Southwest Montana Blog

Winter in Southwest Montana. It can be cold. It can be long. But it can also be a lot of fun. Made last year, this video showcases some (but not nearly all) of the incredible opportunities a Southwest Montana winter offers. Ice fishing, ice skating, ice sailing, downhill skiing, cross country skiing,...

There are plenty of ways to spend a cold, windy January in Southwest Montana. The region’s breweries, distilleries and cafes are definitely an option. Ice fishing, cross country skiing, snowshoeing, those too are options, but really kind of normal, don’t you think? Why not try something different,...

The annual Hanukkah celebration in Montana’s capitol building has been going on for five years now and gathers together members of Jewish communities from across the state, community members, the lieutenant governor, and rabbis for a celebration including the lighting of menorahs, prayers, blessings,...

Georgetown Lake looks deceptively remote. Over 6,000 feet above sea level and encircled by three jagged mountain ranges-the Anaconda Pintlers, the Flint Creek, and the Sapphires-Georgetown seems like a secluded mountain fastness. In reality the area teams with life. Vast wildernesses attracts backpackers and...

Many feet of water should cover St. Joseph’s church. Built in 1875, on the banks of the Missouri River in the town of Canton, Montana, St. Joseph’s is Montana’s seventh oldest church, and was the first built by community members, rather than a religious order. The rich ranchland around...

I think that most people who go to the Windbag Saloon do so to say that they ate in a former brothel. Don’t get me wrong, the food is good, but it’s really the notoriety that draws customers. The Windbag operated as a brothel, first under Ida Levy, and then under “Big Dorothy” Parker....

Admittedly, most of Ivan Doig’s Prairie Nocturne takes place beyond the scope of this blog-largely in the far-flung reaches of New York and Central Montana’s Rocky Mountain Front-but I couldn’t pass up an excuse to reread it. With my sincerest apologies to Whistling Season, I think that...

I ran across this post on the Montana Moments blog the other day, it’s too absurd to pass up. Here it is in my own words: A white board fence blocks off a square of earth at Dillon’s Beaverhead County Fairgrounds. The fence encloses a small tree and a square of granite. The granite memorial …

Even the ghosts at Bannack talk about history. That is the lesson learned from this year’s hugely successful Bannack Ghost Walks. Throughout the month of October, guides led groups of visitors on nighttime tours of Montana’s first gold rush town. Perfectly normal. Except for the ghosts. The past...

I am a big proponent of parking the car and simply wandering through a town’s downtown (or in the case of Butte, uptown) district, impulsively buying snacks along the way. In Montana, where even the biggest downtowns are only a few blocks square, this works out quite well. Even so, it is nice to have &#...

Boulder Hot Springs Inn and Conference Center perches halfway up a hill three miles from Boulder. More than forty hot springs bubble to the surface on the property, reaching from 140 to 170 degrees. Water from the springs fill the swimming pool, steam rooms and plunges, and heats the entire hotel, greenhouse...

When you go to Tizer Gardens, it is worth knowing what you’re getting into. You can go knowing nothing about the place and have a really good time. But if you know facts then your enjoyment turns to wonder. Tizer Gardens is the only full time operating Botanic Garden & Internationally Accredited...