Traveling in Montana in 2012 (Billings, Missoula: sale, apartment, to rent)

[Miles946]

Hi,

I'm a 24-year old student from The Netherlands and I'm planning to do some travelling in Montana during the summer next year. While I would love to do a vacation at a ranch, I just can't afford them. So, I was wondering if anyone could tell me about the best places to visit/see, places to stay, events, etc. for someone who's on a budget. Many thanks!

Lisette

[MTSilvertip]

Welcome to the Montana Boards Miles946.

You don't specify what you like to do, or what you would like to see, but here is a listing of events that happen across the state.
Montana Calendar of Events

There are a lot of museums, (Museum of the Rockies, Cowboy Museum in Miles City, The Dinosaur Trail in the eastern part of the state,), Rodeos in most towns, Battlefields, (Custer, Bear Paw, ad infinitum) from the Indian Wars.

There are ghost towns, old forts from the Fur Trade and Indian Wars days,(Fort Missoula in Missoula and Fort Harrison in Helena have excellent museums too), Wildlife, Hiking trails, camping, and multiple state parks as well as Yellowstone and Glacier Parks.

There are a lot of local Pioneer Day/Heritage day celebrations at various towns including the Festival of Nations in Red Lodge and the Cowboy Poetry Convention in Lewistown, County fairs, (The State Fair is held in Great Falls), The Chokecherry festival in Lewistown, the Rhubarb Festival in Ulm, and other themed events around the state as well as the Pow-Wows and Indian Day celebrations held on many reservations. (We have 7 Reservations). Billings has a huge fair, and also hosts multiple events throughout the year.

If you give us some specifics on what you would like to see and do, it would be much easier to give you some information on different parts of the state or individual events.

Good Luck

[Miles946]

I'm planning to take this trip somewhere between June and August and it'll for 3 weeks at least. I want to take a long holiday to relax before I start my second undergraduate in Scotland. I'm not looking for any resorts or resort hotels. Other than that I can't afford those places, I don't want to be tied down any place. I won't have a car. Once in Montana I'll be using public transport, buses and trains, taxis if absolute necessary.

I really want to see some of the smaller towns as well as the bigger cities. I want really experience the small town feel where everyone knows everyone, meet friendly people. From what I've found so far Miles City is supposed to be really good, so I'm planning to go there. And I read about a prison museum but right now I can't remember where it was. I love museums and I love historic places, so seeing one or more of the battlefields would be great as well.

Also I would love to see a rodeo. I've never been to one and I think it would be amazing to experience the entire thing, the entire atmosphere around it. And I'll probably do a horse riding trip for a day or two. It all depends on how much it'll cost and where I'll be.

I will probably be staying in hostels or cheap hotels. I don't have any camping gear and it would be rather difficult to take all that with me from The Netherlands, especially since I'll be travelling by myself. I don't know if it's possible to rent any of the gear once I'm there.

Thanks for the help!

Lisette

[Keim]

Originally Posted by Miles946

I'm planning to take this trip somewhere between June and August and it'll for 3 weeks at least. I want to take a long holiday to relax before I start my second undergraduate in Scotland. I'm not looking for any resorts or resort hotels. Other than that I can't afford those places, I don't want to be tied down any place. I won't have a car. Once in Montana I'll be using public transport, buses and trains, taxis if absolute necessary.

Be aware that mass transit is virtually nonexistent in Montana. I strongly suggest you rent a car. Unless you are on the northern "Hi-Line" area trains don't run between the towns. Busses are rare. Taxiing around the state would be WAY more expensive then renting a car. Perhaps there is a Montana tour going on thru a tour agency. That probably wouldn't be cheap enough for your budget, but would take care of your transportation and lodging issues.

Originally Posted by Miles946

I really want to see some of the smaller towns as well as the bigger cities. I want really experience the small town feel where everyone knows everyone, meet friendly people. From what I've found so far Miles City is supposed to be really good, so I'm planning to go there. And I read about a prison museum but right now I can't remember where it was. I love museums and I love historic places, so seeing one or more of the battlefields would be great as well.

From what you describe I would suggest basing your stay in Helena, MT. As the state capitol, it has lots of arts and culture. It is also fairly central. You'll be able to easily access a smattering of towns in the east and west sides of the state. You don't mention them, but you would be foolish not to checkout one of the national parks in the state. Helena is 1/2 way between both. Either could be done in an overnight trip.

Originally Posted by Miles946

Also I would love to see a rodeo. I've never been to one and I think it would be amazing to experience the entire thing, the entire atmosphere around it. And I'll probably do a horse riding trip for a day or two. It all depends on how much it'll cost and where I'll be.

Almost every county has a rodeo in the summer. Somebody mentioned the State Fair, I believe it also has a rodeo. It is in Great Falls-about 90 miles from Helena. An easy-and very pretty-drive. More populous counties will have larger rodeos. It's just a matter of contacting the local Chamber of Commerce and finding out when it is. Speaking of Chambers of Commerce: Why not contact some in areas you are thinking of staying and having them send you a free visitors packet?

[MTSilvertip]

Good choice. Miles City has the Bucking Horse Sale which is a HUGE rodeo event.
Makoshika State Park is just north and the Medicine Rocks are just south-east of Miles City.
On a side note, the territorial prison is in Deer Lodge.

I agree with Keim that public transportation is non-existant, but where you were talking about staying at hostels or low cost motels, perhaps the answer to your problem is to rent an RV, (recreational vehicle)? I believe in England they are called a Caravan? It is basically an apartment on wheels that you can drive where you wish to go.

You would be able to go whereever you wanted, when you wanted, have a nice place to sleep, and your transportation all tied up in one package.
They have stoves and refrigeration so you can buy food at the markets and cook your own, another savings.

Personally, I prefer the smaller towns to the larger ones. The rodeos may be bigger in Billings or Helena, but the fun is much larger in the small towns where it is a major social event so there will be Bar B Ques, Fondue Steaks cooked on pitchforks, Street dances, all kinds of activites. The Sheep Drive in Reed Point is a good example.

Remember, Montana is a large state, just a bit smaller than the whole nation of France, and with no public transportation you will be severly limited in where you can go and what you see if you don't have your own transportation of some kind.

I lived in Europe for a year, and believe me, Montana is on a different planet from what you would be used to in western Europe. Think more Siberia or the Causcus Mountains to get a handle on where you will be. Not exactly the same, but there are a lot of simiarities in space and remoteness with the lack of population.

Good Luck.

[Keim]

I concur. I enjoy the smaller town rodeos and such. I suggest Helena as a good homebase due to 1. Relatively central. Can easily sample Eastern and Western sides of state. 2. It is a nice town with lots of museums and cultural things to see and do. You can easily spend a week just around Helena!

I love your idea of an RV. Good suggestion. Cost more than a car. But savings on hotel and meals might cover the difference.

[Keim]

Fondue steak sounds interesting-what is it?

[Mt-7]

This is over in NoDac but you get the idea.

Medora - North Dakota's #1 Vacation - Pitchfork Steak Fondue

Hey to the OP maybe this is an option?
Empire Builder Experience Amtrak :: Vacations By Rail ::

[MTSilvertip]

Hey Kiem,

It is called by many names, but what fondue steak is is a takeoff of the fried turkey craze.

You heat a large pot of oil, thread steaks on a pitchfork, and cook the steaks in the hot oil kind of like the old fondue sets. Actually tastes fantastic

In Iowa and other midwest states they cook twinkies, chocolate, pickles, and other stuff by coating with batter and deep frying. The Steaks aren't coated with batter, but the hot oil seals the juices in and makes for a really good steak.

You made a good suggestion Kiem, Helena is central to a lot of the state, and would be a good base of operations.

I like the RV myself because you are completely free to go whereever you want, and you have your bed, bathroom and kitchen with you. If you want to pull off the side of the road and take a nap, you can. If you want to stay somewhere a couple of days, no worries about reservations. You can go where you want when you want. You can sleep in a Wal-mart parking lot, or go to a backcountry site and hike, it is all the same. You just have maximum flexibilty in a secure place as you have a hard sided apartment instead of a tent so bears and other critters can't get in.

In Miles situation, it makes a lot of sense and if she brought a friend, the cost would be cut in half for the rent, so her money would stretch farther.

[Miles946]

Helena does indeed sound like a good homebase. It's central to everything and there's loads to do there as well. Unfortunately, renting an RV is not possible for me. Due to personal reasons I'm not allowed to drive anything heavier than your average personal car. I might just have to check about just renting a small car than to take me places. I've already gathered some info on hostel and affordable hotels, so that shouldn't be too big of a problem. I'll check about those visitor packages as well.

Thank you guys for all your help! This will really help get me started on planning this trip.