Visiting Montana the first week of October (Billings, Missoula: rent, hotel)

[wheredoigoman]

We want to take, basically, a driving tour from Salt Lake City UT up though NW Montana and a different way back to Salt Lake City over about 8 days. We had planned the last week of Sept and the first week of Oct. Will it be too cold to enjoy? Will all the scenery and folliage be dead? When would be the best time to see the beauty? We live in SW Ohio where the trees are beautiful the last couple of weeks of Oct. We don't expect to see the same type of scenery there we see here, but, we would like to come to see the most we can see. It may be the only time we get to see that area of our wonderful country. We plan to fly into Salt Lake City, rent a car and beging driving. We love to drive and just look. Stopping and see local area attractions along the way, but mostly driving. Can anyone suggest a better place to fly into? We have never visited any and the area between CO and CA. Thanks fo your help.

[Radek]

you could fly into anywhere really. Denver might be a better location, drive up from there, through Wyoming and into Yellowstone (South-central MT/NW Wyoming for reference). And then from there if you're really interested in NW Montana, go drive up to Glacier National Park (Glacier National Park - Operating Hours & Seasons (U.S. National Park Service)) your only problem is that things will have started to shut down, and you won't be able to access much of the park.

Beyond that, go nuts. I'd recommend early september so you'll have a little less snow to drudge through.

But, Montana is beautiful any time of year. And generally in early october, its not quite entirely frozen yet.

[rangerider]

Depending on what the weather's doing, late September and early October are some of the best times to see Yellowstone and Glacier. Still some good color here and there, and nobody much around. I spent a pile of time over the years running trucks in and out of Yellowstone and used to love late fall because it was pretty deserted and lots of critters around, especially migratory waterfowl. Yellowstone has two roads that stay open year round, one to Mammoth and the one up to Cooke City. The road up to Cooke will afford you everything but thermal features, but you can stop off at Mammoth Hot Springs for that. And you can stop off at another great thermal feature, Chico Hot Springs, for a good hot pool soak and the historic hotel there.

You might check out what flights into Billings are like. We generally fly to my wife's stomping grounds in MN once a year, and drive to Billings to fly out because it's way, way cheaper than Gallatin Field. Even with four dollar gas.

Although we can be a snowy mess that time of year, I have seen more nice falls than not and the late summer greening in the mountains of SW Montana this year might mean the colors will be a little late, too.

Enjoy your trip!

[bigtrees]

Originally Posted by wheredoigoman

We want to take, basically, a driving tour from Salt Lake City UT up though NW Montana and a different way back to Salt Lake City over about 8 days. We had planned the last week of Sept and the first week of Oct. Will it be too cold to enjoy? Will all the scenery and folliage be dead? When would be the best time to see the beauty? We live in SW Ohio where the trees are beautiful the last couple of weeks of Oct. We don't expect to see the same type of scenery there we see here, but, we would like to come to see the most we can see. It may be the only time we get to see that area of our wonderful country. We plan to fly into Salt Lake City, rent a car and beging driving. We love to drive and just look. Stopping and see local area attractions along the way, but mostly driving. Can anyone suggest a better place to fly into? We have never visited any and the area between CO and CA. Thanks fo your help.

October is a great time to visit Montana. I was married in Whitefish in October primarily because the first week of October always makes for great weather....

I'd suggest driving from Salt Lake City up highway 89 through the tetons and Yellowstone national park as long as the roads are clear of snow. I don't know when the snow comes there (they are higher elevation than Whitefish), then I'd drive the I-90 west to the Wheat Montana Bakery and head north to Helena and head to East Glacier via Browning. I'd cross over the Going to the Sun Highway if it's still clear (questionable) or Highway 2 if you can't go through the park and arrive in Kalispell. From there you could take Highway 93 south into Idaho and return to Salt Lake City. It'd be a lot of driving but as long as the weather was nice you'd get to see a lot of pretty scenery.

Now we're talking about a lot of driving here - you'll want to run the mileages and see if this route is more than you'd enjoy doing. It's my quick version of a pretty scenic tour of a bunch of national parks and scenic areas in Montana. And of course, it's all weather dependent.

[Hattie Wild]

Don't miss the most beautiful drive in NW MT, Hwy 200 between Ravali MT (out of Missoula) & Sandpoint ID. Absolutely gorgeous.

[Kristynwy]

I too love road trips...

I agree Denver would be a good starting place...

You could drive up I-25 that turns into I-90 all the way up to Sheridan, Wy, then go over the Big Horn Mountains via Hwy 14 or 14A all the way to Yellowstone and/or Jackson, then drive up through Red Lodge and up to Glacier Park.

Let us know how your trip is and have a great time...