”Discover Ranches”, the new web series featured at DiscoverOutdoorLife.com features Averill’s Flathead Lake Lodge in Bigfork, Montana - a third-generation family operated guest ranch located on the stunning shores of Montana's Flathead Lake. The episode shows that Averill’s is much more than just “the ranch on the lake” - as it uncovers its amazing hidden history. Flathead Lake Lodge was built in 1932 as a boy's camp and acquired by Les Averill when he returned to Montana from the war in 1945. His boyhood dream was to build a dude ranch and hunting lodge for folks to experience a part of the West. That dream came true with the purchase of the Flathead Recreation Ranch for Boys - what is now Flathead Lake Lodge. Learn more in the second episode of Discover Ranches on DiscoverOutdoorLife.com. Viewers will learn about the surprising acquisition of its boats, its ties to the mob, and its rodeo lineage, while host Jody Dahl gets a crash course in roping from owner Doug Averill.
Watch now!
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“Its water activities are a great draw for families and while most people know about that, there’s a whole side to Averill’s that not many people are aware of.” says Jody Dahl, Host and Producer.
For family ranch vacations, Averill's has it all. The Lodge offers unlimited horse and water activities and sits only 35 miles south of Glacier National Park. Families can enjoy a rustic ranch atmosphere, endless recreational activities and unmatched hospitality by the Averill family and staff. Recreation includes a complete horse program, sailing, fly fishing, water sports, hiking, cookouts and family barn dances to name just a few.
In an effort to bring awareness and support to the vital institutions integral to the nation’s history, forests, and native range lands, Discover Ranches takes the viewer to the heart of ranches and ranch vacations, exploring the stories behind the guardians of timeless landscapes, supporters of local communities, creators of once-in-a-lifetime experiences, producers of cattle, and cultivators of award-winning food.
Each episode explores one ranch and its unique offerings like world-class fly fishing in pristine waters, open-range cattle herding, horseback riding in wide open spaces, cooking demos by five-star chefs, fun family experiences, unequalled warmth and hospitality, and more.
In addition to Averill’s Flathead Lake Lodge, the series’ first season will include: The Ranch at Rock Creek, Devil’s Thumb Ranch Resort and Spa, Brush Creek Ranch, Rowse's 1+1 Ranch, Deep Canyon Guest Ranch, Red Horse Mountain Ranch, The Hideout, and Texas Ranch Life.
Discover Outdoor Life is an on-line network dedicated to the outdoor enthusiast. It includes informative articles, user reviews, videos, and pictures, and of course its own series, ‘Discover Ranches’. Both efforts were created by long-time rancher and Top50 Business owner Jody Dahl, and television producer Kerry Lambert (Food Network, Discovery Channel, The Cooking Channel, PBS).
Discover Ranches sponsors include DeBruycker Charolais, Alisal Guest Ranch & Resort, Top50 Ranches, Back in the Saddle, Ameripride, Ranch & Reata magazine, and Ubiquitas Design.
For more information: www.discoveroutdoorlife.com, or email ExploreIt@DiscoverOutdoorLife.com
ENDS
- Ranch Vacations are integral to not only our history, but to the preservation and sustainability of our land and the people around.
- The underlying purpose of Discover Ranches Travel Series is to preserve the ranching heritage and shed light on how ranches are making greater contributions to the land and people around them.
- Unlike some tourism products out there, your typical guest ranch is a business inextricably linked with altruism and a love of the human condition, animals, the ecosystem, community and authentic connection with the land.
- Ranchers feel so passionately about the land on which they live and sharing that love with the visitors who join their families, that a great deal of time is dedicated and devoted to protecting the environment through constant collaboration, education and advocating sustainable practices, and supporting local communities.
- Ranch Vacations are an education whereby many guests’ lives are forever changed. As Bill Porcher, wrangler at Alisal Guest Ranch and Resort, states ‘…many guests have said this was the most life-changing experience of their lives’.
- As ranch vacation owner, Debbie Atha of Free Rein Guest Ranch states, ‘only with the continued patronage of our inspirational guests can we persist in in these missions to make the world a better place. Guests at a ranch are touched in some unique way that they never thought possible and are educated and motivated on a larger scale to also make an impact on the land and people around them’.