Best products from r/Montana

It really depends on what parts of Montana you're looking to see. While both Yellowstone and Glacier National Parks are the obvious draws, there are a large number of state parks and National Forest areas as well. While they tend to book out well in advance, you might have some luck with Forest Service cabins (usually about $45/night) too. Otherwise I'd say that lodging will definitely be your largest expense. Car camping doesn't have to be "roughing it", just throw an air mattress, tent and sleeping bags into your trunk for home away from home. Recreation.gov allows you to see cabins and campgrounds and make reservations ahead of time.

There are a few things that I'd put on your list for their thrill to value ratio:

~ Whitewater rafting - Usually about $60-$80 per person. Available in most of the touristy destinations.

~ Brewhouses - Montana has a great local brewery scene. Ask around in whatever area you are and the locals will point you in the right direction.

~ Hiking - There are so many awesome places to get to around Montana, and most are great dayhikes. There's a series of handbooks called "Day hikes around ___ (Bozeman or Missoula)" that detail many of the hikes.

~ Mining Ghost Towns - Some are really well known (like Virginia City) and others are less known (like Granite near Phillipsburg), but all have great history and present great opportunities for photography.

~ Check out AirBnB for a list of nightly rentals as well. This can be a bit like "couch surfing" but there are some really nice places out there if you do a bit of research.

The VisitMT.com website does a pretty good job of telling you about the activities within a certain area. As always there will be multiple operators and a variety of options available. These are usually for the folks looking for a "book it and forget it option". Remember, as locals we love all these forms of recreation too, we don't pay a fishing guide to get out on the rivers tho. Another locals guide is called GetLostMT and has quite a few good options.

All of "big" cities (yeah right!) in Montana have a local publication that's geared towards locals and recreation. In my area it's Outside Bozeman. Check out their websites and you'll probably get some ideas too.

Post back with questions and I'll try to give you more specific info if you like...

Late to this dance but I have two cents. The Madison is long, and the type of camping might help make suggestions. As mentioned Ennis or W. Yellowstone may be your bases of operation (groceries and what not). I personally recommend the Madison between Hebgen Lake and Ennis Lake. That is a long stretch of water with some super productive fishing lately, although it has been getting warmer and the fishing is getting slower in the afternoon. Below the damn on Hebgen all the way to Quake lake is quality there is a couple camp grounds right there near Beaver ck. Below Quake lake toward Ennis at Gold Butte there is a campground and again at Ruby Ck. these mentioned are all quality fishing accesses with camping facilities. There are many many more as you work down the maddy, most of the fishing access are at or near a campground. I would start high (Hebgen) and work your way down stream to Ennis camping at multiple spots. Buy a http://www.amazon.com/dp/0899333397/?tag=googhydr-20&hvadid=12503023067&hvpos=1t1&hvexid=&hvnetw=g&hvrand=973034872824961472&hvpone=17.05&hvptwo=&hvqmt=b&hvdev=c&ref=pd_sl_1it1skj9ql_b

This is a handy map reference that will steer you around and let you leave the beaten path with some confidence. Hint: checkout Wade and Cliff lake right in the area I suggested. Happy hunting.

Every tribe was different, many of the eastern tribes did have permanent cities and complex agriculture. The tribes that settled in our region didn't do a lot of permanent agriculture, but they definitely managed buffalo herds with some sophistication.

According to Charles Mann's 1491: New Revelations of the Americas Before Columbus, pre-Columbus plains Indians actually created and maintained healthy grazing grassland through controlled burning, and carefully regulated the bison population.

According to Mann, the huge "seas" of tens of thousands of bison that white settlers reported were actually the result of out-of-whack ecosystem, after European disease epidemics decimated the populations of the Plains tribes.

So it wasn't "ranching" in the way that we know it today, but it was definitely intentional herd management and cultivation of the land, not just disorganized nomadic hunting.

Buy snow chains. Go to Les Schwabb before the trip and ask them to show you how to put them on quickly and easily (you don't want to be trying to figure it out on the side of a mountain pass, trust me). Check the weather two days before the trip, buy a paper map and know what mountain passes you will be going through, and make sure you're going through the highest altitude passes around noon (sun beating straight down = less shadows = less ice). Follow the slow-ish 18 wheelers during the sketchy parts, they will be driving the right speed for the conditions. If you start to slide, don't over-correct; and if you do slide off the road, go straight in. You don't want to tip your car or trailer on it's side, and it's easier to pull cars out from the rear using the same tracks they slid in on. Bring the same snowgear you would bring on a ski trip in case you get stuck and need to work on getting yourself out (or are waiting for help for an hour and want to play in the snow :).

Bring the following in a small trunk case:

• compact snow shovel
  
• tow ropes
  
• flashlight and extra batteries (headlamp preferred)
  
• hand-crank AM radio (google Montana AM weather stations)
  
• flares
  
• emergency candle (for warmth, so you don't have to keep the car running if stuck and waiting)

This is a REALLY easy read and might just be a nice additional book for the trip. "M Is For Montana" - Probably a little more suitable for younger kids. I remember we always thoroughly enjoyed it as kids - keeping an eye out for the illustrations in the book. Have fun on your trip!
http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/0937959324?pc_redir=1404056732&robot_redir=1

Hey everybody, I am working on a media-rich e-book version of this book -

Montana's Last Best River: The Big Hole and Its People

http://www.amazon.com/Montanas-Last-Best-River-People/dp/1585743313

If anyone has any cool stories or things I could film in that area I would be very interested! send me a message! Would love to link up with some fly fishers or something and shoot some footage.

Any book you pick up is going to be good, but my favorite reads are Butte specific, since Butte played an outsized role in the early history of the state and everything that happened in Butte was big for the time.

War of the Copper Kings by C.B. Glasscock is about how the three Copper Kings ran mini-enclaves and controlled the government and courts of the state, waged literal wars underground, and the labor and corporate battles that played out for 40 years before Anaconda won the pot.

Fire and Brimstone by Michael Punke which covers the deadliest hard-rock mining disaster in US history, in which 167 men lost their lives. It's very well written and researched.

I haven't read this one yet and while it may not be up your alley, The City That Ate Itself by Brian James Leech is a more recent history of Butte and covers the social and economic impact of open-pit hard-rock mining on the community it consumes.

I hope you read some of these and enjoy them!

There are a series of day hike books for the area. Pick one of these up at any of the bookstores.

Up any canyon on this side of the bridgers is a way up to the ridge. Sypes canyon has a great view and some nice flowers on the way. Truman gulch has a great water fall. You can come back the way you came or take the ridge to the 'M'

I have not read it, but your description made me think of

New Found Land

I hope you and your family enjoy your trip!

This is a great book if she enjoys history. All the chapters are broken down by route and the things that happened along then. Fun travel book.

Roadside History of Montana

http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/0878423958?pc_redir=1405231098&robot_redir=1

Try a river float from Pressentine to Old Steel Bridge . Takes about 3 hours. If you have just one car, park at Old Steel Bridge and take an Uber up to Pressentine. Plenty of scenery and usually big birds of prey overhead. We use single-man float tubes, but you can get separated at forks if you don't plan your paddling. Wear water booties or strap-on sandals to avoid lost flip flops. Those slippery rocks hurt on bare feet! Hats, sunscreen and water-proof cell phone bags recommended. Weak swimmers should wear life vests. You can bring a Life Straw to drink from any flowing water during your trip.

You can also park at Old River Bridge Rd. in West Glacier. Assuming deep water, you can jump off the bridge into ice water. Strong swimmers only of course. Even if you're not that daring, it's a great sunset spot to end the day.

Avalanche Lake is a good hike with a rewarding destination, though it tends to be crowded in peak season like much of GNP.

​

I am reading "Yogo: The Great American Sapphire" by Stephen M. Voynick and find it very interesting.

Day Hikes In the Beartooth Mountains https://www.amazon.com/dp/1573420646/ref=cm_sw_r_awd_DNelub0K2Y6JZ

Awesome book, obviously focuses in the Beartooths but also has trails up to and including Billings. You should be able to get it at Barnes and Noble.

I survived the 2000 fires in Missoula, and I couldn't see my neighbors house 20 feet away for nearly a week. Here's a few tips:

• Stay indoors
  
• Seal up doors/windows with tape
  
• If you have AC, change/clean the filter often.
  
• If your AC has a recirculation mode, use it. This will just recirculate and somewhat filter the indoor air.
  
• Buy and use some sort of Air Purifier.
  
• If you have to go outside, use a dust mask or bandanna.
  
• Drink lots of water, it will help your body remove the smoke from your lungs.

Theres a book I remember reading when Litte, Pathki Nana. its about a Kootenai girl.... don't remember much else from that, http://www.amazon.com/Pathki-Nana-Kootenai-Mystery-Children/dp/1880114097

I don't know for sure if it takes place in Montana, but south of Glacier park is the Flathead Indian Reservation, which also has kootenai (among others) in it.


And not quite in the right area but theres a true tale about Shep the Sheep dog, who'se owner died and the dog waited at the train for him. I think in Fort Benton, MT. I remember being fascinated with it when I was young, and having books on it.
http://www.amazon.com/Shep-Most-Loyal-True-Stories-ebook/dp/B00EXBQBV4/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1405538955&sr=8-2&keywords=shep+sheep+dog
I'm sure there are other books on him too.

I've used this book with 100% success through a lot of the state (Flathead, Gallatin, & Helena National Forests).