Montana's best museums and historic sites are spread along a loop that most visitors can drive in a week: Helena and Butte for mining money and state history, the gold-rush towns of the south-west, Great Falls for Charles M. Russell and Lewis and Clark, and the battlefields and mansions of the south-east. Several of the strongest stops are free, including the new state history museum in Helena and the National Park Service battlefield at Big Hole.
The catch is the calendar. Many smaller museums, ghost towns and house tours close between mid-September and mid-October and reopen in May, so the same route that works in July can leave you at locked doors in November. This guide follows the loop region by region and flags which stops stay open in winter.
At a glance: season and entry
| Stop | Town | Open | Entry |
|---|---|---|---|
| Montana Heritage Center | Helena | All year | Free |
| Montana State Capitol | Helena | All year | Free |
| World Museum of Mining | Butte | Regular season ends October 29, 2026 | Paid; check the museum's site |
| Bannack State Park | near Dillon | All year | Nonresidents $8 per vehicle |
| Big Hole National Battlefield | near Wisdom | All year (visitor centre Tue–Sat in winter) | Free |
| C.M. Russell Museum | Great Falls | All year (Thu–Mon in winter) | Adults $20 |
| Museum of the Rockies | Bozeman | All year, daily | Adults $20 |
| Little Bighorn Battlefield | near Hardin | All year | $25 per vehicle |
| Fort Peck Interpretive Center | near Glasgow | Fri–Mon to October 31, 2026; then by appointment | Free |
Helena: the capital's free trio
Start in Helena, where three state-run sites cost nothing. The Montana Heritage Center opened on December 3, 2025, opposite the Capitol, and replaced the old Montana Historical Society museum; plan about two hours, and note that the museum is open daily except Thanksgiving and Christmas. The copper-domed State Capitol, finished in 1902, holds Charles M. Russell's 25-foot mural in the House chamber; free guided tours run from October 15 to June 1 at 3 p.m. on weekdays and 9:30 a.m. on Saturdays. The Original Governor's Mansion, home to nine governors between 1913 and 1959, has free tours on Saturdays at 1 and 2:30 p.m. until June 1, 2027. Walk down Last Chance Gulch, where gold was found on July 14, 1864, and finish at the Cathedral of St. Helena.
Butte and Anaconda: copper country
Butte's Uptown is part of the Butte–Anaconda National Historic Landmark District, with nearly 6,000 contributing properties. The World Museum of Mining, at the Orphan Girl mine, runs underground tours and a rebuilt mining-camp street; in October 2026 it opened Wednesday to Monday, 9:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m., until the season ended on October 29. The Copper King Mansion, W.A. Clark's 34-room house of 1888, gives guided tours from May 1 to September 30 and by appointment in winter. The Mai Wah Museum tells the story of Butte's Chinatown from early June to late September. The Berkeley Pit viewing stand is listed as open May to October, and the Granite Mountain Memorial to the 168 men killed in the 1917 Speculator fire is an outdoor site you can visit any day. In Anaconda, Anaconda Smoke Stack State Park views the 585-foot smelter stack year-round.
Gold-rush towns and Big Hole
South of Butte are the sites of the 1862–64 gold rush. Bannack, Montana's first territorial capital, roughly 25 road miles from Dillon, is the best-preserved: more than 50 buildings, many of which you can enter, open daily all year from 8 a.m. to sunset. Virginia City, capital from 1865 to 1875, can be walked free at any time, but most of its attractions, Nevada City's open-air museum and the Alder Gulch Short Line run only from Memorial Day weekend to Labor Day. Granite Ghost Town above Philipsburg is closed until late May 2027.
West of Dillon, Big Hole National Battlefield marks the August 9, 1877 dawn attack on a Nez Perce camp. It is free, its trails are open sunrise to sunset all year, and the visitor centre opens Tuesday to Saturday, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., from October 14 to May 24. Grant-Kohrs Ranch National Historic Site at Deer Lodge, a working cattle ranch, is also free and open all year.
Great Falls: Russell and Lewis and Clark
Great Falls has more museums than any other Montana city. The C.M. Russell Museum includes the painter's 1903 log-cabin studio and his home; from October 1 to April 30 it opens Thursday to Monday, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., and it closes on November 26 and from December 22, 2026 to January 1, 2027. The Forest Service's Lewis and Clark Interpretive Center is closed for exhibit renovation from October 1, 2026 to April 1, 2027, but the Great Falls of the Missouri overlooks and Giant Springs, which William Clark recorded on June 18, 1805, are open all year. First Peoples Buffalo Jump keeps winter hours, Wednesday to Sunday, from September 16 to April 13.
South-east Montana: battlefields and mansions
Little Bighorn Battlefield, about 16 road miles from Hardin, is open all year; winter hours run from September 8 to Memorial Day, with the gate open 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. In Hardin, the Big Horn County Historical Museum keeps its main gallery open all year, but its historic buildings only from May 1 to September 30. In Billings, the Moss Mansion (1903) opens Thursday to Monday afternoons until October 26, with holiday tours historically from mid-November; the Yellowstone Art Museum is free for anyone 18 and under. Pictograph Cave stays open Wednesday to Sunday in winter, while Pompeys Pillar, with William Clark's 1806 signature, closes its vehicle gates and interpretive centre from October to April, though you can park outside and walk in by daylight. The Range Riders Museum in Miles City reopens on April 15.
Western valleys, Yellowstone gateways and the Hi-Line
The Museum of the Rockies in Bozeman is open daily, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., for its dinosaur halls and planetarium; its Living History Farm opens only from Memorial Day to Labor Day. The Yellowstone Gateway Museum in Livingston opens Tuesday to Saturday. The Museum of the Yellowstone in West Yellowstone is closed until early May 2027, and the Earthquake Lake Visitor Center is free but open only from the Friday of Memorial Day weekend to September 15.
Around Missoula, the Historical Museum at Fort Missoula opens all year except Mondays, with its outbuildings open May to October, while the Smokejumper Visitor Center runs free tours Tuesday to Saturday from Memorial Day to Labor Day and only limited or appointment tours the rest of the year. South in the Bitterroot, St. Mary's Mission (1841) closes from mid-October to mid-April, and the Daly Mansion closes October 14–23, 2026, then offers private tours only. In Kalispell the Conrad Mansion closed for the season on October 15. In the north-east, the free Fort Peck Interpretive Center and Glasgow's Valley County Pioneer Museum, which closes in January, cover the dam and homestead eras.
Before you go
- Between October and May, check each site's hours on the day; small museums change them often.
- Carry an America the Beautiful pass if you will visit several federal sites; Big Hole and Grant-Kohrs are free anyway.
- Ask about state park fees: nonresidents pay $8 per vehicle at Bannack, Pictograph Cave and First Peoples Buffalo Jump.
- Allow a full day each for Butte and for Virginia City and Nevada City in summer.
Details checked October 2026.