Montana is truly a special place with it’s incredible scenery and numerous bodies of water. The Bitterroot and Missoula Valleys are a couple of the most beautiful spots to call home.
Missoula offers many of the shopping opportunities a person may want and is the biggest city in this corner of the state. There are a couple of hospitals, airport and the University of Montana. Many of the communities throughout the area and on up to Saint Regis, Ronan, Anaconda and Phillipsburg offer more rural, small town type communities. It does not matter what direction you go from Missoula, you can find small towns and the lifestyle that fits you. Montana is known for it’s many hunting and fishing opportunities along with the numerous outdoor experiences that await you.
There are a number of ski resorts within two hours of Missoula with the closest being Snow Bowl which is located just outside of Missoula. The Bitterroot Valley Residents quite often will spend the weekend at Lost Trail Skiing which is about 45 minutes from Hamilton and sits on the Idaho Montana border. Cross country skiing, snow mobiles, snow boarding, ice fishing, skijoring and even ice skating are just a few of the outdoor winter activities that people enjoy during the colder months.
The summer months can be spent out on the water on one of the many lakes you will find within a few hours of the area including Flathead Lake with the Southern shore located about 1.5 hours from Missoula in Polson. Flathead Lakes Northern Shore is up closer to Kalispell. Flathead Lake is the largest natural freshwater lake west of the Mississippi in the lower 48 states. It consists of over 200 square miles of water and 185 miles of shoreline. Within just a couple of hours of Missoula you will also find Lake Como just outside of Hamilton, Painted Rocks West of Darby, Georgetown Lake, Seeley Lake and a number of other lakes located in the Seeley Lake region. There are many high mountain lakes and endless hiking trails for you to stay busy all summer long. Glacier National Park is 3 hours away and Yellowstone is 4.5 hours offering endless camping and family weekend opportunities. There are endless rivers, mountain streams and ponds where you can fish, raft, float and spend your afternoons by the water.
The sky is still a beautiful blue, the air is clean and the stars are bright. The rural towns that are scattered around the North Western part of the state still offer nights that are dark and on occasion you may get lucky and see the Northern Lights.
Montana still sees Farmers Markets on the weekends, Friday night gatherings with friends at one of the many local breweries, small town celebrations and parades throughout the summer, rodeos, 4-H animals at the many county fairs and the small town atmosphere that is calling your name. Less traffic, quiet country settings, wildlife outside your back door, room for both you and the horses and country dirt roads for enjoying a Sunday drive where you can see what a work of art mother nature is and the masterpiece that she has created called “Montana”.
