Parks & Places in Montana
The places worth your time in Montana, from headline parks to the towns you will actually base in.
Glacier National Park
The Crown of the Continent: Going-to-the-Sun Road, alpine lakes, more than 700 miles of trail, and grizzly country. Timed vehicle reservations apply to the busiest corridors in peak summer, and the full Going-to-the-Sun Road usually opens late June or early July.
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Yellowstone National Park
Montana holds three of the five entrances: Gardiner (North), West Yellowstone (West), and Cooke City via the Northeast Entrance. The North and Northeast roads stay open to cars year-round; the rest of the loop is groomed for oversnow travel in winter.
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Flathead Lake
The largest natural freshwater lake west of the Mississippi, about 30 minutes south of Glacier. Sailing, swimmable summer water, Wild Horse Island, and the late-July Flathead cherry harvest.
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Bozeman
The state's fastest-growing town and the best-connected base (BZN airport) for Big Sky, the north Yellowstone gateways, the Bridgers, and the Museum of the Rockies.
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Whitefish
A real ski town with Whitefish Mountain Resort above it, a walkable downtown, and the closest full-service base to the west side of Glacier (about 30 minutes to the park).
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Big Sky
Home to Big Sky Resort, one of the largest ski areas in the country, with Lone Peak above it. Skiing in winter, hiking, golf, and Gallatin River rafting in summer, about an hour from Bozeman.
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Missoula
A river-running college town where five valleys meet. Breweries, the Clark Fork through downtown, the Bitterroot and Blackfoot rivers nearby, and a good launch point for western Montana.
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Helena
The state capital, built on an 1864 gold strike. Last Chance Gulch, the Cathedral of St. Helena, and the Gates of the Mountains boat tour on the Missouri just north of town.
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Billings
Montana's largest city and the hub for the east, the Beartooth Highway, Pompeys Pillar, and the rimrocks. The practical base for Little Bighorn and the southeast.
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Little Bighorn Battlefield
National Monument on the Crow Reservation marking the 1876 battle between the U.S. Army and the Lakota, Cheyenne, and Arapaho. About an hour southeast of Billings off I-90.
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Lewis and Clark Caverns
Montana's first and best-known state park, between Three Forks and Whitehall. Guided tours walk through one of the largest limestone caverns in the Northwest; open roughly May through September.
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