Southwest Montana Blog
Places to Visit

The Helena area is home to three very different state parks, all of which showcase different aspects of what makes the state parks system so fantastic. Black Sandy puts water recreation front and center, offering one of the few public points of access for Hauser Lake. Spring Meadow Lake is a popular day...

In the Anaconda area, there are three state parks that should draw your eye: Anaconda Smoke Stack The Anaconda Smoke Stack dominates the valley between Butte and Deer Lodge. At 585 feet tall the Smoke Stack is one of the tallest free-standing masonry structures in the world and cuts an imposing figure against...

Allow us to introduce you to your next adventure. Montana boasts a network of over 55 State Parks – scattered literally from one corner (Brush Lake in Northeastern Montana) to the other (Bannack in the Southwest). The best part about the 10+ State Parks in our beautiful region is that they make the perfect...

As you are planning your travels around Southwest Montana this summer, don’t forget to make the State Parks a major part of your itinerary. Usually less crowded and more of-the-beaten-path than the National Parks, our State Parks represent the best of Montana. From active and well known parks like...

As you may have gathered from the last couple of weeks on the blog, spring can mean excellent fishing. The weather is warming up, the fish are waking up, and the flies are hatching like crazy. But, the runoff from the mountains can also mean high, fast, muddy water that is no fun to fish …

One of the beauties of writing for a Montana tourism blog is that it doesn’t need a lot of salesmanship. The state pretty much sells itself. Don’t get me wrong, I could talk all day about the extraordinary beauty of Montana’s diverse rivers, that range from hurtling boulder-strewn cascades...

If you’re looking for an adventure in Southwest Montana, chances are you have a few criteria in mind. Remarkable scenery, history, wildlife, preferably off the beaten path, and good camping, and maybe a few interesting towns to stop in along the way. If that’s what you’re looking for, then...

It’s the last week of March, and that means one last blog post, a final hurrah to a spectacular month, a month that has married incredible middle-of-winter fun with the tiniest hints of spring. It’s been a fantastic month, in like a lion and out like a…well, not like a lamb necessarily, but...

Well, the first day of spring has come and gone. The mountains are still thick with snow, but things are slowly starting to melt, and maybe, just maybe, you are starting to get some spring fever. You want to be out and about but it’s not quite time for camping/hiking/fishing. We have just the thing. &#...

The Seattle-ites might be freaking out about the presence of winter, but in Southwest Montana we know there’s nothing better than some fresh snow (sorry Western Washingtonians, a shameless joke at your expense). Fresh snow means more skiing, more snowmobiling, and – as long as you wear the right clothes...

In the heart of the expansive Beaverhead Valley, Dillon is an outdoor-er’s paradise, and not just because it is home to Montana’s only Patagonia Outlet Store. Dillon is primarily know as a hot spot for fisherpeople, but it is equally active in the winter, when the cold weather and heavy snow open...

From bustling downtowns to main streets that dead-end at the foot of a mountain, Montana’s towns never disappoint. Even the smallest of towns has something, from surprising steakhouses (in a registered ghost town) to unique pottery from local clay, the Main Streets of Southwest Montana offer an eclectic...