On a 1,000-acre site east of Manhattan, Montana lies a quintessential Western ranch house. It’s a site that borders the trout waters of the Gallatin River. A creek, also good for fishing, wanders through the property, and an artificial pond rests at the rear of the 11,000-square-foot home.

The wonders never cease at a beautiful winter home designed by Daryl Nourse of Reid Smith Architects for a family from Down Under. Located in Yellowstone Club in Big Sky, Montana, the six-bedroom, eight-bathroom ski-in, ski-out home has an exterior totally in keeping with its alpine surroundings—yet something unusual happens immediately upon drive-up.

A family of four from Connecticut began coming to Montana in 2013 because they loved the winters—and then they discovered the summers. In the summer of 2018, when they moved to Montana full time, their son was getting ready to enter his sophomore year in high school and their daughter was 11.