What is there to do in Montana???

[chasd05]

What is there to do in Montana??? I have always wanted to go there to see Horses is there really Horses there??? What is there to do???

[deniski]

What is there to do in Montana??? I have always wanted to go there to see Horses is there really Horses there??? What is there to do???

I think most visitors come here (Montana) to see Yellowstone and Glacier NP.  Outside of that there are tons of outside recreation opportunities... probably some of them very similar to recreation in Maine (except for the ocean related stuff... ha ha.) Like Maine (I suppose) many visitors come to fish, hike, raft, canoe, check out caves, bicycle and of course.. hunt and ski in the fall and winter.  If you like rafting, most of the major rivers like the Clark Fork, the Gallatin, the Flathead and the Yellowstone have guided raft tours or the guiding outfitters will just rent you a raft and give you some pointers.  Depends on what you want to do.  

You asked about horses?  There are many places where you can rent horses and/or guides to take you on trips into the backcountry...for an hour, for a 1/2 day or for many days.  These places are most plentiful near the national parks and wilderness areas.  If you just like to look at horses, you will see plenty of them just driving around the state.  Most county fairs include a rodeo, the town I live in has a pretty good one (Livingston).  

Do the working ranchers here still use horses?  You bet.  They also use 4 wheelers a lot... and some of them use small planes.  And a lot of them spend hours every day during the growing season walking through fields in their cowboy boots to move irrigation pipe by hand.

Right now (last year and this year), there are a LOT of Lewis & Clark related activities along the Lewis & Clark Trail.  There are also ghost towns you can visit like Bannack and old historic towns where they have street theatres etc (Virginia City).  If you like rocks (I do!!), then you can pan for gold, sift sand looking for garnets and rubies, dig dirt to find crystals of various types and hike on trails looking for petrified wood and fossils.  There's also the Mining Museum in Butte at the MT College of Technology campus.  Lots of interesting stuff there.  Well, Butte is just a very interesting place to check out in general.  But I digress because I love geology. sorry.

My personal favorite things to do in Montana are:  soak in hot springs, hike in the mountains with my dogs in the early summer, pick huckleberries in August, dry camp in my popup for days in USFS campgrounds.  This year I'm thinking about attending the General Custer vs the local tribes reinactment near Hardin.  Haven't done that yet....

[deniski]

You know, I just read your message again chasd05... (I thought you were your dad!! sorry!!).  In answer to your question:

Yes, there are lots of horses here.  Probably the best way to learn about them would be to stay at a ranch for a vacation.  That way you could learn how to ride and also see what the ranchers really do on the ranch.  It does cost money though, so if that was too expensive, then maybe you could just go on a trail ride with your family while on vacation here at Yellowstone Park or Glacier Park.  That would be good too!!!

[chasd05]

Thank you! I think I'll talk my dad into going to Montana in 2006.

[Kelly]

Thank you! I think I'll talk my dad into going to Montana in 2006.

Sounds like a great idea!  Make sure you take the route through Minnesota.  We'd love to see you again.

On the other side of Glacier NP is a National Forest called the Kootenai National Forest.  It goes from northwestern Montana into northeastern Idaho.  I have been to a lot of different states and that is one of the most beautiful areas I have ever seen.  

They do have camping and trail rides there ~ among lots of other things.  

Happy Planning!