Bigfork · $$$
Road trips · Montana
Montana road trips & hidden gems.
Montana is big-sky country for real — Glacier’s turquoise lakes, Yellowstone’s north gate, and ranchland that runs to the horizon. The high country opens in summer, and it’s grizzly territory, so travel smart. Wide, wild, and unhurried.
Best time to visitJuly–September
Don’t missGoing-to-the-Sun Road in Glacier
Gem Hunt nominees10 candidates
Hikes10 curated
Scenic drives3
Gem Hunt nominees
What locals say you shouldn’t miss.
Community-nominated candidates. Add yours and vote to help choose the first published finalists.
Makoshika State Park
Montana's biggest state park hides out by Glendive in the far eastern badlands — pine-studded rock spires, real dinosaur fossils in the visitor center, and almost none of the western crowds.
Bannack State ParkA genuine gold-rush ghost town near Dillon with over 50 weathered buildings you can actually walk through — hotel, jail, schoolhouse, all standing empty off the beaten path in southwest Montana.
Ringing RocksDown a rough gravel road between Butte and Whitehall sits a boulder field that chimes like bells when you tap it with a hammer — one of only a handful of spots on Earth that does this.
Garden of One Thousand BuddhasA serene Buddhist peace garden in tiny Arlee north of Missoula, where a thousand white Buddha statues radiate out in a giant wheel against the Jocko Valley, free and open year-round.
Quake LakeA lake born in seconds during the deadly 1959 earthquake near West Yellowstone, still studded with the bleached ghost trees it drowned, with a little visitor center telling the eerie story.
Garnet Ghost TownMontana's best-preserved ghost town sits at the end of a gravel back-country byway east of Missoula, where a dozen-plus weathered cabins, a saloon, and a hotel still stand mostly as miners left them.
The big ones
National parks in Montana.
The bucket-list landscapes — when to go and what not to miss.
Explore by interest
Everything else worth a stop in Montana.
Start with a few highlights, choose one interest, or explicitly open the full state guide.
Showing General guide and Scenic routes highlights. Choose a category or Show all for the full state guide.
Scenic drives
Scenic routes through Montana.
More worth the detour
The general guide to Montana.
Museums, monuments, historic sites, and local-only stops from Roamward's shared place map.
Boots on
Best hikes in Montana.
From family-easy to bucket-list — trails worth the detour, great for the RV & camping crew.
Avalanche Lake (Glacier)
waterfalls into a glacial lake — family-doable
Beehive Basin (Big Sky)a wildflower basin under the Spanish Peaks
Cracker Lake (Glacier)an impossibly milky-turquoise lake
Grinnell Glacier (Glacier)turquoise lakes leading to a living glacier
Hidden Lake Overlook (Glacier)mountain goats and huge views from Logan Pass
Highline Trail (Glacier)a cliff-ledge traverse along the Garden Wall
Beyond the parks
Wild lands in Montana.
National forests, wilderness, and monuments — the big scenic public land between the parks and the gems.
Where to wake up
Camping in Montana.
The most scenic places to pitch a tent or park the rig — each with how to reserve and how RV-friendly it is.
Raise a glass
Breweries, distilleries & wineries in Montana.
The trip-worthy taprooms, distilleries, and wine country.
Big Sky Brewing
the maker of Moose Drool, a Montana road-trip staple.
Bozeman Spirits Distillerya downtown Bozeman distillery and cocktail room.
Bridger Brewinga Bozeman brewpub with pizza, near Montana State.
KettleHouse Brewinga Missoula favorite with a taproom beside the Blackfoot River amphitheater.
Lewis & Clark Brewinga capital-city brewery (Miner’s Gold) in a historic foundry.
Where to eat
Road-trip dining in Montana.
Restaurants, diners, and food halls that fit the drive — curated by town, not scraped from a phone book.
Two Sisters Cafe
A famously quirky east-side Glacier cafe for travelers exiting the Going-to-the-Sun Road toward St. Mary and Many Glacier.
Bear Creek Saloon & SteakhouseAward-winning rural steakhouse seven miles from Red Lodge famous for summer pig races that fund Carbon County student scholarships.
Buck's RoadhouseBig Sky roadhouse (formerly Buck's T-4) reopened Dec 2025, serving Montana game and steaks near Yellowstone's west side.
Horn & CantleCasual fine dining at historic 1915 Lone Mountain Ranch serving farm-to-table Western fare like elk chops, bison short ribs, and trout.
Michelangelo's RistoranteAuthentic Italian restaurant in Meadow Village led by James Beard semifinalist chef Michael, serving handmade pastas in a warm room.
Olive B'sSmall-town continental bistro owned by chef Ian Troxler serving refined, locally driven plates across from the Big Sky Golf Course.
Snow season
Best ski resorts in Montana.
Big-mountain steeps, all-mountain variety, and family hills.
On two wheels (road)
Best cycling in Montana.
Scenic road rides, iconic climbs, and car-free rail-trails.
Knobby tires
Best mountain biking in Montana.
Trail systems, bike parks, and gravel routes.
Soak it in
Best hot springs in Montana.
Resorts, historic bathhouses, and wild primitive soaks.
Chico Hot Springs
a beloved 1900 resort in Paradise Valley near Yellowstone.
Boiling Riversoak where a hot river meets the cold Gardner in Yellowstone.
Norris Hot Springs"Water of the Gods" — a folksy pool with live music and a garden.
Quinn’s Hot Springscascading pools at a riverside resort in the Clark Fork valley.
Fairmont Hot Springsa big family resort with pools and a waterslide near Butte.
Bozeman Hot Springsa dozen pools at varied temperatures, a Gallatin Valley staple.
Chasing water
Best waterfalls in Montana.
From roadside stops to bucket-list hikes — easy ones flagged for the RV & family crew.
Palisade Falls
a paved, family-friendly walk to a columnar-basalt fall near Bozeman.
Holland Fallsa fall with Swan Range views above Holland Lake.
Running Eagle Fallsa "trick falls" that changes appearance with the water level in Glacier.
Ousel Fallsan easy, scenic fall just outside Big Sky.
St. Mary Fallsa turquoise plunge along the popular St. Mary–Virginia Falls trail.
Tee it up
Public golf you can book in Montana.
Anaconda · $$$ — Unique reclaimed-land design
Eureka · $$$
Kalispell · $$
Missoula · $$
Bozeman · $$
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Where to stay
Find a place to stay near Montana.
Hotels, cabins, and rentals close to the action — compare and book for your trip.
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