Gentrys buy North Forty resort

North Forty Resort on U.S. Highway 40 is under new management with plans to add more weddings, winter guests and “glamping”, also called luxury camping. Kirk Gentry purchased it with his sisters Janelle and Michelle at the end of February.

Gentry also runs Gentry River Ranch, a vacation resort along the Flathead river south of Columbia Falls, and for 12 years operated Spotted Bear Ranch at the south end of the Hungry Horse Reservoir. He came to Montana from Northern Colorado in 1993.

“It’s just a good investment. It was an opportunity to buy from somebody who had done a good job and we think we can carry on with what they did and maybe add a few things,” Gentry said.

The resort on average has 1,000 reservations per year, where as his ranch gets 100 a year. He’s tackling a much larger place, but not without help.

His daughter, Jordan, who grew up learning the hospitality industry, will manage the North Forty Resort. She graduated in business management from the University of Montana in 2012. She’s also a real estate agent at Keller Williams Realty. She’s getting married this summer.

The resort was built in 1993 by the Retzes. It has 22 log cabins on 40 wooded acres, but only 20 acres are being used by the cabins. The other 20 acres at the back of the property has a 1.5-mile hiking and cross-country skiing trail. They’re also clearing part of the forest for a parking lot and a wedding ceremony site that will hold up to 300 guests.

“The nice thing about weddings is people don’t cancel,” Gentry said. A smoky summer like 2015 can make some vacationers cancel their plans, he said. They’ll offer weddings mainly in early summer and fall when the cabins aren’t all booked. The Gentry River Ranch started offering weddings this year as well.

They’re also offering glamping this summer, starting with just one site. Glamorous tent camping is a trend that has been catching on worldwide. It has been successful in the valley at Glacier Under Canvas and Bar W Guest Ranch.

Guests will sleep in a canvas tent that’s placed on a wooden platform with a king bed, sleeper sofa and dresser.

“So people feel like they are camping, but they’re not roughing it,” Jordan said. For now, the hot tub and sauna building next to the site will double as a bathroom for the campers. They won’t have as many amenities as the cabins.

The cabins have air conditioning, full kitchens with cookware, gas fireplaces, cable TV and DVD players and free Wi-Fi. Five to six cabins are set up in a private cul-de-sac so families can rent them all and have a place to congregate and children to play.

Gentry said the resort is popular for return customers. He met some guests from Canada who have come three to four times a year for the past 20 years. They told him they like it because it’s so quiet and not too busy in the spring.

The previous owners didn’t seek business during the winter, but Gentry plans to attract more of that. The cabins will be available as monthly rentals for about $1,500 to $1,900 per month which includes all utilities, TV and hot tub access. They anticipate it will be popular for skiers from Whitefish Mountain Resort.

The resort has a TripAdvisor certificate of excellence in 2013, 2014, and 2015.

“If we can continue on with that excellence, that is our goal,” Jordan said.