Hi - we%26#39;re going to be driving from Okanagan area in Canada after spending a week in Banff and Jasper. We saw a glimpse of Montana on a previous trip when we visited the Battle of the Little Big Horne site a few years back, been itching to go back since. We understand that Glacier N.P. is probably the major pull to Montana and hope to see it whilst we%26#39;re there, but want to see more of the State. We%26#39;ve looked at the Montana visitor information site but have no idea what we can achieve in the time we have.
Help!!
We will probably arrive in Whitefish around 19 June and have to be back in Calgary for a flight back to the U.K. on July 1st.
Any input greatly appreciated.
Tour Suggestions real Montana
For me Montana is one of those states (like Washington) with two distinct ';personas';...forested and arid. The western half with the mountains catches more water, especially on the west side of ranges so has a more lush and green look. The eastern half, after the mountains stop, is very dry with short grass and rolling gully carved hills. The cutoff is a bit farther west in the north - east of GNP - than in the south.
Personally I feel is is a shame that more visitors don%26#39;t get away from the mountain areas and experience, at least for a day or two, the plains areas in the east. Just a suggestion but making a loop east from GNP (after visiting there) to Havre might give a much better sense of the plans areas, even more so than around Little Big Horn which is still fairly close to mountain areas. There is nothing quite like the stillness of a pre-dawn prairie day just getting started and watching the sun come up. They don%26#39;t call it a ';big sky'; for nothing.
Another thought would be to research and visit some of the Lewis %26amp; Clark sites - such as Gates of the Mountains and the Great Falls between Helena and Great Falls - or the Missouri River headwaters at Three Forks.
Where possible you could make a big loop and avoid back tracking. In the time available it is probably not enough to get too far south, such as closer to Yellowstone, but there is still plenty to see outside GNP and still get to Calgary.
Tour Suggestions real Montana
Thank you for your suggestions Sequim88 - we love some of the small towns you come across, sometimes by pure accident. Do you think it would be possible to get to Hardin in the time available? We were wondering if maybe we could get to see the Custer re-enactment. We%26#39;re probably trying to do too much in the time available. We forget how vast the distances are in your wonderful country. Noted you are a Wyoming expert and we love the Native American history. Hope to get to see a rodeo - we%26#39;re checking the Montana visitor web site.
Thank you for the time spent replying.
You will have no trouble getting to Hardin by the 26, 27 or 28 to see the reenactment.
I am not too familiar with the northern mountain woods section of your trip and can offer only a few suggestions there.
The view from the plains looking west to the mountains of Glacier is outstanding. The Mission Mountains (I believe visible from the Seeley Swan drive just west of Flathead) are beautiful.
In south central Montana, there are many things to do, There are an abundance of hot springs which make a nice route through the area. This will also take you to a number of historical sites, including Bannack the territorial capital, Virginia City, and Butte, which is little changed by modernization, especially the downtown section. The mining museum there is very interesting.
The towns which have hot springs include Boulder, Jackson, Harrison, Bozeman (Four Corners but that one is considered a ';spa'; now), White Sulphur Springs, Chico south of Lewistown, and the 47th parallel in Yellowstone Park.
The area is also known for world class trout fishing, and a proper tour should include at least some fishing. The Madison, Jefferson, Gallatin, upper Yellowstone south of Livingston, and the Big Spring river near Lewistown are particularly notable. Check with fishing shops to find a guide or instructions on how to set out on your own. Going in a drift boat with a guide would be the most productive and fun.
Bozeman has the Museum of the Rockies, with local history and local paleontology (famous paleontologist Jack Horner is from MSU). As you drive around, look for letters made of white rock up on the hills. Almost all towns have them.
East of Bozeman you really start getting in to the big open. A couple of university people from New Jersey suggest taking back private land ownership here and letting the buffalo roam again, calling it the Buffalo Commons. They%26#39;re not too popular in Montana! Clark came up the Yellowstone River so there are historical sites. As you approach Billings you%26#39;ll see the sandstone cliffs which are known as Rimrocks. One particularly majestic cliff west of Billings not far from Park City is a native peoples buffalo jump.
Take a side trip to go from Columbus to Absarokee to Red Lodge and up to the summit of the Beartooth Highway. A pretty route would be to go from there to Cody by way of Bearcreek (stop at the Tavern there and play some Pasture Pool!), see the museum there in Cody, then drive on US 14 to Dayton and up to Crow Agency and Hardin.
From Hardin, you can get to Calgary by going up to Great Falls Via Lewistown. Fort Benton is quite historic, too, as the terminus of paddle wheel travel. If you can, stop in Waterton on the Canadian side. Lethbridge is an interesting stop and I think there are some other Native Peoples sites on the way to Calgary. The people on that forum could tell you.
I%26#39;m with Sequim and really love the wide open spaces of the east side. Some people find the open emptiness uncomfortable, but I love being able to ';see the curvature of the earth'; !
I%26#39;d suggest reading Montana: A History of Two Centuries by Malone, Roeder and Lang and This House of Sky by Ivan Doig. The first is a history book and the second is historical fiction.
Thank you so much ainwa for your wonderful suggestions - just reading it, makes me want to be there! Your description of the wide open plains really appeals, that is how we imagine Montana. When you live on an overcrowded island like the U.K. it%26#39;s wonderful to get out into open spaces.
Do you have any experience of the Big Horne re-enactment days? I understand this is done from the native American perspective - could be interesting. Basically is it worth the side trip? We were at the battle site a few years back and it took me a while to drag my husband away. We stayed in Sheridan on that occasion - nice town.
It%26#39;s great to be able to tap into others peoples knowledge of these areas.
What did we do before Trip Advisor?
Thanks again,
Valleygirl
Yes, TA is pretty useful. We%26#39;re planning our first trip to Banff/Jasper on way to Seattle in August and getting tons of help from folks up there. Got a lot of great info last year too for SW Englland and London.
Another historical fiction that largely takes place in Montana... ';The Mountain Man'; by Vardis Fisher. The first time I read it I was on a bus in Montana and while reading a section about a cabin on the Musselshell River noticed we were at the moment driving across the very same river.
Swinging east from Roundup to Forsyth on US-12 then back down to Billings and Hardin on the freeways would give a great peek at the wide open spaces in the east part of the state. It also parallels the Musselshell River.
A really great site for LBH battlefields is:
http://www.friendslittlebighorn.com/
if info on re-enactment is not there there are email links to people who would definitely know. Or perhaps this page at the site:
www.friendslittlebighorn.com/summer2009.htm
Thanks! Makes me want to head out there, too. I miss it.
One correction: The route through Seeley-Swan is EAST of Flathead, but West of the continental divide and the Rockies.
You didn%26#39;t even ask what Pasture Pool is! It is at the Bearcreek Saloon, which is a great stop. http://www.redlodge.com/bearcreek/ I haven%26#39;t been there for awhile but on their menu they do mention Pasture Pool so I didn%26#39;t make it up! It is a form of golf played out where the cows meander, involving (I hope!) compostable cups.
My folks took the kids to the reenactment a few years ago. I think there are people making crafts and things, as what made the biggest impression on them was learning to knap arrowheads. You might want to drive out to Lame Deer to see life on the Res away from the reenactment. It is not touristy, but I suggest it just so you can see the way of life there.
Do get some of the books and read them. Another would be A River Runs Through It, which takes place in Missoula but there is a movie of it which was filmed around Bozeman. Liver Eatin Johnson with Robert Redford is a story about a true character who lived around Red Lodge.
Hi ainwa,
I had to laugh when I read your posting - to be honest I had noted the mention of Pasture Pool - thought it was some form of pool I hadn%26#39;t heard of!!! Course you said it was in a Tavern, wondered where I would find the time to play pool, especially after long days in the open - probably have dinner, a couple of beers and bed. That was so funny!
Thank you so much for your reply.
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