Where the Creek Sings you to Sleep
Reviving the spirit at Rock Creek Resort
On a Sunday with a mix of sun and clouds covering the day, the newly refreshed Rock Creek Resort in Red Lodge is my destination. With my friend Val Jeffries riding shotgun, the Beartooth Mountains stand sentry over the quaint town where we plan to indulge in some retail and dining therapy, taking in fresh mountain air as we go.
“I love being able to hang out with my pal. You’re trapped in the car and can’t go anywhere,” Val says teasingly. I feel the same.
Life slows down the moment Highway 212 leads us into Red Lodge. The city’s roots go all the way back to the early 20th century, when it was established as a coal mining town.
After enjoying a bite to eat and wandering through some downtown shops, we drive five miles south and round a gentle curve where we are welcomed by a new sign for the Rock Creek Resort. The building is freshly stained but still shows off its farmhouse cathedral windows and iconic rock fireplace. The rushing sound of Rock Creek flows by.
The resort, a 40-acre property, was opened in the mid-1960s as a summer training ground for alpine ski racing by Pepi Gramshammer and partners Eric Sailer and Anderl Moterer. Pepi and his wife, Sheika, operated the resort for decades, expanding it in the 1970s, adding more lodging facilities.
The property changed hands when David and Simona Krug of Krug Development and Daniel Cauley took ownership in the fall of 2024, with Columbia Hospitality acting as the hotel operator. Simona led the design team and interior design work for the facelift. The resort reopened at the end of July, with the Old Piney Dell Restaurant expected to complete its renovations to serve meals next spring.
When we arrive, Tyler Pyle who mans the front desk, greets us with a warm welcome, standing at the front counter paneled with belts. The Wild Rose Restaurant sits off to one side, overlooking the creek, across from a small area selling merchandise. Tyler has been working here since July, after following General Manager Troy Douthit from Libby, where Tyler worked at both the Venture and Country Inns.
“I needed a change in scenery and asked Troy if he would hire me,” Tyler says. After being offered the job, “I wrapped up in two months and moved here.”
Tyler loves the sense of family he finds with the people he works with, and with the guests. “It’s fun for me to live vicariously through the lives of the people who come here.” Moreover, he can bring his 17-year-old dog, Myrtle, a chihuahua and pug mix, to work.
After receiving our key cards, Val and I make our way upstairs, pausing at the old phone booth that once held a coin-operated phone. It is now lined with dark-blue wallpaper featuring ethereal nature scenes, anchored by a leather chair and a side table, where a guest can converse privately. Next to the booth is the Wildwood sitting room, themed in red, where a group can gather before heading into the dining room.
Our room with two double beds takes on a modern Western feel. An upholstered brown-leather headboard backs the beds that are made with a white duvet and white covered pillows. A blue, brown Native American-inspired blanket with geometric patterns rests on the foot of the bed. The highlight comes when we step through the sliding glass door and up to the balcony overlooking Rock Creek.
“I love having fresh air in the room when I sleep,” Val says. “I cannot wait to have the slider opened with the sound of the creek lulling us to sleep.”
The room has all the comforts of home with fluffy towels, cotton robes, refillable aluminum water bottles, and soap products from Grown Alchemist. The high ceiling provides room to breathe and relax.
Now settled, we go downstairs to meet with General Manager Troy Douthit. Troy brings the real Montana spirit to the Rock Creek Resort. “The owners found me and offered me a job,” he says, still disbelieving his good fortune. Beckoned from Libby, he believes he can provide “true Western hospitality.”
Currently, 35 employees work at the resort, with 95 people needed when all renovations are complete. Troy takes us downstairs to the banquet/conference room, where windows bring in the outside.
“The entire ceiling has been replaced, and the chandeliers are brand new,” Troy says of the 3,600-square-foot space with a capacity for 500 people.
Down the hall is the access to the 50-meter pool warmed to 86 degrees, and a hot sauna set at 190 degrees. For those needing to cool their bodies, a cold plunge is available. “Then here is my favorite, the outdoor sauna,” Troy says. The hot box with temperatures at 140 degrees with windows is found above the creek, beneath the trees.
Troy leads us to the back of the property, to Pepi’s workshop. Here, guests can pick up flyfishing waders and boots. They can also learn how to tie flies, practice the art of wood burning or develop skills for leather crafting.
Don Wilson, fly fishing consultant
Tina Wilson, manager & Troy douthit, general manager
Don Wilson, the resort’s fly-fishing consultant, takes Val and me through the creation of a Woolly Bugger fly. This fly, which simulates a baitfish or leech, is one of the easiest flies to tie. “I taught myself how to fly cast in a baseball field,” Don admits. After watching a Bill Dance fly-fishing reel, he practiced on his own. For fly tying, he “read a lot of books and watched videos. It was a lot of trial and error and lots of wasted materials,” he says with a chuckle.
We had originally hoped to get into another activity but time is running out, so instead we decide to eat dinner. But first we stop and chat with Manager Tina Wilson.
“I love the people who work here because we all started together and built something,” Tina says. “We each had a hand in building the resort. It’s been a labor of love, and it means so much to me.”
Before she joined Rock Creek, Tina worked as a consultant for digital infrastructure. These days, she handles everything from the front desk to guest services, retail, housekeeping, and adventures and activities.
We leave Tina and wander into the Wild Rose Restaurant, where we pick a corner table overlooking the creek and the firepit. We learn that Executive Chef Brent Halverson has come here with skills learned most recently from PREROGATIvE Kitchen and earlier, the Triple Creek Ranch and Chico Hot Springs.
“Feeding people is such a wonderful thing to do,” Brent says, adding that he looks forward to opening the Old Piney Dell Restaurant. “The restaurant is a legacy, such a cool restaurant and space.”
The menu at the Wild Rose Restaurant is compact. The goal for this space is to offer accessible and casual food, with the Piney Dell providing a more formal dining option. We order the chicken wings special with freshly sliced celery sticks and chunky blue-cheese dressing. We share the mushroom soup made with oyster, shiitake, portobello and trumpet mushrooms.
“This is the best mushroom soup I have ever had,” Val says, of the cream-chili-oil-drizzled bowl of goodness. While Val opts for a glass of wine, I sip a Huckleberry Margarita that comes with a glass rimmed with huckleberry salt.
Brent and Executive Sous Chef Lloyd Huff deliver to our table the Quinoa Protein Bowl that Val orders and the Curried Squash Bowl that I select. Both are fresh and flavorful and beyond generous in portion size.
After finishing a glass of wine while sitting by the firepit, we head to our room where Val slightly opens the sliding glass door. The natural white noise and mountain air make for a perfect night’s sleep. Early the next morning, with fresh coffee in hand, we head back up the road to Billings, renewed and refreshed for a brand-new week.
