by Mia Taylor
Last updated: 4:24 PM ET, Thu October 19, 2017
Have you ever dreamt of living in a fantastical, storybook treehouse? A place where you're surrounded by treetops and, just beyond that, a pristine mountain landscape as far as the eye can see?
That dream doesn't have to end with adulthood, and it didn't for Gail Lynne Goodwin.
A Montana based developer, Goodwin has been fascinated with building treehouses ever since she constructed her first one as a child with her family.
Although that original treehouse was incredibly basic, built with scraps of wood from her father's contracting business, it was the inspiration for her latest project: the world's first ever, slope-side, ski-in-ski-out treehouse chalets.
The cluster of whimsical and luxurious treehouses Goodwin has just completed include breathtaking walls of windows, towering turrets, top-of-the-line kitchens and balconies with hot tubs (to name a few of the inviting details). Each cost more than $1 million to build.
They are your childhood dream on steroids, (or perhaps reimagined for a rock star or a Kardashian).
Known as Snow Bear Chalets, the three treehouses were just made available to the public over the past few months. They're located in Northwestern Montana amid the slopes of Whitefish Mountain Resort.
Which brings us to perhaps the next best part about Goodwin's new treehouses: They're just five feet from the Whitefish Mountain Resort ski slopes.
That's not a typo. Five feet is all that stands between you and your morning ski run, afternoon ski run and last ski run of the day.
"You walk out your door and you are there. It's impossible to get any better than this," Goodwin said during a recent telephone interview from one of the new treehouses. "You're on the ski slope and, within 30 seconds, you are on a chair going up the mountain."
Whitefish is a ski resort that offers 3000 acres of mixed terrain and some of the best powder skiing in the west. It is consistently ranked by Ski Magazine as among the best in the country, including being named the 11th best overall ski resort in the U.S. during 2016.
But back to the treehouses: They range in price from about $528 per night to $1,138 per night. Each of the chalets also vary in size, sleeping anywhere from six to ten people.
Earlier this year, Goodwin unveiled the properties locally as part of an area home show, during which about 3,000 people toured one of the treehouses.
In addition to the soaring cathedral ceilings, high-end appliances and spacious great rooms, guests raved about the towering turrets and hot tubs perched on exterior balconies with stellar views.
"The turret takes you from the first level to the second level and then continues up to the top level where you can sit there under 600 twinkling, fiber optic lights," Goodwin explained.
As for the hot tubs, they not only overlook the surrounding mountains but also provide a glimpse of nearby Glacier National Park (which is just 30 minutes away.)
All the treehouse's creature comforts and luxurious features aside, the beauty of Whitefish resort and the nearby town is that "it reminds me of what Aspen mountain was like 40 years ago. It doesn't have the pretentiousness of Aspen," said Goodwin. "People come here not to be seen. They come here because of the unparalleled beauty of this area. There's nothing like it."
In other words, you can have your treehouse and enjoy it too.
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