Western Montana

In the busy summer months, the little village of West Glacier—the western entrance to Glacier National Park—resembles Grand Central Station. It’s easy to spend the day hitting all the “must-see” tourist attractions in the area, but there are equally enjoyable options for fun off the beaten path. Since I spend nearly every summer weekend in West Glacier, I have come up with my ultimate Saturday routine. Next time you’re in West Glacier, consider this one-day itinerary as a part of a longer stay or as a fresh day-trip if you live nearby.

Like Bozeman’s M trail, Helena has a similar brief hike up nearby Mount Helena. While the M trail has two options for hiking up the mountain, Mount Helena features several options of varying degrees of difficulty and length. Also unlike the M trail, Mount Helena borders the city limits, offering spectacular views of the city below (rather than the countryside).

Have you every wanted to step back in history and see what it might be like to live or work on a old western ranch? Well your opportunity is located on the edge of town in Deer Lodge at the Grant-Kohrs Ranch. Johnny Grant homesteaded in the Deer Lodge valley in 1862, only to 4 years later sell the home and ranch for $19,200 to Conrad Kohrs.

Stopping in at the gas station the other day, I about fell out of my (driver’s) seat when I looked at the total. I’m pretty sure it equaled my daughter’s college savings. Wow…with gas prices these days, no wonder people are putting summer vacation plans on hold. My family and I had plans of driving to Yellowstone and beyond, but now I think we’ll just do a staycation and stay local. What’s a staycation, you ask? Instead of leaving home for vacation, you stay at home for vacation. You can take a week off and enjoy the sights and attractions your community offers, or you can just do activities over several weekends. If you’re interested in a staycation, too, take a look at this list of things to do!

The first thing many notice as they drive into Bozeman is the Bridger Mountains, to the town’s north and east. At the far southern end of this chain of mountains is a 250 foot tall letter “M” made from painted-white rocks. The M stands at slightly under 7,000 feet in elevation and is [...]

On lazy summer days, sometimes there’s nothing better than a walk around the neighborhood. Earlier today, I took a three mile walk around my own neighborhood, the southern side of Bozeman.

Starting out at my house, I headed north, took a left on Garfield, and took a right on Willson. On my street and Garfield, there’s not much to see other than the typical suburban sprawl, but Willson is a different story entirely. In many ways, Willson reminds me of the sort of old-money neighborhoods you see on the East Coast; the street is lined with large mansions that date back to the early 1900’s.

In my hometown of Bozeman, Montana, skiing is king. This shouldn’t come as much of a surprise; we have a world-class resort just 45 miles down the road at Big Sky, as well as the local favorite, yet still impressive Bridger Bowl ski area. But lost in all the downhill excitement is the soothing experience of cross-country skiing. I’ve found that many residents are surprised to find that the city of Bozeman operates several cross-country trails within the city limits.

Beavertail Hill State Park is a quick trip about 25 miles east of Missoula, right off Interstate 90, at Exit 130. The campground is just one-quarter mile south of the highway. You can see the Fishing Pond, which is immediately to the north of the highway. This is actually the Beavertail Hill Fishing Access Site, and not part of the State Park. This is a SUPER spot for youngsters to fish from shore. I’ll get back to the Fish Pond later on, but on to the Campground!

I love brewery tours, mostly because of the beer at the end of the tour. I’ve been on the Kokanee brewery tour so many times that the staff actually recognized my friend and I the last time we went. It was a little embarrassing to say the least. So on a recent trip to Glacier National Park my boyfriend and I were driving along highway 2, heading towards Kalispell and I saw a sign “brewery 1″. There was a little confusion about the sign between my boyfriend and I.

hould have been near where the falls where. There was no sign but the guardrail separated and a path headed down the hill where I could see rushing water. I climbed down the steep hill for a few feet and decided the path was a little more than I could handle and I headed back, so I still have not seen the falls. We got back on the highway and continued to head home. Although we had a few mishaps, like not being able to find the falls and that darn eagle flying away, it was an enjoyable drive with lots of beauty. If you are interested in driving the highway 56 you can connect from highway 2 east of Troy or highway 200 west of Noxon. The highway is about 35 miles in length.