05_255629 ch01.qxp 4/18/08 6:13 PM Page 4 1 The Best of Montana & Wyoming A mix of the rugged Wild West, the even more rugged Rocky Mountains, and a few almost-modern cities—or what we might call overgrown cow towns—make the states of Montana and Wyoming delightful vacation spots. This is especially true for people who savor outdoor adventures, but it’s also the case for those looking to discover a part of the United States that many of us have seen only in the movies and on television (and that’s a rather distorted view). Here you’ll find some of the most breathtaking scenery in America; a vast array of wildlife that not only thinks it owns the place, but actually does; and even some first-class Western-style lodges, restaurants, and museums. Following are what I consider some of the best experiences in Montana and Wyoming. 1 The Best Vacation Experiences • Glacier National Park (MT): The • Grand Teton National Park (WY): best vacation spot in Montana is also The Grand Tetons are an excellent the most obvious one. By the stan- short course in Rocky Mountain dard of other crowded national parks, parks for travelers with less time: this spectacular country is virtually magnificent peaks rising from the undiscovered. See chapter 5. Snake River plain, alpine lakes, wild- • Yellowstone National Park (WY): flowers, and wildlife, all in a relatively It’s the crown jewel of American small park that can be seen in a few parks, and it remains the prime days or combined with Jackson for a attraction in the Rocky Mountains. longer vacation. See “Grand Teton This unique park offers visitors an National Park” in chapter 12. extraordinary combination of wilder- ness, wildlife, and geothermal won- ders. See chapter 11. COPYRIGHTED MATERIAL 2 The Best Outdoor Adventures • Exploring the Bob Marshall Wil- See section 7, “The Bob Marshall derness (MT): The 1.5-million-acre Wilderness Complex,” in chapter 6. Bob Marshall Wilderness Complex in • Enjoying the Yellowstone Backcoun- northwest Montana is one of Amer- try (WY): Outfitters from ranches ica’s most spectacular wild places. Lace around Yellowstone National Park up your hiking boots, tie on your will take you into the deep wilderness bandanna, and take to the high coun- that surrounds the busy attractions at try in Montana’s northwest corner. the park’s center, and there you’ll get 05_255629 ch01.qxp 4/18/08 6:13 PM Page 5 THE BEST HOTELS & RESORTS 5 a flavor of the wild as rich as the along Slough Creek, or telemark ski- Rockies can offer. If you have experi- ing the powder around Shoshone ence, you can go on your own—pad- Lake. See chapter 11 for details. dling Yellowstone Lake, backpacking 3 The Best Wildlife Viewing • Glacier National Park (MT): The Complex, roam a full complement of experience of watching wildlife amid Rocky Mountain wildlife—although the imposing terrain of Glacier you have to wander into the back- National Park is tough to beat. With country to find it. See section 7, “The a little energy, you can see mountain Bob Marshall Wilderness Complex,” goats, moose, elk, and other native in chapter 6. animals in their natural habitat. Keep • The Lamar Valley (WY): You can see a good distance, and be aware of all wildlife in many parts of Yellowstone, bear restrictions and regulations—the including the meadows across from grizzly is the park’s unofficial mascot. the Old Faithful complex. But the See chapter 5. richest trove of wildlife is in the park’s • The Bob Marshall Wilderness northeast corner, in the valley nick- Complex (MT): Just south of Gla- named “The Serengeti of North cier, in the Bob Marshall Wilderness America.” See chapter 11. 4 The Best Winter Vacations • Skiing at Whitefish Mountain increasingly popular, and it’s bound Resort (MT; & 800/858-5439): be even more so now that the With an annual snowfall of 300 Old Faithful Snow Lodge has been inches, a vertical drop of 2,500 feet, a transformed into a handsome, com- superpipe for the snowboarding fortable facility. You can take a snow- crowd, and virtually no lines, White- coach into the park, or cross-country fish Mountain is one of the best ski ski or snowshoe to the Lonestar areas in the northwestern United Geyser and other attractions. See States. See p. 134. p. 305. • Skiing at Big Sky and Moonlight • Skiing at Jackson Hole Mountain Basin (MT; & 800/548-4486 or Resort (WY; & 307/733-2292): 877/822-0430): Big Sky and the Jackson Hole offers a vertical drop much newer Moonlight Basin have that will take your breath away. There connected their trail systems, making are a variety of ways to get to the bot- for a combined 5,300 acres of ter- tom, from double black diamonds to rain—the largest ski area in the coun- intermediate slopes. Skiers who like a try, not to mention the one with the challenge should come here and mix most vertical drop. See p. 229. the visit with some ballooning, tours • Wintering at Old Faithful (WY): of the elk refuge, and other adven- The chilly season in Yellowstone is tures. See p. 313. 5 The Best Hotels & Resorts • Many Glacier Hotel (Glacier National about Many Glacier, apart from its Park, MT; & 406/892-2525; www. elegant mien, friendly service, and glacierparkinc.com): The best thing cozy rooms, is the setting; it sits along 05_255629 ch01.qxp 4/18/08 6:13 PM Page 6 6 CHAPTER 1 . THE BEST OF MONTANA & WYOMING Montana CANADA KOOTENAIKOOTENAI MONTANA EEurekaureka GLACIER 89 BLACKFEET NATIONALNATIONAL 37 FLATHEADFLATHEAD NATIONAL FORESTFOREST NATIONALNATIONAL INDIAN FORESTFOREST PARK RESERVATION 93 2 2 WhitefishWhitefish West Glacier LLibbyibby East Glacier Bear Paw Battlefield Fort Union Elmo St. Pk. National 2 HungryHungry Lake Historic Site Kalispell 15 HorseHorse Conrad Elwell ReservoirReservoir 87 Bear Creek MMONTANA O 200 89 Fort Rec. Area N SSwanwan LLakeake Benton IIDAHO T LOLOLOLO FlatheadFlathead D A NNat’lat’l WWildlifeildlife RRef.ef. A N LakeLake Choteau Rock Creek H A NATIONALNATIONAL O Rec. Area FORESTFOREST 80 FFLATHEADLATHEAD PPolsonolson LEWISLEWIS ANDAND CLARKCLARK INDIANINDIAN Nelson Creek NATIONALNATIONAL FORESTFOREST Augusta LEWIS AND CLARK Rec. Area RESERVATIONRESERVATION NATIONAL FOREST NNinepipeinepipe GGreatreat 200 NNat’lat’l WWildlifeildlife RRef.ef. FFallsalls SSuperioruperior LLOLOOLO 200 15 200 83 NATIONALNATIONAL 200 A COEURCOEUR D’ALENED’ALENE 87 T FORESTFOREST O NATIONALNATIONAL FORESTFOREST 89 K Wolf Creek A D MMissoulaissoula LEWISLEWIS ANDAND CLARKCLARK HELENAHELENA H LLoloolo HHotot SSpringsprings NATIONALNATIONAL FORESTFOREST LEWIS AND CLARK T NATIONALNATIONAL R 90 NATIONAL FOREST O HHelenaelena FORESTFOREST N LOLOLOLO CanyonCanyon MMartinsdaleartinsdale NATIONALNATIONAL FerryFerry WWhitehite FORESTFOREST LakeLake DEERLODGEDEERLODGE SSulphurulphur PPhilipsburghilipsburg NATIONALNATIONAL SSpringsprings MMONTANA GALLATINGALLATIN IIDAHO O FORESTFOREST MMissouriissouri D N A AAnacondanaconda HHeadwaterseadwaters SSt.t. PPk.k. NATIONALNATIONAL H T 89 A O BITTERROOTBITTERROOT FORESTFOREST N Butte A NATIONALNATIONAL 90 43 Little FORESTFOREST Three Bighorn Battlefield G 43 BigBig HoleHole BattlefieldBattlefield Forks G BBozemanozeman 90 National Monument a a Chief Plenty l 287 l l Nat’lNat’l Mon.Mon. l a a Coups St. Pk. t t BEAVERHEADBEAVERHEAD i 15 n GGallatinallatin LivingstonLivingston CUSTER NATIONALNATIONAL GGatewayateway NATIONAL Ennis BIGHORN CANYON FORESTFOREST Bannack FOREST NATIONAL REC. AREA R BBigig SSkyky R St. Pk. i Red Lodge v CUSTER Dillon e r GGardinerardiner Cooke City NATIONAL FOREST SALMONSALMON NATIONALNATIONAL FORESTFOREST Clark WWestest Canyon YYellowstoneellowstone Reservoir BEAVERHEADBEAVERHEAD YYELLOWSTONEELLOWSTONE NATIONALNATIONAL FORESTFOREST Buffalo Bill SALMONSALMON NNATIONALATIONAL State Park BIGHORN NATIONALNATIONAL MONTANA PPARKARK G NATIONAL N FORESTFOREST I 0 30 mi CHALLISCHALLIS IDAHO FOREST O M H NATIONALNATIONAL O Yellowstone A Y TARGHEETARGHEE NATIONALNATIONAL FORESTFOREST D FORESTFOREST WYOMING W Lake 0 30 km IDAHO I Swiftcurrent Lake and in the shadows historic spot that proves that a hotel of Mount Grinnell and Mount doesn’t need to sprawl all over the Wilbur. See p. 83. place to set the highest standard of • The Pollard (Red Lodge, MT; comfort and elegance. See p. 240. & 800/765-5273; www.thepollard. • Old Faithful Inn (Yellowstone net): You can join Buffalo Bill on National Park, WY; & 307/344-7311; the guest register at The Pollard, a www.travelyellowstone.com): If you 05_255629 ch01.qxp 4/18/08 6:13 PM Page 7 THE BEST HOTELS & RESORTS 7 CANADA 5 KOOTENAI Eureka MONTANA Scobey 16 NATIONAL FLATHEAD 24 FOREST NATIONAL FOREST 13 2 Fort Belknap 2 FORT PECK Whitefish Havre Nelson M Libby BBearear PPawaw BBattlefieldattlefield Reservoir ilk FortFort UnionUnion R INDIAN RESERVATION NationalNational iv Hungry ROCKY BOYS FORT BELKNAP er 2 HistoricHistoric SiteSite ver Horse INDIAN RES. INDIAN RES. Mi i Ri Reservoir Fort Peck ssour 66 BBearear CCreekreek 16 200 M 191 O U.L. Bend National RRec.ec. AArearea 13 N Swan Lake I T LOLO Flathead Wildlife Refuge D A Nat’l Wildlife Ref. 200 A N Lake iver RRockock CCreekreek H NATIONAL i R A sour O Mis RRec.ec. AArearea FOREST FLATHEAD Polson Fort Peck LEWIS AND CLARK Charles M. Russell Lake INDIAN Devil’s Creek NNelsonelson CCreekreek NATIONAL FOREST Nat’l Wildlife Rec. Area RRec.ec. AArearea 16 RESERVATION Refuge 200 Ninepipe Great Crooked Creek 200S Glendive Nat’l Wildlife Ref. Falls Rec. Area Jordan LOLO 81 191 Superior 200 NATIONAL 87 A COEUR D’ALENE 200 94 T FOREST O NATIONAL FOREST 59 K Lewistown A D DAKOTA Missoula LEWIS AND CLARK NTANA H HELENA H Lolo Hot Springs NATIONAL FOREST LEWISLEWIS ANDAND CLARKCLARK T RT R MO NATIONAL NATIONALNATIONAL FORESTFOREST O NO Helena FOREST N LOLO Canyon Martinsdale 191 12 12 NATIONAL Ferry Harlowtown Miles City White FOREST Lake Roundup DEERLODGE Sulphur 1 94 Philipsburg NATIONAL Springs M GALLATIN 87 59 I O FOREST Missouri D N A Anaconda Headwaters St.