Battle Ridge Cabin

Not it great shape and lots of mouse droppings and dog poop around the fire pit. Such a cool location though.

Not it great shape and lots of mouse droppings and dog poop around the fire pit. Such a cool location though.

I live in Montana. Winter weather is unpredictable. When I rented this cabin I was taking a chance on the weather. It turned out that the temperature and wind chill were well below zero that night I had planned to stay. I am 73 years old and have stayed in 27 USFS cabins since 1963 but at my age, I did not feel comfotable skiing in alone so I didn't go.

The cabins are rented through an agency in Washington DC. I doubt that ANYONE in this outfit has EVER esperienced deadly cold. BUT there is no provision for reembersement inside of 24 hours before the rental date. ONCE, a local USFS ranger quietly allowed me to pick a better date, notify him, and use my credit at a later date. I would like just one of you desk jockeys to come to Montana and see what a wind chill of -20, -30, -40 or -80 is like and MAYBE THEN you would become more sympathetic for what it is like here and offer rainchecks - IF you live through the experience!

I live in Montana. Winter weather is unpredictable. When I rented this cabin I was taking a chance on the weather. It turned out that the temperature and wind chill were well below zero that night I had planned to stay. I am 73 years old and have stayed in 27 USFS cabins since 1963 but at my age, I did not feel comfotable skiing in alone so I didn't go.

The cabins are rented through an agency in Washington DC. I doubt that ANYONE in this outfit has EVER esperienced deadly cold. BUT there is no provision for reembersement inside of 24 hours before the rental date. ONCE, a local USFS ranger quietly allowed me to pick a better date, notify him, and use my credit at a later date. I would like just one of you desk jockeys to come to Montana and see what a wind chill of -20, -30, -40 or -80 is like and MAYBE THEN you would become more sympathetic for what it is like here and offer rainchecks - IF you live through the experience!

Great stay as always.

Great stay as always.

The cabin was clean and warm, with plenty of fresh air, silence, and chopping wood. Skiing around the cabin was fun, and we ventured out to the nearby nordic center for an afternoon too. Just the perfect distance for our preteen kids to get a taste of backcountry skiing. The trail from the parking lot can be difficult to find with lots of snow machine tracks covering it - look for the tree blazes and head downhill alongside the main road for a little bit before turning with the flow of the creek.

The cabin was clean and warm, with plenty of fresh air, silence, and chopping wood. Skiing around the cabin was fun, and we ventured out to the nearby nordic center for an afternoon too. Just the perfect distance for our preteen kids to get a taste of backcountry skiing. The trail from the parking lot can be difficult to find with lots of snow machine tracks covering it - look for the tree blazes and head downhill alongside the main road for a little bit before turning with the flow of the creek.

Beware if you are making a winter reservation. The Battle Ridge trailhead parking lot is not plowed regularly, so you could show up and have absolutely no place to park so you can then ski or snow machine in to the cabin. And they won’t give you a refund even when there is no trailhead parking.

Beware if you are making a winter reservation. The Battle Ridge trailhead parking lot is not plowed regularly, so you could show up and have absolutely no place to park so you can then ski or snow machine in to the cabin. And they won’t give you a refund even when there is no trailhead parking.