Montana

Montana’s exemplary park is best traversed by driving Going-to-the-Sun-Road, which will take you through a dramatic and diverse environment made up of prairie, mountains, alpine meadows, red cedar forests and lakes. Over 1,100 kilometers of trails send you deep into the heart of the park, where you’re likely to encounter grizzly bears, mountain goats and moose. 

Among this trail’s 14 paleontology museums you’ll find the Museum of the Rockies, which has the largest Tyrannosaurus rex skull ever found, as well as the Old Trail Museum, where you can touch a dinosaur bone. At Two Medicine Dinosaur Center, go out back and actually dig for dinosaur fossils.

Native American people stampeded buffalo over this 1½ kilometer-long cliff, one of the largest buffalo jumps in the USA, for thousands of years. Interpretive trails and the visitor center bring the age-old practice to life.

During their famous expedition in a wooden boat along the Missouri River, explorers Lewis and Clark named this spot, which sits halfway between Yellowstone and Glacier National Parks. Take a boat tour through this dramatic channel and view the breathtaking peaks around you.

The landscape surrounding this Butte museum may seem sparse, but there’s a whole world below. Experience Montana’s mining history by going almost 20 meters underground, climbing into a mining cage or exploring 66 exhibits at the Orphan Girl mine yard. A mineral and rock room and recreated mining town jettison you deep into the state’s historic industry.

Located in northwestern part of the state, Flathead—the largest natural lake in the western USA—is a still, flat freshwater sheet, perfect for fishing trout or boating. Visit the lake’s Wild Horse Island, home to 75 species of birds, to see Bighorn Sheep, deer, falcon and the namesake wild horses, or head to one of the a U-pick cherry orchards you’ll find around the lake.

The limestone cavern here features stalactites and stalagmites and can be accessed on a guided tour, where you may also see Western big-eared bats. Follow up with hiking, biking, or take the above-ground nature tour.

A guided walking tour traces the events that took place here during the 1876 battle between the U.S. Cavalry and Native Americans. A self-guided tour down one road covers both Custer and Reno-Benteen Battlefields. Stop in to the visitor center to see weapons and other memorabilia and visit the Custer National Cemetery.

Revisit the frontier life of the mid-to-late 1800s when gold was discovered in Alder Gulch. Located in southwest Montana, Virginia City was born of this gold rush and offers visitors the opportunity to step back into the Wild West. Pan for gold, see an old-time play, and take stagecoach rides, ghost tours, train rides or firetruck tours. Don’t miss the ghost town of Nevada City just a few minutes away.

Whether you’re skiing or snowboarding, there’s so much ground to cover at Big Sky Resort that it often feels like having a mountain to yourself. This resort is nicknamed the “Biggest Skiing in America” for its 2,360 skiable hectares, which include 4,350 vertical drops, 34 chairlifts and surface lifts, and the Lone Peak Tram to 3,403 meters in elevation.