If you can see Montana once, what's the best stuff to experience? Wife and I are traveling out west from North Carolina to Seattle to visit friends for a week in September. After that, we're planning on making our way over to Montana to spend a week exploring. We want to start our week up in Whitefish/Glacier and end our week in Billings, as that is where my wife will be flying back home as I drive back across country (I'm self employed, but there's no reason to use her PTO days traveling back). We want to see as much of Montana in that week as possible without feeling rushed. We're not the touristy type though. Obviously dispersed camping is what we're wanting for us to rest our heads. Just trying to figure out the "must sees" so I can begin planning the route, camping for the evening, etc
Exploring Montana in One Week
- Thread starter 1stgenoverland
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Advocate III
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Do your research on Glacier NP, a lot of the road infrastructure was damaged this winter… some roads have no projected dates to reopen.
I’m in Glacier right now…
The Going to the Sun Road is not yet open for vehicle traffic, although the snow has been cleared. Repairs to the road and guardrails are ongoing and it should open soon. This should not affect your September visit. However, snow is not uncommon that month, which may cause temporary closures.
Note the vehicle reservation system. You can attempt to get a ticket via a cancellation or try for the last minute ticket release. You can also secure a campsite along the main road, which allows you access without that ticket.
Montana is beautiful outside of Glacier. There’s Henrys Lake and Flathead Lake (local cherries!), Flathead National Forest, driving the Beartooth Highway, etc. Great history, too: Stagecoach Mary, Lewis & Clark, dinosaurs, gold mining, Native American culture. What you prefer to do will shape your plan - hike, bike, fish, camp, boat, museums? Lots to do, more than a week’s worth - wish I could stay all summer!
The Going to the Sun Road is not yet open for vehicle traffic, although the snow has been cleared. Repairs to the road and guardrails are ongoing and it should open soon. This should not affect your September visit. However, snow is not uncommon that month, which may cause temporary closures.
Note the vehicle reservation system. You can attempt to get a ticket via a cancellation or try for the last minute ticket release. You can also secure a campsite along the main road, which allows you access without that ticket.
Montana is beautiful outside of Glacier. There’s Henrys Lake and Flathead Lake (local cherries!), Flathead National Forest, driving the Beartooth Highway, etc. Great history, too: Stagecoach Mary, Lewis & Clark, dinosaurs, gold mining, Native American culture. What you prefer to do will shape your plan - hike, bike, fish, camp, boat, museums? Lots to do, more than a week’s worth - wish I could stay all summer!
Will do! I've seen a lot of things on socials about it. Knew it would probably be an issue for us, but will for sure keep that in mind when planning a route!
Thanks for the insight! We're for sure the hiking/camping type. Like you said, too much to do to fit it into a week. Try out best to cover what we can in a relaxing way and try to make it out there to continue exploring another time!
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Driving back from the Seattle area, if you want to avoid interstates, a great option is to take Hyw 20 east across the state up near the Canadian border, passes through North Cascades National Park and is very scenic highway. You can take it over to Newport at the eastern side of the state and then run Hwy 2 across Idaho and into Kalispel just out side Glacier Park. There is a fun network of FS roads just outside of the park on the east side of Hungry Horse Reservoir (Eastside road/S Fork Flathead Rd) that has some great dispersed camping sites. If you leave the park to the south and down through Missoula, you can continue south on 93 and take Skalkaho Hwy 38 which is a gravel route east with some good dispersed camping and plenty of wildlife/scenery which will eventually take you out to hwy 1 at Anaconda and I-90. If Yellowstone cooporates a detour down through there and onto Beartooth Hwy is well worth the drive and takes you through Red Lodge up to Billings. With all the damage Montana had in that area recently, definatly check all the routes before you commit, I am sure many of the backcounty roads will take some time to get fixed if they get fixed this year. Also plenty to see in the Seattle / Puget Sound area while you are here.
This is all great stuff and I'll for sure do my research on these routes! Thanks for the suggestions! Our friends in Seattle have the entire week planned out for us, so we'll be busy for sure! Excited to see as much as we can!
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I love it out here, we live on a smaller drive on island about an hour north of Seattle and I generally try to avoid Seattle itself unless doing the tourist thing with visitors, but there is so much to do here and so many different environments to explore.
Found the sound of it, we'll be doing some tourist things for sure, but you gotta be tourists every once in a while :D
Nothing wrong with hitting the highlights, tourist shouldn’t be a curse word.
I took the boat shuttle round trip across Two Medicine Lake yesterday and hiked up to Cobalt Lake. Had the lake all to myself, if you don’t count the marmots. During the return boat ride, we saw a black bear swimming across the upper part of the lake. Doing the tourist thing has its perks!
I took the boat shuttle round trip across Two Medicine Lake yesterday and hiked up to Cobalt Lake. Had the lake all to myself, if you don’t count the marmots. During the return boat ride, we saw a black bear swimming across the upper part of the lake. Doing the tourist thing has its perks!
Was in Glacier last week, Couldnt do Going to the Sun Road, but got a pass the previous morning to drive up to Bowman Lake via the Polebridge entrance. Polebridge was pretty cool, a small mercantile shop and a bar out in the middle of nowhere, even had a food truck! Picked up a couple swiss hikers that had hiked from East Glacier. Fun times I would suggest Polebridge and Bowman Lake if Going to the Sun is closed. 
Explorer I
That kind of sums up Montana ;)
If you are in the Lolo Pass area make sure to go to The Jack - even if you don't imbibe. In those parts the local bar serves as a community gathering spot and you will always meet some colorful locals. Trixi's in Ovando is also a fun stop and The Stray Bullet in Ovando serves up some excellent home cooked meals, love their breakfasts. If you are near Helena make sure to hit the Marysville House for a giant steak meal, horseshoes and a drink - don't forget to carve your name into the wall of the dining hall. Had many good times at the Marysville House - its pretty much a ghost town with only dirt roads and some scenic dirt road driving to get there. The Copper Queen in Helmsville is also a fun old nostalgic watering hole.
You will avoid the tourists at these stops and get a feel for old Montana - and getting from one spot to another is more than half of the fun. Be kind, sincere and friendly and you will get to engage with with some wonderful and warm folks.
