Montana

Drive Going-to-the-Sun-Road, which will take you through a dramatic and diverse environment made up of prairies, mountains, alpine meadows and red cedar forests. Over 1,100 kilometers of trails send you deep into the heart of the park to spot grizzly bears, mountain goats and moose.

Among this trail’s 14 paleontology museums you’ll find the Museum of the Rockies, which has the largest Tyrannosaurus rex skull ever found, as well as the Old Trail Museum, where you can touch a dinosaur bone. At Two Medicine Dinosaur Center, go out back and actually dig for dinosaur fossils.

Indigenous people stampeded buffalo over this one-and-a-half kilometer-long cliff, one of the largest buffalo jumps in the USA, for thousands of years. Interpretive trails and the visitor center bring the age-old practice to life.

At the north end of the breathtaking Paradise Valley, Livingston brims with turn-of-the-20th-century charm and has long been a hub for outdoor enthusiasts and artists. Fly fish a nearby river and visit one of the notable independent bookstores or galleries, then explore the town’s impressive restaurant scene.

The landscape surrounding this Butte museum may seem sparse, but there’s a whole world below. Experience Montana’s mining history by going almost 20 meters underground, climbing into a mining cage and exploring 66 exhibits at the Orphan Girl mine yard. A mineral and rock room and recreated mining town jettison you deep into the state’s historic industry.

It’s no surprise that Montana’s largest body of water offers boating and year-round fishing, but visitors will also find hunting, camping and stargazing opportunities on the lands surrounding the lake. Visit the Fort Peck Interpretive Center to see dinosaur fossils and exhibits on the Fort Peck Dam and observe the area’s fish and wildlife.

Montana’s largest state park in the eastern part of the state features incredible badlands terrain. Explore the otherworldly rock formations by car, by bike or on foot, stop in the visitor center to see fossils of dinosaurs uncovered here and camp under the stars.

On the Blackfeet Reservation near Glacier National Park, this museum showcases the art and artifacts of several Plains Indian tribes, including the Blackfeet, Crow, Northern Cheyenne, Sioux, Assiniboine and Flathead. See historical clothing, weapons and horse gear as well as contemporary art, and shop for jewelry and crafts made by Indigenous artists in the gift shop.

Step back into the Wild West in Virginia City, a Southwest Montana Gold Rush town. Pan for gold, see a vaudeville play, and take stagecoach rides, ghost tours, train rides or fire truck tours. Don’t miss the ghost town of Nevada City just a few minutes away.

Whether you’re skiing or snowboarding, there’s so much ground to cover at Big Sky Resort that it often feels like having a mountain to yourself. This resort is nicknamed the “Biggest Skiing in America” for its 2,360 skiable hectares, which include 4,350 vertical drops, 34 chairlifts and surface lifts, and the 3,403-meter-high Lone Peak Tram.