Western Montana

To step on the DeSmet tour boat you might think you are going to see Gilligan, maybe even the Skipper, but don’t worry , there is no fearful three hour tour here. We arrived about 45 minutes before the boat tour started and enjoyed the Lake McDonald lodge as we waited. The lodge was a delight, filled with many animals mounted on the wall and Native Indian decor.

Just off the side of Highway 2, five miles west of Libby, are the Kootenai Falls and the swinging bridge. As my boyfriend and I pulled into the roadside parking lot for a stop to stretch our legs during our trip to Glacier National Park we walked down a paved pathway. There were restrooms available and informational signs about the fish in the Kootenai river along the trail. The path parte

On a recent visit to Glacier National Park I asked the park ranger at the Apgar visitor center for easy hikes for my boyfriend and I to do as we are not avid hikers. She suggested the Trail of the Cedars near Avalanche Creek and a unnamed path near Fish Creek that goes along the Lake McDonald shoreline.

Directions to Hungry Horse Dam: Heading east on highway 2 towards Glacier National Park from the town of Hungry Horse. Turn right onto W Side Road and travel up the road for about 4 miles.

Just eight miles south of Missoula on U.S. Highway 93 lies the town of Lolo, and one-half mile west of Lolo, on Highway 12, sits the newest Montana State Park, Travelers’ Rest. Of the 8,000 miles and many campsites on the Expedition’s two-year journey, this is the ONLY place that the Lewis and Clark Corps of Discovery left archeologically-verified evidence of their visits.

b>The Blackfoot River runs through Missoula and was featured in the book and movie, A River Runs Through It by Norman Maclean. The third Saturday in May marks the opening of the “general” fishing season in Montana. This means fishing season opens on small streams and lakes that were closed to winter fishing. It also means that waters that have been open for “catch-and-release” now allow taking of a daily limit for various species.

It is a Saturday morning, the sun is playing a game of peek-a-boo from behind the clouds, and groups of families, college students, friends, and visitors are brought together in the heart of the great Missoula. The Missoula Saturday Market, which includes The Farmer’s Market and The People’s Market, is an essential ingredient that goes into flavoring the summer weekends of a town devoted to community

Polson’s Miracle of America Museum sits right alongside U.S. Highway 93, just 3/4 of a mile south of Flathead Lake. The museum houses a collection of over 100,000 bits and pieces and treasures from America’s history, with much of it dating from just the past 100 years.

The Erskine Fishing Access is about 3 miles west of the Elementary school on Mullan Road. On your right hand side as you approach from the west you’ll see a sign about fifty feet in front of another sign that both say Erskine. This will be your queue to take the left just past the large house on the left. The first image depicts said sign that will show you when it’s time to turn. Drive all the way down the dirt road until you come upon the small parking area.

Missoulians take a lot of pride in our open spaces and in our local history. One attraction that exemplifies both is the Historical Museum at old Fort Missoula. The original “Fort” occupied a sizeable acreage just west of the town. The Historical Museum at Fort Missoula is located on 32 acres of the original site and was established in 1975 to “collect, preserve and interpret the history of Missoula Country and western Montana.”