Itineraries

Design The Ideal Montana Mountain Vacation

1-Day Itinerary

If you want to make a quick trip around the Montana Scenic Loop, you can start in any of the communities of Choteau, Bynum, Dupuyer, Browning, East Glacier, Essex, Hungry Horse, West Glacier, Columbia Falls, Big Fork, Condon, Seeley Lake, Ovando, Lincoln, or Augusta. If you maintain a speed of 65 miles an hour in your car, you can do the Loop. It’s a long drive, but you’ve got 15 hours of daylight in the summer time. You’ll be able to see the changing landscapes of the Rocky Mountain Front, the mountains of Glacier Park, the incredible Flathead Lake, the tree-lined Seeley-Swan corridor, and the Blackfoot River valley.

2-Day Itinerary

The Rocky Mountain’s Continental Divide separates the Montana Scenic Loop into the east and west sides. Augusta, Choteau, Bynum, Dupuyer, Browning, East Glacier are on the eastern slope of the Rockies. Essex, Hungry Horse, West Glacier, Columbia Falls, Big Fork, Condon, Seeley Lake, and Ovando are on the west side of the divide. There are an array of accommodations and restaurants to choose from.

3-Day Itinerary

If you have time to add an extra day to your trip, take a side trip through Glacier Park. From Browning, you can head toward St. Mary and drive down the Going to The Sun Highway until you get back on the Montana Scenic Loop at West Glacier.

4-Day Itinerary

If you’re interested in diverse landscapes, take four days to travel the Montana Scenic Loop. Concentrate on the Rocky Mountain Front and the communities of Augusta, Choteau, Bynum, Dupuyer, and Browning. Breathtaking sunsets stretch over prairies that seem to go on forever. Ragged mountains form a backdrop for rolling hills. The sky is bigger and the vistas are dramatic! This is dinosaur country, where placid rivers cut through ancient inland seas. Traveling through East Glacier, Essex, Hungry Horse, West Glacier, and Columbia Falls, you’ll be aware of the swift streams that tumble over rocky beds and the snow-capped peaks of Glacier Park. Bigfork boasts the best of Flathead Lake, and the Seeley- Swan valley is all about trees and wildlife. Coming out onto Highway 200, the vistas open up again on the expansive in the Blackfoot river basin where’ you’ll want to stop and fish a little for the big ones.

5-Day Itinerary

Depending on the time of year, you can plan your trip by cultural events. Augusta hosts the “Wildest One Day Show on Earth,” the annual American Legion Rodeo, on the last weekend in June. Choteau’s 4th of July celebration is non-stop and includes the morning parade, lunchtime pitchfork fondue, afternoon rodeo, and evening fireworks. Browning is home to the most spectacular Pow-Pow in Indian Country in mid July. Enjoy a scenic interpretive red-bus tour through Glacier Park throughout the summer season, take a splash down the water slide in Columbia Falls, relish a theatrical production at the Bigfork Summer Playhouse, stop at the Swan Ecosystem Center to learn about the ecology of the area, and try your luck at fishing in the Blackfoot River flowing between Ovando and Lincoln. Divide your trip into 100-mile segments or by the fun that you’ll have interacting with the friendly communities.

Create A Memorable Montana Mountain Tour

Reach extraordinary new heights of travel. Use the Top 10 Scenic Drives in the Northern Rockies to plan a Montana mountain vacation.