Lodging in Montana

Montana

Known for decades as "Big Sky Country," Montana is a great destination for anyone who loves to ride, cycle, paddle, hike, fish or ski in a variety of stunning landscapes.

The plains of eastern Montana slowly crumple into foothills as the state rises towards the Rocky Mountains in the west. For an unforgettable drive, follow the Going-to-the-Sun Road, an 83-kilometre (52-mile) highway that takes you over the Continental Divide in Glacier National Park. It's one of the few roads in this spectacular park; instead of endless pavement, you'll find an 1100-kilometre (700-mile) network of hiking and horseback riding trails that will bring you close to the park's many lakes, waterfalls and namesake glaciers.

© Holly Kuchera

© Tony Campbell

A bull elk walks through a meadow in Yellowstone National Park, Montana.

Montana is classic cowboy country, and many ranches offer city slickers the chance to join a cattle drive or wagon train, or simply trade stories around a campfire. You can also thrill to the exploits of rodeo stars at events across the state, even in winter—the Northern Rodeo Association Finals take place every February in the MetraPark Arena in the state capital, Billings.

In Virginia City and Nevada City, former ghost towns restored to their gold rush glory, you can get a taste of frontier life in the 1860s. To learn about yet another aspect of Montana's history, visit the Museum of the Plains Indian in Browning, which displays an excellent collection of Blackfeet artefacts.