Outdoor recreational spirit of Big Sky inspires a start-up

HYDEOUTS

There’s something that happens when we go outdoors. For some, it’s a sense of calm. For others, excitement. Still others, devotion. It’s breathing fresh air, the Big Sky way. This feeling calls us outside to play, to connect, and to be more human.

Here at Hydeouts, we do not bemoan the modern conveniences of the day. Still, we believe it’s important to hold on to our outdoors, to the land that brings us to the source of our humanity. Look to our ski hills, our remote backcountry, and see that what Big Sky has is special. We must hold on, but we also must share.

But how? One answer resides in Georgia, of all places. But first, let’s look to Chet Huntley, the NBC news caster from Montana, who saw potential in a huge mound of dirt and went on to establish Big Sky Resort. Over 40 years later, a woman named Bridgette Hyde has taken up Huntley’s entrepreneurial spirit.

After joining the Big Sky community in 1988 and then attending Montana State University, Hyde spent 15 years in corporate finance and investments, a career that took her around the country. She carried the Big Sky magic with her and in each city she landed with a fruitless question, “Where can I find the outdoor space?”

Finally she realized she would have to create it herself. Her answer is Hydeouts, a 30-acre engineered outdoor recreation space designed to give urbanites the opportunity to experience what those living in the mountains get to enjoy every day. At this park, people will be able to burn legs on a climbing ascent, reach arms on a craggy rock wall, anticipate s’mores by a campfire, and find a community that connects over what it means to be human.

Big Sky country is less filled with buildings and obstruction and more with an open natural environment for recreation. Hydeouts is creating a seamless way to embrace the city and the outdoors. Living in the Atlanta suburbs shouldn’t mean forsaking the surroundings of a ski resort. Leaving Montana shouldn’t mean forfeiting the taste of a base-to-summit hike. Connecting with all facets of human potential should be part and parcel of living, even in cities.

How do you fit 30 acres into a well-established sprawl of buildings? You build it upward with the buildings themselves. Ten miles of hiking trails that climb upward toward the sky. While Hydeouts is about activity and pushing physical limits, it acknowledges that this is only part of the equation. Recreation and relaxation are also crucial. So, from inclining trails to climbing walls, group fitness to lap pools, there are also spaces to decompress: fire pits, waterfalls, bonfires, green-space, cool pools, hot tubs—even après drinks.

Hydeouts is the an escape from busy urban environments, providing a place to disconnect by connecting with the outdoors. Runners, hikers, rock climbers, yogis, and outdoor enthusiasts will find their home base at Hydeouts. But, it’s also for corporations, professionals, the work-weary, the dejected. It’s food for those who hunger and a reminder for those who’ve forgotten or, worse, who’ve never known life in the outdoors.

Hydeouts aims to provide serious outdoor recreation in places that need it desperately. Hyde’s first target? The improbable city of Alpharetta, Georgia, one of Atlanta’s hottest suburbs. Thanks to Hyde, locals will discover outdoor space they have never had.

Many of us have relocated here from other places, so we remember that we are part of a whole. How can we empower the outdoors not just here, but in the places that need it most? Hydeouts is Hyde’s tribute to Big Sky—home of her greatest life experiences and inspirations.

How else might we pay the Big Sky magic forward?

Hydeouts is looking for partners and investors. Bridgette Hyde and team will be at the Big Sky PBR event July 26-28. Come visit and share Yellowstone Club and Big Sky stories, tell us about your adventures and travels, and the recreation needs in your city.

Visit hydeoutsadventures.com for more information.

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