Betting the farm

The Lodge and Spa at Brush Creek Ranch (Brush Creek) has opened its doors to guests looking to experience the winter beauty of the Valley opening from Dec. 27, 2018 through Jan. 5, 2019 and then Feb. 14 through March 30.

Brush Creek is a world-class retreat located in Carbon County south of Saratoga. It has been selected the number one resort in the U.S. four years in a row by Condé Nast Traveler's Reader's Choice Awards and was named the best resort hotel in the Continental U.S. in the 2017 Travel + Leisure World's Best Awards.

"There's something particularly magical about winter at Brush Creek ranch and we're excited to give guests the opportunity to experience the Lodge & Spa in an entirely new way," said Michael Williams, Executive Vice President and Chief Operationg Officer of Brush Creek Ranch. "The combination of exhilarating outdoor adventures in the crisp air coupled with the warmth of the Grand Lodge fireplace at sundown makes for a winter getaway unlike any other."

Brush Creek will be open on a limited basis for individuals and groups of up to 56 people during the winter season for minimum two-night stays.

Accommodations available in the winter season at Brush Creek include rooms in the grand Trailhead Lodge, select cabin suites or the exclusive Homestead cabin residence, which itself accommodates up to 12 guests for a private getaway. Brush Creek exclusivity is available for all accommodations, offering 16 rooms for up to 56 guests for a private group vacation or retreat.

Winter rates at Brush Creek start at $750 per person, per night based on standard occupancy and include luxury accommodations; all daily dining experiences which includes breakfast, lunch dinner, snacks and house-branded spirits, beers and wines; as well as access to all on-ranch activities to include gear and guides. Rates exclude spa experiences and a la carte experiences.

The winter season brings a whole new set of both indoor and outdoor activities. There are a variety of ways to enjoy the grandeur of Brush Creek from evenings spent cozying up the fire to restorative wellness treatments in the spa to enjoyable nights in the Saloon.

Brush Creek's offered activities this winter will include; horseback riding, fishing, snowmobiling, ice skating, downhill ski excursions, tubing and toboggan sledding. There is also a five station skeet course for rifle/guns.

Williams said every activity featured at Brush Creek was meant to be a learning and educational opportunity.

The new winter openings are not the only new things being done at Brush Creek.

Currently under construction and planned to open in June 2019, The Farm at Brush Creek will provide nine food, beverage and event experiences imbued with a "seed-to-table" philosophy, including a luxury dining restaurant, Brush Creek Brewery, Brush Creek Distillery, Brush Creek Cellar and Tasting Room, The Founders Vault, Medicine Bow Creamery, a bakery and event barn as well as an extensive greenhouse system.

Brush Creek opened an approximately 7,000 square foot greenhouse in 2017 that currently grows 25 different species of fruits and vegetables and uses smart control systems to reduce water usage and grow produce for Brush Creek in a sustainable way and with minimal impact on the environment. The Brush Creek greenhouse will expand to 20,000 square feet over the next year so that it can supply Brush Creek and The Farm with organic produce.

"We wanted to take food and beverage and move it to a new place as well as an experiential standpoint," Williams said. "Thus, we took what just going to be an events center and we now have expanded it to 'Lillian's Table' with aspirations there to literally be a Michelin rated restaurant long term; adding a brewery; adding a distillery along with the events center, which is called the 'Saddle Barn.'"

Guests at Brush Creek will have the opportunity to be both patron and participant at Brush Creek Brewery, from touring the state-of-the-art facility where the Ranch will brew and bottle their own craft beers, to sampling and joining educational sessions with master brewers.

The Brush Creek Distillery will offer a selection of small batch rye, vodka, gin, moon­shine and whiskey as well as tastings and tours that provide an inside look at the distilling process. The still will be able to produce up to 20 barrels per month which equates to 100,000 bottles every 30 days.

Beneath The Farm will lie the Brush Creek Cellar, a nearly 100-yard tunnel housing displays of some of the most exclusive wines available. This one-of-a-kind climate-controlled cellar is being designed to ensure the perfect environment for incredibly rare vintage wines. Guided tours of the cellar will be made available during dinner service at the restaurant. A sommelier will walk guests to the Cellar and assist in selecting a bottle of wine that pairs perfectly with individual meals and preferences. The Tasting Room will be an extension of the Cellar, offering wine tastings as an add-on to the Ranch experience and can be reserved for special events or as a private dining area.

"In the spirit of education and the spirit of learning, we are putting in a spirits tasting room, a wine tasting room and we are starting the beginning of accumulating a 150,000 bottle wine inventory that we know will be a wine spectator top in the world, award-winning wine list" Williams said. "We will open with about 85,000 bottles of wine, so we are off to a very good start. We are buying wines from all over the world right now."

The Founders Vault will house extremely rare, small batch bourbon, other whiskeys and spirits. Selections of the most exceptional liquors will be kept behind lock and key in cabinets along the walls. Expert mixologists will be available for private events to craft high-end cocktails for every palate and preference.

"You are going to find products in there that are a 100 years old," Williams said.

In keeping with Brush Creek's ongoing tradition of maintaining effective sustainability practices, The Farm will acquire its own goat herd from which they will collect rich buttermilk in order to craft its own cheeses, yogurt, butter and ice cream at Medicine Bow Creamery. The milking process as well as cheesemaking and aging will be a part of The Farm's education series available to guest.

"The creamery will have us making our own cheeses and butter," Williams said. "That will have Brush Creek having its own inventory of Nubian goats."

A bakery will prepare fresh bread, pastries, chocolates and more daily for The Farm and the rest of the ranch destinations.

"What really started this was a little bit of a combination of a couple things," Williams said. "It has always been our philosophy to be sustainable."

Williams said over the past couple years, Brush Creek had gotten its beef enterprise to the point the ranch supplied all its own beef for guest's consumption.

"We are really proud of our cattle operation," Williams said.

He said a cornerstone of the Brush Creek experience was when the ranch boosted its culinary offering in 2017 when it unveiled a pasture to plate program featuring ranch raised Akaushi beef, which has a rich, buttery flavor as well as juiciness and tenderness.

"Brush Creek Ranch has become well known for the quality and depth of our food, beverage and spirits program, including our ranch raised Akaushi beef and produce from our on greenhouse," said Williams. "The Farm is the next evolution of this vision and will embody sustainability, providing our guests with a true ranch to table culinary experience that will greatly enhance their vacation with us at all three of our Brush Creek Ranch destinations."

Another component to creating the Farm was the desire of Brush Creek to have an events space because for any occasion that had over a 100 people, Brush Creek was having to put up tents, Williams said.

"As we started to develop the place, the location and the size of our events center, and as we looked at our long term planning, we knew we wanted to expand the experiential side of our business," Williams said. "Everything we do is all about the experience and we want people to learn while they are on the ranch and acclimate themselves to Wyoming and the Platte Valley."

Williams said The Farm will boast panoramic views of the surrounding Medicine Bow National Forest and Bennett and Kennaday Peaks. He said The Farm already claims a long heritage of reaping and sowing as the land on which it sits has been a cow camp and hay-producing ranch since the early 1900s.

"It's a pretty nice piece of property and this land has outlived many generations and we intend The Farm to honor the past while preserving the future," Williams said. "We have a very busy winter going on right now because this must be done by mid June of next year."

Williams said the first year of The Farm will not be open to the public because there are so many moving pieces to get everything to the standards of Brush Creek.

"We will open mid June, but we have so many events and groups going on, to get really into the rhythm of our summer season won't really happen until the beginning of July," Williams said. "The Farm becomes another activity on the ranch, so the first year to is to get everything really excellent before we open the public."

Williams said Brush Creek strives to be the place that guests leave with great memories.

"Brush Creek is about experience, memories, sustainability togetherness and giving back," Williams said. "It is a very special place."

In a tribute to the residents of Carbon County, Williams said the support from local businesses and citizens could not be understated.

"It is a team effort, with town councils, county commissioners, liquor people and local residents being very agile in the way they help us and guide us to do the right thing," Williams said. "Everyone has been terrific and great partners."

He had special words for the town of Saratoga.

"I would be remiss if I didn't thank the people of Saratoga and Encampment for all their support," Williams said. "I have over 200 people come in each season and there are people who rent to them and businesses in town that take care of them. It is really appreciated."

Williams said through the support of so many in Carbon County, it has allowed Brush Creek to grow to what is becoming today.

"What is really kind of cool to us, is that all this support has allowed us to introduce the Platte Valley to thousands and thousands of people throughout the world," Williams said. "We are really proud of the Valley and how beautiful it is. We are very proud to be able to operate a business here."