Bozeman & Big Sky

Bozeman, Montana's fastest-growing city and the main airport for Yellowstone, and Big Sky, the state's largest ski resort, in the Gallatin Canyon.

Bozeman lies in the Gallatin Valley, ringed by the Bridger, Gallatin and Madison ranges. It is home to Montana State University, founded in 1893, and it has grown quickly: about 53,000 people lived there in 2020, making it Montana's fourth-largest city, and it has kept growing since. Bozeman Yellowstone International Airport, in nearby Belgrade, is the busiest airport in the state, with a record 2.8 million passengers in 2025, and it is the most common arrival point for visitors heading to Yellowstone and Big Sky. The Museum of the Rockies, part of Montana State University and affiliated with the Smithsonian, is Montana's official repository for fossils and has one of the largest collections of dinosaur fossils in the country, along with the Taylor Planetarium. Bridger Bowl, 16 miles north of town, is a non-profit, community-owned ski area; when two or more inches of new snow fall, a blue beacon flashes on top of the Baxter Hotel downtown. About 45 miles south, up the Gallatin Canyon on US 191, is Big Sky. Big Sky Resort opened in 1973 below Lone Mountain and, after merging with Moonlight Basin in 2013, covers about 5,850 skiable acres with 4,350 feet of vertical, one of the largest ski areas in North America. In summer the same mountain is used for hiking and mountain biking, and the Gallatin River, which runs beside the highway, is known for fly fishing and whitewater rafting. From Big Sky, Yellowstone's west entrance at West Yellowstone is about 50 miles further south. Bozeman is busy all year: summer brings Yellowstone traffic, and from December to April the ski areas take over.