Outdoor Recreation

Missoula, Missoula & the Bitterroot Valley

Montana Snowbowl

Missoula's local ski hill: 2,600 feet of vertical, 12 miles from town, old-school lifts

From $10

Dillon, Helena, Butte & Southwest Montana

Big Hole National Battlefield

Site of the 1877 dawn attack on a Nez Perce camp, with three walking trails

Free

Hamilton, Missoula & the Bitterroot Valley

Lake Como

Bitterroot reservoir under the mountains, with a 7.9-mile shoreline loop and a beach

From $5

St. Mary, Glacier National Park & the Flathead Valley

Many Glacier

Lakes, peaks and a 1915 Swiss-chalet hotel in the valley many call Glacier's best

From $25

Missoula, Missoula & the Bitterroot Valley

Mount Sentinel M Trail

Eleven switchbacks up to the University of Montana's concrete M, 620 feet above town

Free

West Glacier, Glacier National Park & the Flathead Valley

Lake McDonald

Glacier's largest lake: 10 miles long, 472 feet deep, with a 1914 lodge

From $25

Billings, Billings & Southeast Montana

Swords Rimrock Park and Black Otter Trail

Sandstone cliff-top park over Billings, with Yellowstone Kelly's grave on the rim

Free

Helena, Helena, Butte & Southwest Montana

Mount Helena City Park

A 5,468-ft summit with trails that start a few blocks from Last Chance Gulch

Free

Missoula, Missoula & the Bitterroot Valley

Rattlesnake National Recreation Area and Wilderness

Wilderness trailhead 5 miles from downtown Missoula, with a creekside path and high lakes

Bozeman, Bozeman & Big Sky

Bridger Bowl

Non-profit ski area 16 miles north of Bozeman, with expert hike-to terrain on the Ridge

From $40

Dillon, Helena, Butte & Southwest Montana

Clark Canyon Reservoir and Camp Fortunate

Trout reservoir over the site where Sacagawea met her brother in August 1805

Free

Polson, Glacier National Park & the Flathead Valley

Flathead Lake

About 191 square miles of clear water: the West's largest natural freshwater lake

From $4