just fine. Why not escape to Victor in the Bitterroot Valley? It’s a short 35-mile journey south of Missoula on Highway 93 but a world away from your work and responsibilities in The Garden City.
My husband, Alan, and I discovered this sweet escape on a scouting trip to the Bitterroot Valley to decide if Montana really was where we’d like to spend the rest of our lives. SweetSage Guest House on Sweathouse Creek Road in Victor proved to be the right choice for our discover the Bitterroot Valley headquarters.
The three-bedroom log house located on a certified organic farm in the foothills of the Bitterroot Mountains sleeps six comfortably and rents by the day, week or month. Sheep graze on the lawn while cows bellow in the pasture across the road at this Victor getaway. Rumor has it that bears like to hang out in the orchard next door.
The SweetSage Guest House in Victor, Montana.
In the morning, sit on the front porch to enjoy a cup of coffee combined with a bit of wildlife viewing.
The quiet country roads provide a place for peaceful walks and the trailhead to Sweathouse Falls is an easy jaunt up Sweathouse Creek Road.
The Beautiful Grounds of the SweetSage Guest House
SweetSage Guest House makes a convenient headquarters for exploring the Bitterroot Valley. Fly fish or float the Bitterroot River, hike Blodgett Canyon Trail (or one of the other scenic trails leading into the Bitterroot Mountains) or attend any number of summer festivals held each weekend in the valley. Hamilton Farmer’s Market makes a fun Saturday morning trip. And don’t forget to spend an hour or two walking the main street in Victor.
One of the many beautiful Bitteroot Valley Barns.
When you tire of cooking in SweetSage’s well-equipped kitchen, drive over to Memories Café in Corvallis for breakfast. For a delicious Montana steak dinner, plan an evening at Victor Steakhouse. Is farm to table more your style? Enjoy a meal at The Farm Table Cafe at Sleeping Child Farms near Hamilton.
I can’t think of a better location for a multigenerational get-together. There’s plenty of outdoor space for the grandkids to run off steam and the guest house includes shelves stocked with games and books about Montana as well as a number of fiction titles.
So what are you waiting for? Isn’t it time you escaped to Victor?
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Donna L. Hull writes about active travel for baby boomers at My Itchy Travel Feet, The Baby Boomer’s Guide to Travel. She is also the author of My Itchy Travel Feet, Breathtaking Adventure Vacation Ideas, available at Amazon Kindle, Nook and iTunes. See all of Donna Hull’s blogs.