Ski Whitefish and Stay At The Montana Treehouse Retreat!

Book Your Winter Getaway at Montana Treehouse Retreat

Ski season is right around the corner in Northwestern Montana. We are scheduled to have our first significant snow with this week. Have you started dreaming up winter vacation plans? Why not have the ultimate winter vacation and pair a trip to Whitefish Mountain Ski Resort with a stay at The Montana Treehouse Retreat!

Birds eye view of The Montana Treehouse Retreat, PC: Great Northern Drones

Our luxury treehouse is just minutes from the top of Big Mountain and we would love have you stay with us! This double decker treehouse, outside of Whitefish is the perfect unforgettable weekend getaway. Our luxury treehouse is equipped with a full kitchen, dishwasher, 2 bathrooms, a full shower and sleeping quarters for up to 5 people. 

Enjoy a hot toddy on the deck or cozy up with a hot cup of coffee on your own private balcony overlooking your own private forest off of the master suite deck! 

There is no roughing it at the Montana Treehouse Retreat! You will also have your own private wooded property for an outdoor fire. There is plenty of space on the grounds for nature walks, cross country skiing and sledding for kids!

We look forward to having you stay with us this winter and can't wait to meet you!

To see more photos and read more about availability of our listing or BOOK A STAY visit our Airbnb: https://www.airbnb.com/rooms/18627194

Contact owner Kati at: 406-890-9925 if you have any questions or would like help booking your stay!

Montana Treehouse Retreat Featured in Flathead Beacon

Castle in the Sky

Whitefish couple's new luxury treehouse retreat featured on DIY Network's television show

BY TRISTAN SCOTT // FLATHEAD BEACON//MAY 18, 2017 // PHOTOS: GREG LINDSTROM

Kati O’Toole and her husband, Darin Robison, have transformed their lofty dream into a reality with their new business venture at Montana Treehouse Retreat, a unique backyard escape that spirits guests into the treetops.

Literally.

Campers looking for an outdoor experience that transcends pitching a tent or renting a cabin in the wilderness will get a thrill out of the latest trend of lodging — a vacation rental in the sky.

Located on the couple’s wooded 7-acre property off Dillon Road near Whitefish, the retreat incorporates the growing popularity of custom luxury treehouse dwellings with the mountain allure of Montana.

Professional treehouse designers have capitalized on the trend by building everything from breweries to recording studios, but a rising number of backyard escapes are cropping up across the nation, advertised as guest rentals on the online hospitality service Airbnb.

The couple’s treehouse made its television debut on May 15 on the DIY Network’s show “The Treehouse Guys,” whose crew visited the Flathead Valley to help frame the structure, which spans four trees — three larches and a ponderosa.

In addition to showing the early construction of the treehouse, the segment also features local activities and amenities of the Flathead Valley, and will re-air next month.

From the moment that O’Toole and Robison purchased their property five years ago, they’ve entertained visions of building a treehouse in their expansively forested lot, but with a growing family, full-time jobs and a basket of home projects, they were short on time.

“We’ve always wanted to build a treehouse,” O’Toole said. “It’s been a dream for a long time. But never in our wildest dreams did we think it would look like this.”

Both fourth-generation Montanans with a passion for the outdoors, their passion project was sidelined as they worked to keep up with their 3-year-old son, Rowan, and newborn baby, Ry.

When a friend pointed them to a casting call for the television show, they navigated a series of lengthy interviews and were selected for an episode.

O’Toole and Robison applied for and received a conditional use permit for their property, with the county Board of Adjustment granting approval for up to three high-end treehouses available for nightly rental.

The build crew with the Treehouse Guys — B’fer Roth and his team of “tree muskateers” — completed the frame of the treehouse in about six weeks and provided their expertise, while Darin and a crew of friends and family helped build a giant log spiral staircase, milled the siding and interior paneling, and anchored the structure to the trees.

Because it’s not connected to the earth, the house moves with the trees during high winds and as the trees grow.

The 18-foot wooden spiral staircase leading up to the entrance of the treehouse wraps around an old Douglas fir that had been struck by lighting on Robison’s grandparents’ property. The top blew off in the wind, leaving a 60-foot stub that Robison thought was perfect for his treehouse.

“It was definitely the right one for the job,” he said.

The maximum size of a treehouse is determined by the number of trees available to serve as its foundation. A single large, healthy tree can support a 350- to 400-square-foot treehouse, according to the builders, while two or more trees can hold a 700- to 800-square-foot structure.

O’Toole and Robison plan to begin renting their treehouse in November once they’ve completed the finishing touches, and construct two additional custom treehouses on their property in the coming years.

The two-story treehouse features all of the amenities including septic and sewer, a small kitchen on the lower level, as well as a living area and full bath. It rents for $500 a night, with a minimum of three nights and discounts available for weekly rentals.

O’Toole said she has already begun receiving inquiries, and predicts an uptick in interest following the airing of the show.

“It is a luxury experience. There’s nothing primitive about it,” O’Toole said. “It’s nicer than the home we live in and I think people are really going to enjoy staying here.”

For more information and to book a getaway, visit http://www.montanatreehouseretreat.com/ and to learn more about The Treehouse Guys check out http://www.diynetwork.com/shows/the-treehouse-guys.

LINK TO ORIGINAL ARTICLE IN FLATHEAD BEACON: http://flatheadbeacon.com/2017/05/18/castle-in-the-sky/

Staircase Featured in Hungry Horse News!

NOW THAT’S A TREEHOUSE

May 11, 2017 at 7:04 am | By Chris Peterson Hungry Horse News

John Colliander of West Glacier built the spiral staicase for this treehouse that will be featured on the DIY Network next week.

A West Glacier man played a part in a treehouse project that will soon be featured on the DIY network show, “The Treehouse Guys.”

Builder John Colliander of Treeworks Log and Timberframe Construction, made the 18-foot wooden spiral staircase for a treehouse the show staffers built with homeowners Darin Robison and Kati O’Toole on their Dillon Road property.

Colliander began work on the staircase about a year ago, which is made of larch treads attached to an 80-plus-year-old Douglas fir Robison salvaged from his grandmother’s woods.

Colliander, 37, is a fourth-generation builder. He grew up in Polson and worked trail crew in Glacier National Park for several years before striking out on his own. Trail crews make do with what’s around them, and Colliander brings that style to his own work.

“In trail crew, we use nature to accomplish our building needs,” he said.

He designed the staircase using a freeware program from Google. The four-foot treads are hewn from his own small sawmill and attached to the Doug fir with 1-inch, 6 1/2-foot bolts.

He used a four-foot long drill bit to make the holes and crafted the mortise and tenon joints with a chainsaw.

The end result is a staircase that looks like something out of Lord of the Rings.

Colliander also milled the siding for the treehouse as well. It will be featured on the DIY network on May 15th at 9pm PST. and then as a re-run after that.

O’Toole said eventually the couple would like to have three treehouses on their property as vacation rentals.

“The treehouse has all the amenities of a luxury rental up the trees in your own private area,” O’Toole said.

The couple is still completing some of the interior and finish work and is in the process of getting the necessary county approvals for a water supply system for the structure. They hope to open by this fall, she said.

The house is supported by several Ponderosa pine trees as well as other timber beam supports.

Colliander, meanwhile, is onto his next project. He said he plans on spending the summer living in a tepee with his wife, Michele, and their sons Mason, 9, and Miles, 7, while he works on a home up the North Fork on a plot of land they recently purchased.

View more about the treehouse at: http://www.montanatreehouseretreat.com

LINK TO ORIGINAL ARTICLE IN HUNGRY HORSE NEWS