Travel – Montana

Photo Credit: www.travel.state.mt.us

If you’re looking for a place to get away from it all and have lots of space for yourself, you might want to think about taking a trip to the state of Montana.  It’s the fourth largest state in the country as far as land mass goes, with a total population smaller than most metropolitan cities.  Its largest city has less than 100,000 people living there.  It’s a vast land with lots of nature and history, including one of the bloodiest battles ever on American soil.

That battle would be the Battle at Little Bighorn, also known as Custer’s Land Stand, where once again it’s been proven that the victors create the history, but that history isn’t always correct.  In any case, there’s now the Little Bighorn Battlefield National Park, renamed in 1991 from Custer, where statues and plaques of the war document what really happened back in 1876, as well as denotes where some of the famous parties were buried.  It also contains the Indian Memorial Peace Through Unity presentation.

The history of Montana was built mainly because it was known for great gold and other deposits of precious metals.  Butte, one of its better known cities, sprang up because of its copper and silver mines, as well as gold, zinc and lead.  For a city of only around 35,000 people or less, it’s produced a number of interesting celebrities including Evel Knievel, Dashiell Hammett, and Martha Raye.  It contains the largest National Historic Landmark District in the country in what’s called the Uptown District with over 6,000 listed properties.

The capital of Montana is Helena, and it’s a city with a population of around 27,000 people.  At one time in history, it had more billionaires per capita than any city in the world, which of course was during the days of gold mining.  Many of the properties in town remind people of the Victorian Age.

Billings is the largest city in the state, with an official population around 88,000 people.  It’s relatively close to the Little Bighorn Battlefield National Park, and is where most people who want to visit will fly into.  It’s the hub of most theatrical and musical events in the state, and home to the only symphony orchestra in Montana.

But people don’t come to Montana for its cities.  They come because of nature, rock climbing, canoeing and just to take in its massive vista views.  There’s Glacier National Park with its snow-capped mountains.  Great Falls is where one would go if they wanted to trace the history of the Lewis and Clark expeditions.  And there’s the National Bison Range, where you can hope to see one of the largest congregations of bison in the nation, which is only around 700 roaming an expanse of 18,000 acres.

Montana is a nature enthusiasts dream.  Many parts are unchanged from the beginning of American history, so you can experience the same thing early visitors might have gone through.  There aren’t many places one can say that about in the United States.

See more:
Montana Travel Information
Montana Discount Hotels
Top Hotel Deals in Big Sky, Montana