Hamilton

History Hamilton was laid out by Marcus Daly, the copper magnate from Butte, who built a stock farm and summer home in the Bitterroot Valley. The town became the seat of Ravalli County. Its other claim to history is medical. Around 1900 the valley was hit hard by Rocky Mountain spotted fever, and in 1906 the pathologist Howard Ricketts showed that the disease was carried by the Rocky Mountain wood tick, and in 1909 he isolated the bacterium that causes it. A vaccine was produced in 1924 in a schoolhouse laboratory in the valley, and between 1927 and 1940 about half a million people in the region received it; and in 1927 the state funded a building in Hamilton for the research. It was finished in 1928. That work grew into Rocky Mountain Laboratories, now part of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases. An Integrated Research Facility for work on emerging diseases opened on the campus in 2008, and Willy Burgdorfer, who isolated the Lyme disease bacterium, worked here. It is a working research campus rather than a visitor attraction.

What to See The Daly Mansion stands on the edge of town, with more than 50 rooms, about 26 acres of lawns, several outbuildings and the Margaret Daly Memorial Arboretum. In the summer season, from around Mother's Day to the second weekend of October, tours of the house run every day on the hour from 10 a.m., with the last at 3 p.m. Outside that window tours are by arrangement, so call 406-363-6004. The Ravalli County Museum, in the former county courthouse, was founded in 1955 and covers county history, natural history and art. Main Street has the shops and cafés of a working county seat rather than a resort.

Outdoors Blodgett Canyon is the nearest of the Bitterroot Range canyons. From Hamilton, drive west on Main Street for about a mile, north on Ricketts Road for half a mile, then west on Blodgett Camp Road. Blodgett Camp Road reaches Forest Road 735 after about 2.4 miles. The Blodgett Overlook trailhead is at the end of that road, about 3 miles up, while the Blodgett Creek campground and canyon-floor trailhead lie about 1.5 miles past the junction. The canyon is also a climbing area. The Bitterroot River runs past town and is fished for trout from spring to autumn.

Getting There The nearest commercial airport is Missoula Montana Airport (MSO), about 51 miles north by road. US-93 is the valley's only highway and carries all traffic through Hamilton, so expect slower driving through the towns along it. The CSKT Bison Range and Flathead Lake are a long half-day's drive north via Missoula.

When to Go Mid-May to mid-October covers the Daly Mansion's daily tour season and the main hiking months. The higher Bitterroot trails hold snow into early summer, so July to September is the most reliable time for longer canyon hikes. Winter is quiet, with the mansion open by appointment.