List your TOP 3 most beautiful towns in Montana

[JetMech72]

#1 would have to be Helena for the wide variety of architecture and beautiful victorian mansions.
#2 is, of course, my old hometown of Hamilton which also has a lot of victorian homes.The view of the Bitterroot Mountain range is the greatest and most diverse range in the state, with awe inspiring canyons like Blodgett and Roaring Lion along with tall craigy peaks like the Three Sisters of Como and the venerable Trapper's Peak (not really seen from Hamilton, but still a cool peak). The second greatest range is the Mission Mountains as viewed from.....
#3....St. Ignatius.

[konradsmom]

1.ennis
2.superior
3.st regis

[grannymontanny]

Originally Posted by Timberwolf232

Ghost towns are awesome. I've got a file cabinet full of old topo maps that cover the entire state. Theres some old places not listed on the newer GPS and computer based maps. I haven't been out as much in the last couple of years. (toddlers take up a lot of time!) We used to do a lot of running around in the Little Belts. Lots of old mining cabins and stuff out there.

wow.this intrests me very much. hubby and i have been trying to get info on montana ghost towns. but so far have only gotten to the most well known ones. banneck,garnet,and coloma. if you have any info about finding maps or what are the best ones to visit would be very welcome.

[Reziac]

Originally Posted by grannymontanny

wow.this intrests me very much. hubby and i have been trying to get info on montana ghost towns. but so far have only gotten to the most well known ones. banneck,garnet,and coloma. if you have any info about finding maps or what are the best ones to visit would be very welcome.

The Montana Ghost Town Preservation Society
PO Box 1861
Bozeman, MT 59771
They sell a map of ghost towns for $5. You just missed their annual convention!

List of ghost towns in Montana - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia and Category:Ghost towns in Montana - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Ghost Towns to visit on your vacation in Montana
State travel/recreation site with list of ghost towns and basic descriptions.

Ghost Towns and History of the American West
Site is awkward to use, but lists some I'd never heard of. Also has a forum.
(this site used to be better before it grew an ad portal

Wyoming Tales and Trails
tons of old photos, some of historic towns, some that are now ghost towns

A list with descriptions:
Ghost Towns of Montana
Site owner sells a book on ghost towns too, "Dust in the Wind" for about $20.

State site for the town of Granite
Granite Ghost Town State Park - Montana FWP

Montana State University Library exhibit:
Montana Ghost Towns :: Montana State University Libraries
(and I'm sure librarians there or anywhere could point you at piles and piles of reference books!)

A few neat photos:
Ghost Towns of Montana, USA

Old magazine article with some local tourist board addresses:
Montana ghost towns
and an interesting article that touches on the character of Montana:
Montana's Short Grass Country

Another book specifically on MT ghost towns
Montana Ghost Towns and Gold Camps (broken link)
There are quite a few out-of-print books on the topic, check alibris.com or abebooks.com to find used copies (is that all-Montana bookshop still in business in Bozeman?? they had tons of this sort of thing.)

A page on Hughesville
Hughesville, Montana
with some images of mining claim info on sub-pages (click on picture at bottom, then you'll get a list of claims)

A list of articles on various old mining camps and the like
Big Sky Legends - Montana Tales and Articles
(site is really just an upscale linkfarm, but lists lots of obscure places you can do further research on elsewhere)

There is a ghost town in Antarctica! Ghost town - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Google-ized books that are out of copyright and can be viewed in full (most can be downloaded as text or PDF, too) -- try other searches to find more books on the topic: "ghost towns" +montana - Google Book Search

[grannymontanny]

Originally Posted by Reziac

The Montana Ghost Town Preservation Society
PO Box 1861
Bozeman, MT 59771
They sell a map of ghost towns for $5. You just missed their annual convention!

List of ghost towns in Montana - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia and Category:Ghost towns in Montana - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Ghost Towns to visit on your vacation in Montana
State travel/recreation site with list of ghost towns and basic descriptions.

Ghost Towns and History of the American West
Site is awkward to use, but lists some I'd never heard of. Also has a forum.
(this site used to be better before it grew an ad portal

Wyoming Tales and Trails
tons of old photos, some of historic towns, some that are now ghost towns

A list with descriptions:
Ghost Towns of Montana
Site owner sells a book on ghost towns too, "Dust in the Wind" for about $20.

State site for the town of Granite
Granite Ghost Town State Park - Montana FWP

Montana State University Library exhibit:
Montana Ghost Towns :: Montana State University Libraries
(and I'm sure librarians there or anywhere could point you at piles and piles of reference books!)

A few neat photos:
Ghost Towns of Montana, USA

Old magazine article with some local tourist board addresses:
Montana ghost towns
and an interesting article that touches on the character of Montana:
Montana's Short Grass Country

Another book specifically on MT ghost towns
Montana Ghost Towns and Gold Camps (broken link)
There are quite a few out-of-print books on the topic, check alibris.com or abebooks.com to find used copies (is that all-Montana bookshop still in business in Bozeman?? they had tons of this sort of thing.)

A page on Hughesville
Hughesville, Montana
with some images of mining claim info on sub-pages (click on picture at bottom, then you'll get a list of claims)

A list of articles on various old mining camps and the like
Big Sky Legends - Montana Tales and Articles
(site is really just an upscale linkfarm, but lists lots of obscure places you can do further research on elsewhere)

There is a ghost town in Antarctica! Ghost town - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Google-ized books that are out of copyright and can be viewed in full (most can be downloaded as text or PDF, too) -- try other searches to find more books on the topic: "ghost towns" +montana - Google Book Search

Thanks. i do have the map from that first link and also a book i got off ebay.montana ghost towns. i will check out the other links too.thanks again

[Reziac]

Originally Posted by grannymontanny

Thanks. i do have the map from that first link and also a book i got off ebay.montana ghost towns. i will check out the other links too.thanks again

Welcome. Come back and let us know what you find!

Hmm... maybe we need a ghost town thread around here.

[jimj]

But are there any maps of the ghosts????

[Reziac]

Originally Posted by jimj

But are there any maps of the ghosts????

Actually, one of the book references I came across DID mention haunted ghost towns, tho I forgot to note which one...

[rangerider]

1) Livingston
2) Ulm
3) Manhattan

Livingston is starting to lose some of it's character, but still one of the nicer spots around. Bless the wind for keeping the place from getting too crowded.

Always liked Ulm just because it's kinda buried down in that little treed ravine by the water. Kinda the essence of a small town to me. But I've only been there a couple times.

We are probably seeing the last good years of Manhattan. Subdivisions are springing up all over but the more central part of town still has that lived in look and some of the homes are sure nice.

Runners up would include Lincoln, Stevensville, and Absarokee.