Montana

Understand

Montana is the 4th largest state by land mass in the United States at 145,552 square miles, however the state ranks 44th in population with just under a million residents, most of whom are clustered around cities and towns. Billings is the largest city, Missoula is the second largest, and Great Falls and Bozeman are the only others above 50,000 people.

Western Montana is characterized by higher rainfall in some areas, and terrain dominated by mountains, making for picturesque scenery such as that found in Glacier National Park. The west is often considered more picturesque, but is also more populated and heavily touristed.

Eastern Montana is flatter, with isolated "island ranges" of lower mountains intermixed with prairie and a more arid climate, balanced by the presence of several significant rivers including the Missouri River and the Yellowstone River. Some areas feature erosion-built features such as buttes and badlands. It is more sparsely populated, with the notable exception of Billings, the state's largest city.

Residents of Montana often classify themselves as either easterners or westerners, depending upon their geographic home. Attitude-wise, the west is generally considered more liberal, especially around the college town of Missoula. The east, with its large ranching and agricultural operations, is considered more conservative.

The state economy is primarily based on agriculture, ranching, logging and mining as well as tourism.

Montana observes all the federal holidays, and adds Election Day (always on a Tuesday, from November 2nd to 8th). However, there may not be an election in an odd-numbered year, and local and preliminary ("primary") elections throughout the year are not holidays.

Tourist information

• Visit Montana website

Regions

Montana is generally divided into the mountainous Western Montana and the flatter Eastern Montana, roughly split by the Continental Divide of the Rocky Mountains. The Montana board of tourism further splits the state into 6 regions:

Cities

• Helena — the state capital.
• Billings — on the plains within sight of the mountains, the most populous city in Montana.
• Bozeman — gateway to Yellowstone National Park.
• Butte — former mining town, once the largest city between Chicago and Seattle, famous for the Berkeley Pit, the largest Superfund site in the nation.
• Great Falls — the Electric City.
• Havre — railroad town, home to the Wahkpa Chu'gn buffalo jump, the H.Earl Clack Museum, Ft. Assiniboine, and the nearby Bear Paw Battlefield.
• Kalispell — gateway to Glacier National Park.
• Livingston — the northern gateway to Yellowstone National Park, home to interesting local museums.
• Missoula — Montana's second largest city, home to the University of Montana.

Other destinations

• Bighorn Canyon National Recreation Area
• Glacier National Park — opportunities for hiking, fishing, boating and camping on a vast scale. A .
• Little Bighorn Battlefield National Monument — Custer's Last Stand battlefield and Reenactment location
• Lewis and Clark National Historic Trail — Between May 1804 and September 1806, 32 men, one woman, and a baby traveled from the plains of the Midwest to the shores of the Pacific Ocean. They called themselves the Corps of Discovery.
• Upper Missouri River Breaks National Monument — Called "The Breaks" by locals, it is a series of badland areas characterized by rock outcroppings, steep bluffs and grassy plains along the Missouri River.
• Yellowstone National Park — Most of the park is in Wyoming, but three major entrances are in Montana, as the Wyoming side was harder for most visitors to get to.
• Gardiner — The original and only all year entrance to Yellowstone.
• Cooke City — Near the Northeast entrance to Yellowstone.
• West Yellowstone — West entrance to Yellowstone.

Get in

Most visitors to Montana will drive. Montana is traversed by three major interstates.

• Interstate 15 (I-15) runs north-south from Alberta, Canada through Western Montana to Idaho.
• I-90 runs north from Sheridan, Wyoming to near Billings then runs west through Bozeman, Butte, and Missoula to Idaho.
• I-94 runs from the North Dakota border west to join with I-90 just east of Billings.

A few U.S. Highways provide mainline travel through interesting areas of the state.

• The Hi-Line' (US-2), a fabled highway running through northern Montana from the North Dakota border near Bainville to the Idaho border near Troy for 666 miles. The highway runs through the plains and prairies east of the continental divide, through the Fort Peck Indian Reservation town of Wolf Point, through Glasgow, Malta, Havre, Shelby and Cut Bank until crossing the continental divide, running the south side of Glacier National Park to Kalispell, Libby and the border.
• US Highway 12 (US-12) runs a meandering east to west route from Lolo Pass to the North Dakota border near Baker, through heavily forested, winding roads in the West to the dramatic flats and plains to the East. The highway runs a meandering route from Lolo Pass to Missoula, overlaps with I-90 until Garrison, continues on to Helena, then proceeds for almost 250 miles until merging with I-94 through Miles City, then continues on to the North Dakota border near the southern edge of the state.

By plane

The state is easily accessible by air. Major airports serve the seven largest communities of Billings (BIL), Missoula (MSO), Helena (HLN), Great Falls (GTF), Bozeman (BZN) Kalispell (FCA) and Butte (BTM), connecting to major western hubs such as Seattle, Salt Lake City, Minneapolis/St. Paul, and Denver. Regional carriers serve some smaller communities.

By train

A popular and creative way to arrive is via the legendary Empire Builder. The train has 12 stops in Montana (from east to west: Wolf Point, Glasgow, Malta, Havre, Shelby, Cut Bank, Browning/Oct-1 through May 1, East Glacier/May 1 through Oct 1, Essex, West Glacier, Whitefish, Libby), and takes passengers to Seattle, Portland, Oregon, and Chicago from Montana's Hi-Line and Glacier National Park. Tickets should be purchased in advance, and it is generally cheaper to do so. Staffed Amtrak stations in Montana are Wolf Point, Havre, Shelby, East Glacier (when open), and Whitefish.

Get around

Montana is a large state – a trip via Interstate 90 from the far eastern town of Wibaux to the western border at Lookout Pass is over 700 mi, a 9-10 hour drive. Because residents must often drive long distances to get from one place to another, they generally love their cars – especially their SUVs and other 4-wheel drive vehicles that do well in the often hazardous winter weather. Public transportation between cities and towns is limited, so consider renting a car to get around the state.

By car

The easiest and most convenient way to get around is by car. Destinations are spread wide even within a single city, and within cities, parking is usually ample and cheap, if not free. Rental cars are widely available, and the option to pick up in one city and drop off in another is available, though expensive.

By bus

Information on transit can be found from APTA.

Stay safe

Montana is safer than most when it comes to violent and personal crime.

The state suffers from one of the highest highway and road death rates in the country. Long-distance travel over great amounts of time resulting in fatigue, hazardous winter road conditions, distances from emergency services, and alcohol consumption contribute to the high number of deaths on Montana's highways. Montana famously experimented with having no speed limit on rural highways in the 1990s, and you may come across people who still drive that way. This is not to say it's unsafe to drive in Montana — just beware. If you are unused to driving winding mountain roads or driving in extremely hazardous snow/wind/ice/rain/sleet conditions, do not do so. Wait for the weather to clear — it may result in a good story, those 12 hours you spent at a truck stop with some friends waiting for a pass to clear.

If you must drive in winter conditions, be prepared. Always carry water, snack foods, a small first aid kit and a space blanket for emergencies. Cellphone coverage can be unreliable in places, especially the numerous mountain passes. Many rural roads have no cellphone coverage, so don't rely on always having quick emergency communication. If you become stranded, stay in your car, turn on your hazard lights, and wait for help.

There is a lot of potentially-dangerous wildlife around the state, including deer, elk, moose, black bears, brown (grizzly) bears, bison, and coyotes. These animals are wild, and do not tolerate people with cameras getting close, much less trying to put their kid on the bison. Most animals will avoid humans by our scent or noise, although beware of deer along the roads. When camping, always keep food in your car, or hung from a tall tree. Tents are like tissue paper to a hungry bear.

Western Montana is hit by major forest fires toward the middle and end of summer. While it's very unlikely you will be directly in the path of one, they can significantly degrade the air quality. If one is headed toward you and you are ordered to evacuate, do it.

Respect

Montanans treasure their state, loving it for the recreational opportunities, wide open spaces, and the friendly nature of their neighbors. They, in general, welcome tourists and travelers, and will be glad to let you in on cool places to go, the best hike to take, or their favorite fishing hole.

Any disrespect of land and nature will not be tolerated. When enjoying everything Montana has to offer, please respect the lands, waterways and wildlife by following common sense. Don't litter, pollute or otherwise upset the landscape any more than you must, and though it is a cliche, do not feed the wildlife. In general follow the principles of Leave no trace camping and you should be fine.

Go next

• North Dakota - Montana's northeastern neighbor is America's least visited state, but its isolation provides opportunities for uncrowded visits to the state's hills and lakes, badlands, plains, and old frontier forts.
• South Dakota - Home to such natural and cultural wonders as Badlands National Park, Wind Cave National Park and Mount Rushmore, Montana's southeastern neighbor offers a surprising amount for travelers to see and do.
• Wyoming - Most of Yellowstone National Park is in Montana's southern neighbor, so you'll obviously not just want to visit the small section that's in Montana. Montana is not only on the north side of Yellowstone, but to the west also. West Yellowstone is one of the major entrances to the park, and the Wyoming border is just two and a half miles away.
• Idaho - Montana's western neighbor is a rugged state, with snow-capped mountains, whitewater rivers, forests, high desert, and plenty of wilderness.

Montana is the only state that borders more than two Canadian provinces. From west to east:

• British Columbia - Crossing into Canada via US-93 (from Kalispell) leads into the mountainous terrain of southeastern British Columbia.
• Alberta - This Canadian province offers everything from the beauty of the Rockies to the serene flatness of prairie to the wilderness of the northern forests.
• Saskatchewan - The southern portion of Saskatchewan is predominantly prairie (with a reputation for being very flat) known for its seemingly endless fields of wheat.