8 Most Breathtaking Towns In Montana
In the northwestern US, bordering Canada, you will find the diverse landscapes within the state of Montana, a place which can be called breathtaking for many reasons. It is home to multiple mountain ranges, including the Rocky Mountains and Beartooth Mountains, with deep valleys and grassy prairies in between. Montana is also home to two of the most well-known national parks in the country, Glacier National Park and Yellowstone National Park, which was actually the first to ever exist. The opportunities to see beautiful things are truly endless in this state!
Whitefish
In the northwest corner of Montana, near the border of Canada, the popular tourist town of Whitefish lies. Year-round, only about 9,000 people call it home, so it maintains a rural feel despite the influx of visitors it receives during winter for skiing and summer for exploring its outdoor recreation. This town is very well-known for being friendly and welcoming, especially at the Whitefish Mountain Resort, and also for the genuinely breathtaking natural attractions that surround it.
Right outside of town, Whitefish Lake, a stunning natural body of water flanked by both sandy beaches and towering mountains, is renowned for its shockingly clear water. The lake is a busy destination in the warmer months, being a perfect place for fishing, swimming, and boating. Alongside the lake, connected to downtown Whitefish, is the Whitefish Trail, a curated network of hiking and mountain biking trails, which even accommodate horseback riding at many spots. The trail system stretches over an impressive 40 miles.
If visitors to Whitefish are not there to ski in the resort or water ski on the lake, they are likely staying in the town to visit Glacier National Park, a famous location that hosts millions of visitors a year. Many of those tourists are excited to see the park's namesake glaciers, which are rare overall in the US, but Glacier National Park is also home to serene turquoise lakes, Rocky Mountain peaks, and imposing wildlife populations, including grizzly bears and elk. The best part is, it is a less than 30-minute drive from Whitefish!
Polson
A gorgeous lake town on the southern shore of Flathead Lake is the small town of Polson, on the Flathead Indian Reservation. It is known for being scenic, of course, and also for its premier cherry-growing location, even being home to the annual Flathead Lake Cherry Festival. The lake is the largest freshwater body in the western US, and like several lakes in Montana, it is said to be full of amazingly clear water. In total, it covers almost 200 miles of surface area and has over 160 miles of shoreline, which make it a very popular destination for activities like swimming and fishing. You can rent kayaks and sailboats on site, and many people enjoy paddleboarding and admiring the views of the Mission Mountains.
The Mission Mountains Wilderness Area, located close to Polson, is a whopping 73,000 acres of raw, mainly untouched nature. Within this sacred tract of land, you can hike, camp, and be awed by the glorious rugged mountain peaks, and maybe even see some wildlife such as bears, mountain lions, mountain goats, or wolves, making sure of course that you leave no trace. If viewing wildlife does interest you, only 20 minutes outside of Polson, you can hop on a boat and journey to Wild Horse Island State Park, which, as the name suggests, is an island conservation area that is home to herds of magnificent wild horses, as well as bighorn sheep, mule deer, and more.
Big Sky
In southwestern Montana, the tiny resort town of Big Sky has only 2,000 year-round residents. The town is known for its namesake resort, which is said to be home to some of the best skiing and snowboarding in the state, if not the northwestern US as a whole. Big Sky Resort contains Lone Peak, which has an impressive summit of over 11,000 feet. The resort has a tram that will take you all the way to the top. Lone Peak, and the entire town of Big Sky, is within the Madison Mountain Range, which has some of the state's best and most challenging hiking trails.
Big Sky is also noteworthy for being only about an hour's drive from Yellowstone National Park, which is famous worldwide for being the first National Park. The park is widely explored due to its abundant wildlife, volcanic geysers, and enormous canyons. It is also home to natural hot springs, including the genuinely breathtaking Grand Prismatic Spring, which reflects rainbow colors due to its wide array of minerals and bacteria.
Yellowstone is not the only federal conservation area by Big Sky, though. The town is also right beside the Custer Gallatin National Forest, which covers a whopping three million acres. This national forest is popular for its hiking trails, stunning lakes like Hyalite Lake, and huge mountain peaks like Storm Castle Peak.
Red Lodge
Red Lodge is located at the base of the Beartooth Mountains and is another booming tourist location, but like Big Sky, it has only a couple of thousand permanent residents. The mountain range has a lot to offer on its own. Tourists to this area say that you cannot miss the Sheepherder Lakes, a gathering of multiple lakes in the Absaroka-Beartooth Wilderness Area, accessible only by hiking trails and known for their incredible clear water. The wilderness area is is great for hiking in general, backpacking and secluded camping, and viewing wildlife, like bighorn sheep, grizzly bears, elk, and bald eagles.
To see the mountain range up close and personal from the safety of your vehicle, drive the Beartooth Highway, a National Scenic Byway which curves through pine forests, around multiple lakes, through meadows filled with wildflowers, and over mountain peaks, some of which reach over 12,000 feet. The highway also leads from the town of Red Lodge to the aforementioned famous Yellowstone National Park. The Red Lodge Mountain ski resort is an attraction in itself, with over seventy ski runs, which have a mix of difficulty levels. The resort is connected to Red Lodge's quaint downtown area, which is known for its welcoming, friendly vibes.
Black Eagle
A suburb of the large city of Great Falls, the village of Black Eagle is its own census-designated place with a population of about 700 people. It is noted as being a breathtaking place due to its location on the confluence of the Missouri and Sun Rivers. Black Eagle is in a truly amazing location, close to multiple scenic outdoor attractions. The city of Great Falls was named for, as you can probably guess, the many large waterfalls in its vicinity, and many of them have been dammed over the years to control their depth and help resist flooding. However, Black Eagle is only a 10-minute drive away from Crooked Falls, which is the only waterfall unaltered by dams in the area around the town.
Also very close to Black Eagle, less than 10 minutes' drive, is Giant Springs State Park, whose claim to fame is the largest freshwater spring in North America, the namesake Giant Springs, which reaches eight feet deep in some spots. The springs were discovered by the famous Lewis and Clark Expedition in the early 1800s and were noted for the gorgeous water, warm and clear all the way through. The state park contains over 30 miles of trails suited for both hiking and mountain biking. Another state park near Black Eagle is Sluice Boxes State Park, which is unique for its imposing limestone canyon and the remnants of some old abandoned mining towns.
Big Timber
The small city of Big Timber lies in south-central Montana, bordered by the Yellowstone and Boulder Rivers. It sits at the edge of the Absaroka-Beartooth Wilderness, on the opposite side from Red Lodge. The wilderness area, which was briefly touched upon earlier in this list, is a nature preserve covering a whopping 944,000 acres. The area near Big Timber is known for its excellent trout fishing, mostly in the Boulder River.
Another breathtaking attraction just north of Big Timber is the Crazy Mountain Range, often shortened to the Crazies. This mountain range is interesting not just because of their name, but also because they are a unique type of geographical feat called an "island range," which is a stretch of mountains that is technically within the territory of a bigger range (in this case, the Rocky Mountains), but also standing apart from the main stretch.
The Crazies are smack in the middle of vast plains and prairies, creating striking, contrasting scenery as they jut up against famously clear Montana skies. They are a great tourist attraction for their hiking trails, which wind up to various alpine lakes, wildlife viewing for rare animals like mountain goats and even wolverines, and the relevance of the range in Native Crow history and culture.
Glasgow
Glasgow, another compact city of only 3,000 residents, has been called the most isolated community in Montana due to its distance from large cities, over four hours' drive from the nearest urban center. Its remote location actually contributes to its breathtaking natural beauty, because while there, you can witness unblemished night skies, seemingly endless rolling Great Plains prairies and farmland, and the Missouri River, which flows through town.
Near the town, several outdoor attractions can be found, one of which is the beautiful Fort Peck Lake, which is a reservoir formed by the accompanying Fort Peck Dam. The lake is actually Montana's largest body of water, covering over 130 miles in surface area, and in some spots, it is actually over 200 feet deep. Many people go to the lake for fishing and watersports, as its enormous surface area makes it ideal for things like water skiing, paddleboarding, and kayaking. The lake has several surrounding campgrounds, too, many of which have boat docks.
Fort Peck Lake is surrounded by the Charles M. Russell National Wildlife Refuge, which is absolutely huge, spanning over a million acres. The refuge is home to protected numbers of elk, mule deer, coyotes, red foxes, and endangered black-footed ferrets. It is open to the public for hiking and safe wildlife viewing with binoculars, from a distance, as well as birdwatching. There is also a self-guided Auto Tour that you can take through the refuge. This area is an archaeological hotspot, with T. rex fossils having been found there in the past!
Havre
Last but not least, along the Milk River and near the Chippewa-Cree Rocky Boy's Reservation, you will find the mid-sized town of Havre, which is steeped in natural beauty. The town is situated within the Bears Paw Mountains, which, like the Crazies, are an island range that were initially formed by volcanic activity millions of years ago. Today, these mountains have unique geological features due to those volcanic origins, including igneous rocks created from cooled magma.
Within the mountain range is the Bear Paw Nature Trail, a 5.6-mile trail that crosses a large meadow, winds through Beaver Creek Canyon, and is surrounded by fresh raspberries and juneberries on all sides. The aforementioned canyon shares the same name with another nearby attraction, Beaver Creek Park, a 10,000-acre park which follows along its namesake Beaver Creek and offers a variety of hiking trails which showcase amazing mountain views and huge fields of wildflowers.
Unforgettable Montana Spots
Montana is a genuinely breathtaking state all around. There are many imposing mountain ranges to explore, like the Bears Paw Mountains in Havre, the Crazies of Big Timber, and the famous Rockies near Whitefish. You can explore incredibly clear natural water sources like the enormous Flathead Lake in Polson or the imposing Crooked Falls outside of Black Eagle. Navigate never-ending hiking trails, bike paths, and scenic byways to experience stunning sights spreading out in every direction, and to take in the rugged beauty of the northwestern US.
