68 Best Sights in Helena, Bozeman, and Southwest Montana, Montana

Driving south from Red Lodge along the 68-mile Beartooth Highway (U.S. 212) will take you over the precipitous 11,000-foot Beartooth Pass as the road winds its way through lush alpine country to the "back door" of Yellowstone National Park. With multiple steep climbs and switchbacks, this National Scenic Byway was a feat of 1930s engineering. The highway is usually open from late May to mid-October, but snow can close it at any time of the year. You'll find trailheads for several good hikes along the route.

Home to grizzlies and grey wolves, this nonprofit wildlife park provides an up-close look at Yellowstone's largest and most powerful predators. In summer, you can also view birds of prey, and the river otter exhibit is a hit with kids. The comprehensive "Bears: Imagination and Reality" exhibit compares myths about bears to what science has revealed about them. This is the only facility that formally tests bear-resistant products such as coolers and canisters in cooperation with state and federal agencies.

Here you'll find a celebration of the history of the Rockies region, with exhibits ranging from prehistory to pioneers, plus a planetarium with laser shows. Most renowned is the museum's Siebel Dinosaur Complex housing one of the world's largest dinosaur fossil collections along with the largest-known T-rex skull, a Mesozoic Media Center, and a Hall of Giants complete with sound effects. Children love the hands-on science activities in the Explore Yellowstone Martin Children's Discovery Center and (in the summer) the living history farm. Tinsley Homestead, with home-crafts demonstrations, including butter churning, weaving, and blacksmithing is open Wednesday through Sunday.

At 585 feet tall, "the Stack" at Anaconda Smoke Stack State Park is a solid reminder of the important role the Anaconda Copper Company played in the area's development. Built in 1919, the stack, one of the tallest freestanding brick structures in the world, is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Smelting operations ceased in 1980. There's a viewing and interpretive area with displays and historical information, but you cannot access the smokestack itself.

The Anaconda Visitor Center, in a replica railroad depot, displays memorabilia of the town's copper history. Here you can board a 1936 Vintage Bus for a tour of historic Anaconda (offered summer weekdays at 10 am).

Overlapping three ranger districts of the Beaverhead-Deerlodge National Forest, the 159,000-acre Anaconda-Pintler wilderness area extends more than 30 miles along the Continental Divide to the southwest of Anaconda. Elevations range from 5,400 feet near the Bitterroot River to 10,793 feet at the summit of West Goat Peak. Glaciation formed many spectacular cirques, U-shape valleys, and glacial moraines in the foothills. The habitat supports mountain lions, deer, elk, moose, bears, and many smaller animals and birds. About 280 miles of Forest Service trails cross the area. If you hike or ride horseback along the Continental Divide, at times you can view the Mission Mountains to the northwest and the mountains marking the Idaho-Montana border to the southwest. If you want to explore the wilderness, you must obtain a detailed map and register your plans with a Forest Service office. Stock forage is scarce, so if you're riding a horse, bring concentrated feed pellets. Note that no motorized travel is permitted in the wilderness area. There are more than 20 access points to the area, including popular ones at Moose Lake, Georgetown Lake, and the East Fork of the Bitterroot River.

Bannack was Montana's first territorial capital and the site of the state's first major gold strike, on July 28, 1862, at Grasshopper Creek. Now this frontier boomtown has historic structures lining the main street, and picnic and camping spots. It was here that the notorious renegade Sheriff Henry Plummer and two of his deputies were caught and executed by vigilantes for murder and robbery. A re-creation of the gallows on which Plummer was hanged still stands. Rumors persist that Plummer's stash of stolen gold was hidden somewhere in the mountains near here and never found. Bannack Days, the third weekend in July, celebrates life in Montana's first territorial capital with plenty of exciting reenactments and pioneer-theme events ($5/person).

In this part of the Lee Metcalf Wilderness you can hike, fish, and go white-water rafting on the Madison River. A picnic area and access to Trail Creek are at the head of the canyon below Ennis Lake. To get here, drive north out of Ennis on U.S. 287 to the town of McAllister and turn right down a bumpy dirt road (no number), which takes you around to the north side of the lake across the dam. Turn left after the dam onto an unmarked road and drive across the river to the Trail Creek access point.

The Beaverhead County Museum exhibits Native American artifacts, ranching and mining memorabilia, a homesteader's cabin, agricultural artifacts, a one-room schoolhouse, a Lewis and Clark diorama, a model train, a research center, and a boardwalk imprinted with the area's ranch brands.

Thanks to old mining waste, Butte has the dubious distinction as the location of the largest toxic-waste site in the country. Some underground copper mines were dug up in the 1950s, creating the site which stretches 1½ by 1 mile, reaches 1,600 feet deep, and is filled with toxic water some 800 feet deep. A viewing platform allows you to look into the now-abandoned mammoth pit where more than 20 billion pounds of copper, 704 million ounces of silver, and 3 million ounces of gold were extracted from the Butte mining district.

The visitor center overlooks meadows where one of the West's most tragic stories played out. In 1877 Nez Perce warriors in central Idaho killed some white settlers as retribution for earlier killings by whites. Knowing the U.S. Army would make no distinction between the guilty and the innocent, several hundred Nez Perce fled, beginning a 1,500-mile, five-month odyssey known as the Nez Perce Trail. The fugitives engaged 10 separate U.S. commands in 13 battles and skirmishes. One of the fiercest of these was at Big Hole, where both sides suffered losses. The Big Hole battlefield remains as it was when the battle unfolded; tepee poles erected by the park service mark the site of a Nez Perce village and serve as haunting reminders of what transpired here. Ranger-led programs take place daily in summer; group tours can be arranged with advance request. The park stays open for winter snowshoeing (the visitor center has a few pairs) and cross-country skiing (bring your own equipment) on a groomed trail through the battlefield's sites. The annual commemoration of the Battle of Big Hole takes place every August and includes ceremonies, traditional music, demonstrations, and cavalry exhibitions. It's one of 38 sites in four states that make up the Nez Perce National Historic Park (208/843–7001,www.nps.gov/nepe), which follows the historic Nez Perce Trail.

The name of Lone Peak, the mountain that looms over the isolated community beneath Big Sky, is a good way to describe one of the most remote ski resorts in the country. Here you can ski a true wilderness. With nearly 6,000 skiable acres, it's the second-largest ski resort in the U.S. Yellowstone National Park is visible from the upper mountain ski runs, as are 11 mountain ranges in three states. The park's western entrance at West Yellowstone is about 50 miles away, along a route frequented by elk, moose, and bison (use caution when driving U.S. 191).

Conceived in the 1970s by national TV newscaster Chet Huntley, the resort area is the solitary node of civilization in otherwise undeveloped country, between Bozeman and West Yellowstone. Getting here invariably means a flight to Bozeman and about an hour's drive to the resort through Gallatin Canyon, a narrow gorge of rock walls, forest, and the frothing Gallatin River.

This is not to suggest that Big Sky is primitive. Indeed, being just a few decades old and growing rapidly, the resort is quite modern in its design and amenities. You won't find crowds among all this rugged nature, but you will discover that all the perks of a major summer and ski vacation spot are readily available in Big Sky's three distinct villages. One is in the Gallatin Canyon area along the Gallatin River and U.S. 191. Another, Meadow Village, radiates from the 18-hole Big Sky Golf Course. The third enclave, 9 miles west of U.S. 191, is the full-service ski resort itself, overlooking rugged wilderness areas and Yellowstone National Park.

Major real-estate developments around Big Sky have started to impinge upon the resort-in-the-wild atmosphere with exclusive developments such as Spanish Peaks and the gated Yellowstone Club. Still, outdoor pleasures abound. In addition to skiing, golfing, hiking, horseback riding, ziplining, and other activities, Big Sky hosts many festivals, musical events, races, and tournaments.

After they were hanged by vigilantes, the outlaws who preyed on miners ended up in graves at Boot Hill cemetery. Have a look at the old markers and take in the hill's view.

You can soak for an hour or a day at Bozeman Hot Springs, which offer 12 pools (including both indoor pools and outdoor pools), a sauna, spa, fitness center, and juice bar.

Established to showcase a prominent family's rodeo artifacts, this community museum now chronicles the area's mining history as well as the cultural legacy of Native Americans and homesteaders. The new (2019) Festival of Nations exhibit is a great addition.

Modeled after the cathedral in Vienna, Austria, this Gothic Revival building has stained-glass windows from Bavaria and 230-foot-tall twin spires that are visible from most places in the city. Construction began in 1908 and was completed six years later. Note the white-marble altars, statues of Carrara marble, and gold leaf decorating the sanctuary. Free guided tours are given between 1 and 3 pm Tuesday–Thursday in the summer (Memorial Day–Labor Day). Call for guided tours for 10 or more during other months of the year.

Along Highway 212 in Joliet you'll find the Charles Ringer Studio & Gallery. Ringer's metal kinetic sculptures, from the huge and strange to the small and lovely, are in collections around the world, including that of former president Bill Clinton.

The Clark Chateau Museum, an elegant 1898 four-story Victorian mansion that was built by William Clark as a wedding gift for his son Charles, is open for self-guided and guided tours. Call ahead to reserve your spot. The house, a replica of one wing of the Chateau de Chenonceau in France's Loire Valley, displays 18th- and 19th-century furniture, textiles, and collectibles as well as artwork.

William Clark of the Lewis and Clark Expedition climbed to the top of this limestone bluff in 1805 and took three compass readings. The maps he made from these readings became an important resource for future travelers. A ¼-mile gravel loop trail takes visitors to the top of the bluff, where interpretive signs include a replica of Clark's sketched map of the area.

William Clark, one of Butte's richest copper barons, built the Copper King Mansion between 1884 and 1888. Tours of the house take in the hand-carved oak paneling, nine original fireplaces, antiques, a lavish ballroom, and frescoes. The house doubles as a B&B.

The Copper Village Museum and Art Center houses displays on the area's history along with local artwork. The center also hosts musical performances and special events.

The small but well-organized Crazy Mountain Museum houses exhibits on Big Timber's history and people, as well as the Crazy Mountains. Highlights include the famous Cremer Rodeo, sheep and wool exhibits, a collection of chaps and cattle brands, and a room dedicated to pioneers that includes artifacts dating from the late 1890s. An early-20th-century schoolhouse and a Norwegian stabbur, or storehouse, also stand on the grounds.

For information on the eastern half of the wilderness, contact Custer National Forest.

A school until 1992, this 1920 Gothic Revival brick building now houses around 40 galleries, studios, and classrooms, plus a performing-arts hall. You can watch craftspeople at work, purchase artwork, take a class, or catch a performance here, plus enjoy a tasty lunch or dinner at the on-site Sidewall Pizza Company. All tenants maintain individual hours. Contact them directly for details.

Each year at the Ennis National Fish Hatchery six strains of rainbow trout produce 23 million eggs used to stock streams throughout the United States.

Rotating exhibits and interactive permanent displays—which include "Waterways to the Future" and "Montana Outdoors"—are the main attractions at Helena's beloved children's science museum.

The Frontier Montana Museum displays hats, saddles, spurs, chaps, and all things cowboy. Also here are Civil War items, Native American artifacts, and Desert John's Saloon, complete with whiskey memorabilia.

West of downtown, this redbrick former jail, built in 1911, serves as a reminder of the rough-and-tumble days of the past. Inside, the Gallatin Historical Society displays Native American artifacts, a model of Fort Ellis, a life-size reconstruction of an 1870s log cabin, a research library, photo archives, and a bookstore.

For information on the western half of the wilderness, contact Gallatin National Forest.

Guided or self-guided tours of the 1,600-acre Grant-Kohrs Ranch National Historic Site, a working cattle ranch run by the National Park Service, provide insight into ranching life in the 1860s. You can learn about roping steers, watch blacksmithing demonstrations, and bounce along in a covered wagon.