These hotels, ranches, and vacation rentals offer proximity to Yellowstone, a taste of the cowboy life, and a little mountain magic.

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I’ve visited Big Sky , Montana, a handful of times over the past six years, and I’m still completely smitten. This corner of the Rockies , roughly 45 miles south of Bozeman, is a choose-your-own-adventure kind of city. Winter ski days beneath the hulking silhouette of Lone Peak give way to summer rafting trips and fly-fishing on the Gallatin River, while fall brings horseback rides that sprawl across open ranchlands, and spring offers hikes through wildflower-strewn meadows. The iconic Yellowstone National Park is about an hour south too, putting geysers, steaming hot springs, and roaming bison within day-tripping distance.

The city itself is a quaint yet buzzy collection of restaurants, shops, and watering holes, all adding a welcome dose of small-town charm to all that wilderness.…