visitvisit SouthWest MONTANA 2017 OFFICIAL REGIONAL TRAVEL GUIDE SOUTHWESTMT.COM • 800-879-1159 Powwow (Lisa Wareham) Sawtooth Lake (Chuck Haney) Horses (Michael Flaherty) Bannack State Park (Donnie Sexton) SouthWest MONTANABetween Yellowstone National Park and Glacier National Park lies a landscape that encapsulates the best of what Montana’s about. Here, breathtaking crags pierce the bluest sky you’ve ever seen. Vast flocks of trumpeter swans splash down on the emerald waters of high mountain lakes. Quiet ghost towns beckon you back into history. Lively communities buzz with the welcoming vibe and creative energy of today’s frontier. Whether your passion is snowboarding or golfing, microbrews or monster trout, you’ll find endless riches in Southwest Montana. You’ll also find gems of places to enjoy a hearty meal or rest your head — from friendly roadside diners to lavish Western resorts. We look forward to sharing this Rexford Yaak Eureka Westby GLACIER Whitetail Babb Sweetgrass Four Flaxville NATIONAL Opheim Buttes Fortine Polebridge Sunburst Turner remarkable place with you. Trego St. Mary PARK Loring Whitewater Peerless Scobey Plentywood Lake Cut Bank Troy Apgar McDonald Browning Chinook Medicine Lake Libby West Glacier Columbia Shelby Falls Coram Rudyard Martin City Chester Froid Whitefish East Glacier Galata Havre Fort Hinsdale Saint Hungry Saco Lustre Horse Park Valier Box Belknap Marie Elder Dodson Vandalia Kalispell Essex Agency Heart Butte Malta Culbertson Kila Dupuyer Wolf Marion Bigfork Flathead River Glasgow Nashua Poplar Heron Big Sandy Point Somers Conrad Bainville Noxon Lakeside Rollins Bynum Brady Proctor Swan Lake Fort Fairview Trout Dayton Virgelle Peck Creek Elmo Fort Benton Loma Thompson Big Arm Choteau Landusky Zortman Sidney Falls Hot Springs Polson Lambert Crane Condon Fairfield Great Ronan Vaughn Haugan Falls Savage De Borgia Plains Charlo Augusta CONTENTS Paradise Winifred Bloomfield St. Regis Moiese Fort Shaw Brusett Circle Belt Dixon St. Ignatius Ulm Roy Stockett Raynesford Denton Jordan Brockway Superior Cascade Geyser Arlee Seeley 253 Lake The Areas Stanford Glendive Craig Monarch Lewistown Alberton Sand Springs Wibaux Lincoln Hobson Winnett Cohagen Helena .....................................2 Missoula Ovando Wolf Creek 253 Greenough Neihart Grass Mosby Bonner Utica Range Lolo Helmville Terry Butte .......................................6 Clinton Canyon Creek Fallon Marysville Virginia City / Ennis ................10 East Florence Drummond Judith Gap Helena Helena Melstone Ingomar PINTLER White Sulphur Ismay Victor Stevensville SCENIC Elliston Montana Plevna Dillon .....................................12 ROUTE Garrison Springs Two Clancy Winston City Dot Harlowton Miles City Deer Roundup Baker Anaconda / Philipsburg .........16 Corvallis Philipsburg Jefferson Martinsdale Lodge Basin City Hysham Forsyth Hamilton Townsend Ringling Deer Lodge ...........................20 Rosebud Georgetown Lake Boulder Bighorn Darby Anaconda 569 Custer Conner Worden Ekalaka Wise Butte Wilsall Attractions / Activities Logan Big Colstrip Sula River Manhattan Pompeys Pillar Dewey Three Clyde Park Timber Ghost Towns .........................22 Whitehall Belgrade Greycliff Silver Forks Divide Harrison Livingston Reed Point Laurel Lame Star Columbus Billings Deer Ghost Tours ...........................25 Wisdom Hardin Crow Ashland Melrose Pony McLeod WARRI Olive Twin Gallatin Agency OR PIONEER IL Bridges Gateway TRA MTNS Sheridan Bozeman Park HI 278 Norris Absarokee City Busby GH Native American SCENIC Rockvale WAY Broadus BYWAY Fishtail Saint Xavier Garryowen Jackson Nevada Joliet Sites & Events .......................26 Polaris City Ennis Pray Nye Roberts Pryor Lodge Fort Smith Grass Birney Alder Emigrant Roscoe Bridger 278 Virginia Big Sky State Parks ............................27 Bannack Dillon City Otter Biddle Alzada Cameron Red Lodge Wyola Off-road Vehicle Adventures ..41 Cooke Belfry Montana Map ........................28 Grant Gardiner Silver Decker 324 Gate City Winter Activities .....................42 324 Quake Tower Junction Hot Springs ...........................30 Mammoth Lake BEARTOOTH Hot Springs YELLOWSTONE ALLAMERICAN ROAD Rockhounding .......................32 Scenic Routes .......................44 Dell Canyon Norris NATIONAL Lima Madison Breweries / Distilleries ............48 Monida Lakeview PARK Fishing ...................................34 West Junction Yellowstone Lake Golf .......................................48 West Birding ...................................35 Thumb Old Faithful Grant Wildlife Watching ...................36 Accommodations ...............50 Village Dude Ranching ......................36 Calendar of Events .............54 Biking ....................................38 Visitor Information ..............55 Hiking ....................................40 Index ....................................56 Cover: Pintler Mountains. Photo by Michael Chilcoat 800-879-1159 • SOUTHWESTMT.COM 1 HELENA AREA Helena is Montana’s state capital and was the center of wealth during the state’s mining heyday. The Last Chance placers, discovered here in 1864, are among the nation’s most famous. The vast wealth of Montana’s early elite financed fabulous mansions Helena Walking Mall (Donnie Sexton) and flamboyant business blocks earning Helena the nickname Queen City of the Rockies. Here you’ll find grand architecture alongside remnants of the gold rush upon which the modern community rests. As our state capital, Helena is also a vibrant cultural center with a busy event calendar, terrific local bands, great restaurants, fine museums and an epic “urban” trail system. Nearby, you can fish the Missouri, explore the Gates of the Mountains, cross-country ski and cycle a lifetime’s worth of mountain bike trails. Gates of the Mountains (Lisa Wareham) MONTANA HISTORICAL SOCIETY MUSEUM HISTORY Founded in 1865, the society houses art, artifacts, archives and LAST CHANCE TOUR TRAIN photographs. The museum features the work of cowboy artist Step aboard and experience Helena on this one-hour, narrated train C. M. Russell and American Indian and Montana history exhibits. ride through Helena’s history. You’ll view the original Governor’s Discover your roots at the Research Center and find a Montana Mansion, the current executive residence, the state Capitol, the treasure at the gift store. historic Guardian of the Gulch and much more. It’s the best way 406-444-2694 • mhs.mt.gov/museum to see it all. 406-442-1023 • lctours.com ORIGINAL GOVERNOR’S MANSION Take a guided tour of the 1888 Queen Anne-style mansion LAST CHANCE GULCH that served as the official home of Montana’s governors from Prospectors took “one last chance” that paid off in 1864. Helena 1913 to 1959. grew along the gulch that today is the most historic mile in Montana. 406-444-4794 • mhs.mt.gov/education/ogmtours Victorian-era buildings now line the site where diggings produced millions in gold. Enjoy great shopping, dining, art galleries and history. REEDER’S ALLEY 406-447-1535 • downtownhelena.com This quaint alley, once home to miners, is Helena’s most intact territorial-period neighborhood. Listed in the National Register of STATE CAPITOL BUILDING Historic Places, visitors can take a self-guided tour. The Montana Montana’s stunning neoclassical-style Capitol reflects the American Heritage Commission, managing entity for Nevada and Virginia Renaissance of the late 19th century. The building, fully restored cities, maintains this historic state-owned property. to its 1902 appearance, features a dome of Montana copper. 406-843-5247 • reedersalley.com Tours emphasize the blending of fine Western art and classical architecture that make the Montana Capitol unique. MONTANA MILITARY MUSEUM 406-444-2694 • mhs.mt.gov/education Montana’s official military repository offers a rich collection of memorabilia, artifacts and archives, ranging from Lewis and Clark’s CATHEDRAL OF ST. HELENA Corps of Discovery through modern times. Located just west of Patterned after the renowned Votive Cathedral of the Sacred Heart town at the Fort Harrison complex. in Vienna, Austria, St. Helena’s 230-foot spires dominate the Helena 406-324-3550 • www.montanamilitarymuseum.org skyline. The impressive interior features 59 spectacular Munich- style stained glass panels crafted in Germany by renowned artist F.X. Zettler. 406-442-5825 • sthelenas.org 2 SOUTHWESTMT.COM • 800-879-1159 Helena (Donnie Sexton) BLACKFOOT VALLEY HISTORICAL JEFFERSON COUNTY HISTORICAL MUSEUM SOCIETY MUSEUM Housed in an 1898 schoolhouse at Clancy, the museum interprets This museum collection of displays and Lincoln Gulch Gold Mine pioneer living, features a 19th-century classroom in a hand-built artifacts preserves the local history and character of Lincoln, the frontier town, and hosts traveling exhibits. Blackfoot Valley and its residents. Located in Lincoln behind the 406-933-5861 • Hi-Country Trading Post, the museum features logging, mining, www.jeffersoncounty-mt.gov/visit_us.html agricultural equipment and local historic buildings. 406-362-4949 • lincolnmontana.com CULTURE KLEFFNER RANCH A mile south of East Helena, this 1885 ranch is listed in the National ARCHIE BRAY FOUNDATION Register of Historic Places and includes a massive fieldstone barn Established in 1951 on the site of a brick factory, the Bray attracts available for community functions, weddings and reunions, and an artists from around the world. Tour the studios and grounds of this unusual octagonal ranch house. unique endeavor in the