Montana is the fourth-largest US state, and the airport you choose decides how much of your first day goes to driving. A flight into Bozeman puts you about 74 road miles from Yellowstone's North Entrance. A flight into Missoula leaves you about 137 miles from Glacier's west entrance. Most of the state has no passenger rail at all, and the one train, Amtrak's Empire Builder, runs only along the northern Hi-Line.
This guide matches each of Montana's seven main commercial airports to the region it serves, lists the interstate and US-highway routes into the state, explains where the Empire Builder stops, and covers the three out-of-state airports people use as a fallback: Salt Lake City, Spokane and Calgary. Road distances are router estimates, so treat them as "about".
Which airport for which region
Montana has seven airports with regular airline service, plus a summer-only field at West Yellowstone. Bozeman (BZN) is the busiest: it handled a record 2,809,419 passengers in 2025, up 6.3% on 2024. Billings, Kalispell (Glacier Park International) and Missoula each handle around one million.
| Airport | Code | Where it is | Best for | Typical drive from the airport town |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bozeman Yellowstone International | BZN | Belgrade, 8 mi NW of Bozeman | Bozeman, Big Sky, Yellowstone North and West entrances | Bozeman to Gardiner about 74 mi; to West Yellowstone about 90 mi |
| Glacier Park International | FCA | Between Kalispell and Columbia Falls | Glacier National Park, Whitefish, Flathead Lake | Airport to West Glacier about 24 mi |
| Missoula Montana | MSO | About 5 mi from Missoula | Missoula, Bitterroot Valley, south end of Flathead Lake | Missoula to West Glacier about 137 mi |
| Billings Logan International | BIL | On the Rims above Billings | Billings, Red Lodge, Little Bighorn, eastern Montana | Billings to Red Lodge about 61 mi; to Hardin about 47 mi |
| Great Falls International | GTF | Great Falls | Central Montana, Glacier's east side | Great Falls to St. Mary about 157 mi |
| Helena Regional | HLN | About 3 mi from Helena | The capital and the Missouri River canyons | Helena to Great Falls about 90 mi |
| Bert Mooney | BTM | Butte | Butte, Anaconda, Dillon | Butte to Dillon about 64 mi |
| Yellowstone Airport (seasonal) | WYS | West Yellowstone | Yellowstone's West Entrance, summer only | About 1 mi to the gate |
For Glacier National Park, FCA is the obvious choice. For Yellowstone, BZN wins on flight choice, while WYS is closest but operates only from June through September.
Flight options at the main gateways
BZN has the most flights in the state. Its airline page lists eight carriers: Alaska, Allegiant, American, Delta, JetBlue, Southwest, Sun Country and United. Twelve destinations are served year-round, including Atlanta, Chicago O'Hare, Dallas/Fort Worth, Denver, Los Angeles, Minneapolis/St. Paul, Salt Lake City, San Francisco and Seattle, plus 14 more in season. FCA, MSO and BIL all have year-round flights to the Denver, Salt Lake City, Minneapolis and Seattle hubs, with more summer routes added. The smaller airports at Great Falls, Helena and Butte mostly connect through Denver or Salt Lake City. Our airports and Amtrak guide covers each airport in detail.
Driving in: the main road routes
Most visitors who drive in use one of six corridors:
- I-90 from the west: enters from Idaho at Lookout Pass, about 105 mi west of Missoula. Spokane to Missoula is about 197 mi.
- I-90 from the south-east: enters from Wyoming (Sheridan) and passes Crow Agency and Hardin on the way to Billings.
- I-94 from North Dakota: enters near Wibaux and joins I-90 just east of Billings. Miles City to Wibaux is about 104 mi.
- I-15 north-south: crosses from Idaho over Monida Pass, then runs through Dillon, Butte, Helena, Great Falls and Shelby to the Canadian border at Sweetgrass.
- US-2, the Hi-Line: runs east-west across the north through Libby, Kalispell, West Glacier, Havre and Glasgow, parallel to the railway.
- US-93: comes up the Bitterroot Valley from Idaho to Missoula, then north past Flathead Lake to Kalispell and Whitefish and on to Canada at Roosville.
From eastern Idaho, US-20 leads to West Yellowstone. The Beartooth Highway (US-212) from Red Lodge to Yellowstone's Northeast Entrance is a summer-only road. It closed for the 2026 season on October 9, four days earlier than planned, because of snow.
Arriving by train: the Empire Builder
Amtrak's Empire Builder runs daily in each direction between Chicago and Seattle/Portland. The train divides at Spokane. Its Montana stops, west to east, are Libby, Whitefish, West Glacier, Essex, East Glacier Park, Browning, Cut Bank, Shelby, Havre, Malta, Glasgow and Wolf Point.
- East Glacier Park is served only in summer, roughly April to October. Browning is the winter alternative.
- Essex is a request stop. Its hotel, the Izaak Walton Inn, closed in March 2026, but the August–September 2026 timetable still lists the stop.
- In that timetable, the westbound train reached West Glacier at 9:27 p.m. and Whitefish at 10:06 p.m. Eastbound trains left Whitefish at 7:26 a.m.
Chicago to Seattle takes about 46 hours, so most visitors use the train for the Glacier leg rather than the whole trip. Whitefish is the busiest Montana station.
Flying into Salt Lake City, Spokane or Calgary
Bigger airports outside the state can be cheaper, especially for international arrivals, but the drive is long:
- Salt Lake City (SLC): about 320 mi (5.5–6 hours) to West Yellowstone via I-15 and US-20, and about 410 mi to Bozeman. It makes the most sense for trips that pair Yellowstone with Grand Teton.
- Spokane (GEG): about 197 mi to Missoula on I-90 and about 250 mi to Kalispell. Washington is on Pacific Time and all of Montana is on Mountain Time, so you lose an hour driving east.
- Calgary (YYC): about 181 mi to St. Mary and Glacier's east side through the Carway–Piegan crossing, which is open year-round. The Chief Mountain crossing, which leads to Waterton and Many Glacier, is seasonal. In 2026 it opened May 15 and closed September 30.
Non-US residents should budget for the $100-per-person nonresident fee (ages 16+) that both Glacier and Yellowstone charge on top of the entrance fee from 2026. A nonresident annual pass costs $250.
Matching the entry point to your itinerary
- Glacier only: fly into FCA, or take the Empire Builder to West Glacier or Whitefish.
- Yellowstone plus Bozeman or Big Sky: fly into BZN. Big Sky is about 46 mi from the airport.
- Glacier and Yellowstone together: consider an open-jaw ticket, into FCA and out of BZN or the reverse. Kalispell to Bozeman is about 313 mi (5.5–6 hours) via Missoula. Check one-way rental fees before you book.
- Little Bighorn, Billings or the Beartooth: fly into BIL. Billings to the Northeast Entrance over the Beartooth is about 130 mi, but only from late May to mid-October.
- Helena, Butte and the mining towns: HLN or BTM, or drive about 85–100 mi from Bozeman.
Before you go
- Compare BZN, FCA and MSO fares for the same dates. Prices for the three can differ by a lot in summer.
- Book a rental car as soon as you book flights for July and August.
- Check the Beartooth Highway and Going-to-the-Sun Road status on nps.gov before planning a route over them.
- If you are coming by train, confirm current Empire Builder times on amtrak.com. The stop times above are from the August–September 2026 timetable.
- Carry a passport for any route through Canada, and check CBSA port hours for seasonal crossings.
Details checked October 2026.