Roadtrippin' Through Montana
• A WorldWeb.com Travel Guide for Montana, United States.
Known as "Big Sky Country," Montana is a state of wide-open spaces, illustrious snow-capped mountains and expansive blue skies. The magic of the place lies not in one specific sight or city but in the sum of its parts—in its scenic highways that crisscross the Continental Divide, in its miles of seamless cattle country and in its small towns and cities which exude a friendly atmosphere and a sense of timelessness. To experience Montana, therefore, visitors need to follow in the footsteps of America's famed explorers Lewis and Clark and, like those early frontiersmen, discover its corners and canyons, its peaks and its prairies. Fortunately for modern-day explorers, a great way to do this is from behind the wheel on a road trip across the state.
LITTLE BIGHORN NATIONAL MONUMENT
Billings, the state's largest city and main commercial hub, is a good starting point for any visit due to its proximity to both the Little Bighorn Battlefield to the east and Yellowstone National Park to the west. The city and the surrounding area give visitors a taste of the undulating landscape of the plains that mark much of Montana—its vastness only triumphed by the state's immeasurable, ever-present sky.
This sense of space can be felt by heading east onto the plains and to the Little Bighorn Battlefield National Monument, approximately 63 mi (102 km) southeast of Billings. A nationally known historic site, the battlefield is possibly the most famous of the US government's clashes with the continent's Native American inhabitants. It was here that General George Custer and his troops were utterly overwhelmed in 1876 when thousands of Cheyenne and Lakota Indians fought to preserve their way of life.
BEARTOOTH SCENIC BYWAY & YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK
Southwest of Billings, the pretty Highway 212 approaches the Beartooth Mountains at the quaint, historic mountain town of Red Lodge. The town, a gateway to Yellowstone National Park, is a popular summer destination for recreational activities as well as its annual Festival of Nations.
Red Lodge's largest draw, however, is the very road that leaves the town and climbs steeply to the northeastern entrance of Yellowstone. The Beartooth Scenic Byway, opened in 1936, is sometimes called the "Highway to the Sky" and has been heralded the "most beautiful drive in America." The 68-mi (109-km) journey encompasses switchback after switchback on its way from a lush forest floor to the alpine tundra of the Beartooth Mountains and, reaching an elevation of 10,950 ft (3,336 m), the stunning drive offers vehicle access to a high, pristine wilderness rarely witnessed elsewhere by anyone other than backcountry hikers.
At Cooke City, a tiny hamlet just outside the park, visitors can enter Yellowstone, the world's oldest national park and also one of its largest. Known for its diversity, Yellowstone offers a staggering number of thermal attractions, from its most famous geyser, Old Faithful, to brightly colored hot pools, gurgling mud pots and terraced chalky hot springs. Yellowstone is also home to an astonishing number of wildlife—most notably bison, elk and bears—and sightseers will often find themselves sharing park roads with these four-legged creatures.
PARADISE VALLEY & THE BOZEMAN TRAIL
Tourists can exit Yellowstone at several places but a good place to do so is at Gardiner, the original entrance to the park and a charming community with a healthy balance of year-round residents and seasonal tourists. Visitors can do as locals do and take in a small-town summer rodeo or grab some high-tourist adventure by whitewater rafting the Yellowstone River, which flows through the center of town. A couple of hot springs near Gardiner demonstrate this blend as well. The nearby Boiling River is an undeveloped, unadvertised natural hot spring while Chico Hot Springs is an upscale resort and day spa. From Gardiner, the aptly named Paradise Valley follows the Yellowstone River out of the park and winds back towards civilization but not before passing acres of beautiful green ranch country and steep-sided mountains scattered with bighorn sheep.
Situated at the mouth of Paradise Valley and along Montana's main Interstate 90, Livingston is an enchanting town with a picturesque setting and an artsy vibe. From Livingston, I-90 follows closely the old Bozeman Trail—a 19th-century gold-rush route—through the Bridger Mountains to the city of Bozeman. Bozeman is one of the state's main cities and arguably one of its best. This vibrant community boasts an outdoor playground at its feet and is home to artists, dot-commers, Hollywood celebrities and keen real-estate developers.
A short jaunt west of Bozeman, the community of Three Forks is rich in Lewis and Clark history and marks the merging of three rivers: the Jefferson, Madison and Gallatin—named by Meriwether Lewis for then US president Thomas Jefferson and two of his cabinet members. Needless to say, Three Forks is known for its fishing, and anglers and water enthusiasts are spoiled for choice.
ANACONDA & THE PINTLAR SCENIC HIGHWAY
Continuing west over the spine of the Rocky Mountains and into the southwestern part of the state, Highway 1—the Pintler Scenic Loop—is a pretty alternative to Interstate 90 between the cities of Butte and Missoula. The route offers a striking landscape of mountains, sage-covered hills and Georgetown Lake as well as the picturesque town of Anaconda and a bevy of ghost towns from mining days of old. Anaconda is as attractive a town as the state has to offer and has a chunk of history to go with it. Its name comes from the Anaconda Copper Mining Company, which was once the largest copper mining operation in the world. Visitors can tour the town in vintage buses or pop into the historic Washoe Theatre, which has been designated one of the nation's most beautiful theaters by the Smithsonian Institute.
Guarded by the Flint Creek Range on one side and the Anaconda Pintler Mountains on the other, the area also boasts plenty of recreational opportunities. Land once used to smelt copper is now the home of Old Works, a Jack Nicklaus signature golf course. Farther along the scenic highway is Georgetown Lake, a picturesque 3,000-acre (1,214-ha) body of water popular for fishing, boating and windsurfing. Several ghost towns also abound in all directions, such as Granite, a silver camp from the 1860s, and Southern Cross, one of the area's many 19th-century gold towns.
MISSOULA & SEELY-SWAN SCENIC DRIVE
Missoula—Montana's third largest city—has long been the liberal seat of the state and newcomers will undoubtedly find a healthy dose of environmentalists, fair-trade shops and vegetarian restaurants amongst the lively population of university students, working professionals and outdoor enthusiasts. Like so many other Montana towns and cities, Missoula also enjoys its own piece of the picturesque pie with beautiful mountains and rivers at its doorstep.
The Seely-Swan Scenic Drive, or Highway 83, heads north from the city and it is here that Montana's semi-arid hills give way to heavily forested valleys and lake country. In fact, hundreds of lakes line the 90-mi (144-km) corridor between the Mission Mountains and the sprawling Bob Marshal Wilderness Area, locally called "the Bob." The route ends at the northern end of Flathead Lake, Montana's largest lake and a pretty one at that, situated just south of the small city of Kalispell.
GLACIER NATIONAL PARK & THE GOING TO THE SUN HIGHWAY
In the northwest corner of the state is Montana's jewel, Glacier National Park, offering what is proclaimed to be the entire country's finest mountain scenery. And thanks to the spectacular Going to the Sun Highway, which traverses the park east to west, much of the park's beauty is accessible by car. The highway passes by stunning glacial lakes, cedar forests and majestic peaks before climbing to Logan Pass and through alpine tundra atop the Continental Divide. It's also the type of road that inspires a don't-look-down kind of feeling. Completed in 1932, the 50-mi (80-km) route took 11 years to build and is still considered an engineering landmark for its daring undertaking.
Luckily for tourists, there are plenty of reasons to keep eyes heavenward. The soaring jagged peaks of the Flathead Range and the 50 glaciers that cling to their sides create a landscape not often found in the US outside of Alaska, prompting cars to stop every few miles for yet another photographic opportunity. Add to this a profusion of bald eagles and mountain goats adorning the skies and rocky crags and Glacier is indeed a treasure not to be missed.
ROCKY MOUNTAIN FRONT & HELENA
The eastern border of Glacier also marks the western border of the Blackfeet Indian Reservation, home to Montana's largest Native American tribe and the sudden launch of the wide-open plains. A drive from the park south to Helena on Highway 89 returns to cattle country and a landscape dotted with horses, huge vintage barns and the occasional small town such as Browning—where tourists can explore current-day Blackfeet culture and visit the Museum of the Plains Indian.
The scenic route's most prominent northern feature is the Rocky Mountain Front, which it travels alongside for almost 140 mi (225 km). The Front is a two-hundred-mile-long (321 km) wall of mountains that drop abruptly to the Great Plains. South of Choteau, visitors can choose a couple of routes to Helena; each will be rewarding in its own way but it is recommended to include Interstate 15 from the tiny town of Wolf Creek. The relatively quiet highway winds through the impressive Missouri River gorge, offering striking views of the river and its accompanying canyon as well as Gates of the Mountains, which refers to both the wilderness area and the 1,200-ft (366-m) cliffs through which the Missouri squeezes and which gave the area its name.
The drive culminates at Helena, Montana's capital city and a delightful blend of history and culture. The city was founded when gold was discovered along its banks and grew to an affluent community that visitors can witness today in its historic and well-preserved architecture, particularly the St. Helena Cathedral—a century-old Gothic cathedral that dominates the city—or the 1902 domed state capitol building.
LITTLE BIGHORN NATIONAL MONUMENT
Billings, the state's largest city and main commercial hub, is a good starting point for any visit due to its proximity to both the Little Bighorn Battlefield to the east and Yellowstone National Park to the west. The city and the surrounding area give visitors a taste of the undulating landscape of the plains that mark much of Montana—its vastness only triumphed by the state's immeasurable, ever-present sky.
This sense of space can be felt by heading east onto the plains and to the Little Bighorn Battlefield National Monument, approximately 63 mi (102 km) southeast of Billings. A nationally known historic site, the battlefield is possibly the most famous of the US government's clashes with the continent's Native American inhabitants. It was here that General George Custer and his troops were utterly overwhelmed in 1876 when thousands of Cheyenne and Lakota Indians fought to preserve their way of life.
BEARTOOTH SCENIC BYWAY & YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK
Southwest of Billings, the pretty Highway 212 approaches the Beartooth Mountains at the quaint, historic mountain town of Red Lodge. The town, a gateway to Yellowstone National Park, is a popular summer destination for recreational activities as well as its annual Festival of Nations.
Red Lodge's largest draw, however, is the very road that leaves the town and climbs steeply to the northeastern entrance of Yellowstone. The Beartooth Scenic Byway, opened in 1936, is sometimes called the "Highway to the Sky" and has been heralded the "most beautiful drive in America." The 68-mi (109-km) journey encompasses switchback after switchback on its way from a lush forest floor to the alpine tundra of the Beartooth Mountains and, reaching an elevation of 10,950 ft (3,336 m), the stunning drive offers vehicle access to a high, pristine wilderness rarely witnessed elsewhere by anyone other than backcountry hikers.
At Cooke City, a tiny hamlet just outside the park, visitors can enter Yellowstone, the world's oldest national park and also one of its largest. Known for its diversity, Yellowstone offers a staggering number of thermal attractions, from its most famous geyser, Old Faithful, to brightly colored hot pools, gurgling mud pots and terraced chalky hot springs. Yellowstone is also home to an astonishing number of wildlife—most notably bison, elk and bears—and sightseers will often find themselves sharing park roads with these four-legged creatures.
PARADISE VALLEY & THE BOZEMAN TRAIL
Tourists can exit Yellowstone at several places but a good place to do so is at Gardiner, the original entrance to the park and a charming community with a healthy balance of year-round residents and seasonal tourists. Visitors can do as locals do and take in a small-town summer rodeo or grab some high-tourist adventure by whitewater rafting the Yellowstone River, which flows through the center of town. A couple of hot springs near Gardiner demonstrate this blend as well. The nearby Boiling River is an undeveloped, unadvertised natural hot spring while Chico Hot Springs is an upscale resort and day spa. From Gardiner, the aptly named Paradise Valley follows the Yellowstone River out of the park and winds back towards civilization but not before passing acres of beautiful green ranch country and steep-sided mountains scattered with bighorn sheep.
Situated at the mouth of Paradise Valley and along Montana's main Interstate 90, Livingston is an enchanting town with a picturesque setting and an artsy vibe. From Livingston, I-90 follows closely the old Bozeman Trail—a 19th-century gold-rush route—through the Bridger Mountains to the city of Bozeman. Bozeman is one of the state's main cities and arguably one of its best. This vibrant community boasts an outdoor playground at its feet and is home to artists, dot-commers, Hollywood celebrities and keen real-estate developers.
A short jaunt west of Bozeman, the community of Three Forks is rich in Lewis and Clark history and marks the merging of three rivers: the Jefferson, Madison and Gallatin—named by Meriwether Lewis for then US president Thomas Jefferson and two of his cabinet members. Needless to say, Three Forks is known for its fishing, and anglers and water enthusiasts are spoiled for choice.
ANACONDA & THE PINTLAR SCENIC HIGHWAY
Continuing west over the spine of the Rocky Mountains and into the southwestern part of the state, Highway 1—the Pintler Scenic Loop—is a pretty alternative to Interstate 90 between the cities of Butte and Missoula. The route offers a striking landscape of mountains, sage-covered hills and Georgetown Lake as well as the picturesque town of Anaconda and a bevy of ghost towns from mining days of old. Anaconda is as attractive a town as the state has to offer and has a chunk of history to go with it. Its name comes from the Anaconda Copper Mining Company, which was once the largest copper mining operation in the world. Visitors can tour the town in vintage buses or pop into the historic Washoe Theatre, which has been designated one of the nation's most beautiful theaters by the Smithsonian Institute.
Guarded by the Flint Creek Range on one side and the Anaconda Pintler Mountains on the other, the area also boasts plenty of recreational opportunities. Land once used to smelt copper is now the home of Old Works, a Jack Nicklaus signature golf course. Farther along the scenic highway is Georgetown Lake, a picturesque 3,000-acre (1,214-ha) body of water popular for fishing, boating and windsurfing. Several ghost towns also abound in all directions, such as Granite, a silver camp from the 1860s, and Southern Cross, one of the area's many 19th-century gold towns.
MISSOULA & SEELY-SWAN SCENIC DRIVE
Missoula—Montana's third largest city—has long been the liberal seat of the state and newcomers will undoubtedly find a healthy dose of environmentalists, fair-trade shops and vegetarian restaurants amongst the lively population of university students, working professionals and outdoor enthusiasts. Like so many other Montana towns and cities, Missoula also enjoys its own piece of the picturesque pie with beautiful mountains and rivers at its doorstep.
The Seely-Swan Scenic Drive, or Highway 83, heads north from the city and it is here that Montana's semi-arid hills give way to heavily forested valleys and lake country. In fact, hundreds of lakes line the 90-mi (144-km) corridor between the Mission Mountains and the sprawling Bob Marshal Wilderness Area, locally called "the Bob." The route ends at the northern end of Flathead Lake, Montana's largest lake and a pretty one at that, situated just south of the small city of Kalispell.
GLACIER NATIONAL PARK & THE GOING TO THE SUN HIGHWAY
In the northwest corner of the state is Montana's jewel, Glacier National Park, offering what is proclaimed to be the entire country's finest mountain scenery. And thanks to the spectacular Going to the Sun Highway, which traverses the park east to west, much of the park's beauty is accessible by car. The highway passes by stunning glacial lakes, cedar forests and majestic peaks before climbing to Logan Pass and through alpine tundra atop the Continental Divide. It's also the type of road that inspires a don't-look-down kind of feeling. Completed in 1932, the 50-mi (80-km) route took 11 years to build and is still considered an engineering landmark for its daring undertaking.
Luckily for tourists, there are plenty of reasons to keep eyes heavenward. The soaring jagged peaks of the Flathead Range and the 50 glaciers that cling to their sides create a landscape not often found in the US outside of Alaska, prompting cars to stop every few miles for yet another photographic opportunity. Add to this a profusion of bald eagles and mountain goats adorning the skies and rocky crags and Glacier is indeed a treasure not to be missed.
ROCKY MOUNTAIN FRONT & HELENA
The eastern border of Glacier also marks the western border of the Blackfeet Indian Reservation, home to Montana's largest Native American tribe and the sudden launch of the wide-open plains. A drive from the park south to Helena on Highway 89 returns to cattle country and a landscape dotted with horses, huge vintage barns and the occasional small town such as Browning—where tourists can explore current-day Blackfeet culture and visit the Museum of the Plains Indian.
The scenic route's most prominent northern feature is the Rocky Mountain Front, which it travels alongside for almost 140 mi (225 km). The Front is a two-hundred-mile-long (321 km) wall of mountains that drop abruptly to the Great Plains. South of Choteau, visitors can choose a couple of routes to Helena; each will be rewarding in its own way but it is recommended to include Interstate 15 from the tiny town of Wolf Creek. The relatively quiet highway winds through the impressive Missouri River gorge, offering striking views of the river and its accompanying canyon as well as Gates of the Mountains, which refers to both the wilderness area and the 1,200-ft (366-m) cliffs through which the Missouri squeezes and which gave the area its name.
The drive culminates at Helena, Montana's capital city and a delightful blend of history and culture. The city was founded when gold was discovered along its banks and grew to an affluent community that visitors can witness today in its historic and well-preserved architecture, particularly the St. Helena Cathedral—a century-old Gothic cathedral that dominates the city—or the 1902 domed state capitol building.
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