Sights in Montana and Wyoming

I live in Helena MT. If you really want to see what we living here see, I have a route I want to take sometime. You can cut out parts. Lots of places to camp national forest to RV parks along the way.

From the Black Hills (We own property there for retirement) I'd get off 90 at Ranchester. Then head to 14A in Wyoming. 14A is an amazingly beautiful road and at the top just before you come down is the native American Medicine Wheel. About a mile hike to get to but the view alone up there is awesome as is the drive down. That's part one.

Part 2 is when you get to the Crazy Mountains by Big Timber. Head North there on US 191 to US 12. The Crazy's are beautiful as is the drive. There is a campground up there on my list but not sure depending upon your rig about getting there or having a spot.

Now, The third part you cannot miss. This is the way we ALL go to Kalispell. When you get to Helena, take 12 over McDonald Pass. There is a beautiful campground at the top of McDonald Pass (Cromwell Dixon) and it is just 20 minutes into town. You could do light four wheeling for days in this area. But this is just the start of the beauty. You then take 12 to Avon and MT 141 and head north to 200. This is a beautiful trip, but just getting started. You will hit highway 200 and turn left toward Missoula for a few miles and then hit highway 83 toward Seeley Lake and Kalispell. This is a truly beautiful run with towering forests and a bunch of properties you will wish you could afford. This last run from Helena is the ONLY way to go for beauty. The only don't miss in my list. This is about a 3.5 hour hard run from Helena to Kalispell, watch out for Deer and I mean it.

We are going to Red Lodge this weekend to camp (national Forest Parkside Campgroun) and come back over the Beartooth through Cooke City and back up through Gardener home. We just skim the north end of the park this way, hit Cooke City for smoked trout and beer. You can wangle this as part of your trip also but you indicated you didn't want to do Ystone. This isn't really a Yellowstone trip though. We did this run at the beginning of June and they had to close the Beartooth on Sunday because of a blizzard. I think most of those are done now.

There's my recs. Three sort of four different runs.

Oh, over the week of the fourth, we are heading north to alberta and Peter Loughheed Provincial Park. Imagine Glacier without the people. It is only a few hours north of Kalispell on Alberta 40 a seasonal highway with one of the highest density of grizzly's in North America. The Canadians put electric fences around the campgrounds in some places... Bring your passport and documentation of vaccinations for dogs..

If you enjoy the tv show "Longmire", they have Longmire Days in Buffalo, WY. Cast and crew fro the show will be there. Here's the link.
http://buffalowyo.chambermaster.com/events/details/longmire-days-9696

Murphsmom wrote:
We stayed at 7th Ranch RV Park near the Bighorn Battlefield site. It's right off of the interstate, but you have to backtrack a short way to get to the entrance. Nice folks and free ice cream bar at checkin. Remember to keep your speed down when on the entry road, though.

Lewis and Clark Caverns State Park is less than an hour before you get to Butte (turn off the interstate on Highway 2). There is camping and also tours of the caverns.

X2 Walk to the top of the hill at 7th Ranch and take in a fabulous Montana Sunset.

If you have the time, take a side trip to Elkhorn Ghost Town. Only two of the buildings are part of the state park, but it is interesting none the less (a lot of people live there so I'm not quite sure why it's a ghost town.....???). About 11 miles of dirt road to get there. :E

Salmon Lake SP and Placid Lake SP on Hwy 83 south of Seeley Lake are very nice. IIRC there is at least one Forest Service campground on that road but farther north. Missouri Rivers Headwaters SP outside of 3 Forks is close to I90.

Whitefish MT. As must. If you like trains, Great Northern RR Musuem

We stayed at 7th Ranch RV Park near the Bighorn Battlefield site. It's right off of the interstate, but you have to backtrack a short way to get to the entrance. Nice folks and free ice cream bar at checkin. Remember to keep your speed down when on the entry road, though.

Lewis and Clark Caverns State Park is less than an hour before you get to Butte (turn off the interstate on Highway 2). There is camping and also tours of the caverns.

Little Bighorn Battlefield, Devils Tower, Mt Rushmore, Crazy Horse Monument (last two both in Black Hills so probably already on your list) Glacier National Park north of Flat Head Lake. Cant speak about the campgrounds at any of those except Glacier as have not stayed at them. Glacier better check availability if going up there. Though there are quite a few both public and private there. Don't recall seeing a campground at Little Bighorn but wasn't looking or one either at the time. Devils Tower there is definitely one in the park and iirc a couple outside the park.

First time we was at FLATHEAD lake several years back we noticed one area was full of swimmers etc enjoying themselves.

So we get into our swim gear and jumped into the Lake and it about killed us both. This was in late Sept and that water was ICE COLD unknown to us haha...

We literally did the walk-on-water to get out of there haha...

Then everyone in the water cheered us on and said "Howdy Strangers" haha...

Roy Ken