Cities & Towns
Butte
Nobody moves to southwest Montana looking for balmy beaches. The choice to live here is a choice to embrace the long winters that come with the territory. June snowstorms aren’t out of the question, nor is ice-fishing in November. Read more >>
Yeah, we've all made fun of it. We call it "Butt" or "The Pit" or "that place I go to get drunk on St. Patrick's Day." But Butte can't be all that bad, right? It was chosen over all other Montana towns for the National Folk Festival, after all. Read more >>The Big Hole River is the first choice of any Butte-area angler, with its wide variety of hatches and hungry trout. Just 30 minutes south of Butte on I-15, there is a chance at rainbows, browns, cutthroat, brook trout, whitefish, and grayling. Read more >>
A city with more than 4,000 historic buildings, Butte is one of only five cities in the country recognized as a National Historic Landmark. Filled with a rich and remarkable history, Butte was the “place to be” during the late 1800s and early 1900s. Read more >>Bozeman
Exploring Bozeman by bike. Afoot and light-hearted I take to the open road,Healthy, free, the world before me,The long brown path before me leading wherever I choose.—Walt Whitman Read more >>
Dealing with the changing face of Bozeman.“Wisdom begins in wonder.” —SocratesI recently saw a bumper sticker that read “Make Bozeman Montana Again,” and I laughed. Bozeman will never be Montana again, I thought. And my bare cynicism was upsetting. Read more >>
Finding peace in transition. "We are all in the gutter, but some of us are looking at the stars." —Oscar Wilde Read more >>Big Sky
These days, Lone Mountain is a ski-world icon. But before they built a tram to the top, you had to earn your turns. Read more >>
I’m kicking and gliding along the impeccably groomed Nordic trails at Lone Mountain Ranch in Big Sky. Snow-laden trees line the edge of the trail, threatening to drop gobs of snow; North Fork Creek gurgles near the trail, verdant green moss peaking out from under the snow. Read more >>West Yellowstone
The Lionhead stands at the center of southwest Montana’s backcountry-biking universe. Ensuring access is a rock-solid partnership between bikers, horsemen, and the Forest Service, a rare case of collaboration where the results speak for themselves. Read more >>Livingston
A world away, close to home. Fifty-four miles: that’s the distance between Gardiner and Livingston—and that short distance holds limitless adventure. But how do you distill all those options into a single weekend? I’m glad you asked. Read more >>
Relief from the heat on Mill Creek. It’s hot. Our house doesn’t have A/C and the weekend forecast calls for unpleasantly high temps. The thermostat hovers around 85 degrees indoors and it feels like our blood is about to boil.It’s time to escape. Read more >>Gardiner
A world away, close to home. Fifty-four miles: that’s the distance between Gardiner and Livingston—and that short distance holds limitless adventure. But how do you distill all those options into a single weekend? I’m glad you asked. Read more >>
Every year, our corner of Montana braces for an endless caravan of RVs parading down toward Yellowstone, stopping in Livingston, Paradise Valley, and Gardiner along the way in vehicular atrocities larger than your house. Read more >>Ennis
Need a two-day getaway, but don’t want to blow wads of dough or spend hours on the road? Then pack a few things, shut off the cell phone, and head south to Ennis, where a laid-back and fun-filled weekend awaits—all within an hour’s drive of Bozeman. Read more >>Three Forks
Amid the sporadic snowfall, spring is doing its best to break in, bringing with it blue skies, chirping birds, and—a few days after each dump, anyway—some dry singletrack. Read more >>
Fans of the Missouri Headwaters State Park have more reason than ever to celebrate: there’s a new riverside trail at the par Read more >>
Bozeman mountain bikers have long craved a three-season destination close to town, and thanks to the tireless efforts of Bozeman’s Tim Hawke, they’re going to get their wish. Read more >>Manhattan
There is the rest of the world's Manhattan—the one in New York—and then there's our Manhattan. Theirs has the Upper West Side; ours is the Upper West Side. Theirs is near the Bronx, and ours is near the broncs. Read more >>
It's tough being a Bozemanite sometimes. Which coffee shop am I gonna frequent? Which one of these Suby Outbacks is mine? Grab a jacket, a Nalgene, those never-ending out-of-town guests, and get back into the boonies for a day, on one tank or less. Read more >>
I’ll never forget when my neighbor lent me his .22 so I could practice shooting in my backyard. Every day it was all I wanted to do. Then my dad bought me a .243, and I couldn’t wait to take it home and practice for the upcoming season. Read more >>Big Timber
Flanked by the Absaroka-Beartooths and the Crazy Mountains, the town of Big Timber sits at the confluence of the Yellowstone and Boulder rivers, serving as a great starting point for a multi-day adventure. Read more >>Red Lodge
Spring break, Montana-style. When March rolls around, it’s hard not to think of white-sand beaches and umbrella-adorned cocktails. Before you break out the boardies and head for the beach, celebrate spring the Bozeman way—by skiing until May. Here’s how to pull it off. Read more >>
If time’s short and all you can spare is a single day, point the car east and head for Red Lodge. Be sure to get an early start: it’s about a 2.5-hour drive. On the way out of town, stop by Sola Café for coffee and a breakfast sandwich. Read more >>
