Sights in Montana and Wyoming
Planning a trip to the Badlands, Black Hills and on to Flathead Lake in Montana. Looking for great places to stop between the Black Hills and Flathead Lake not far off I-90. We like scenic campgrounds...
Forum Discussion
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..
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..
