Road trip: Need your help to find the top 5 places to visit in MT.

[MT2WA]

Taken early June 2008 on the Clark Fork River near the Cherry Creek Boat Ramp facing downstream (west).

[London Girl]

Some shots from Glacier National Park in early June 2009:

[Gman2007]

You should post these in the "pics thread" - great pictures!

[HeadOfTheLakes]

Originally Posted by Redraven

The top 5...
Hmmm....
Glacier National Park (logan Pass)
The Charlie Russell Museum in Great Falls.
The Lewis and Clark Interpretive Center in Great Falls.
The Charlie Russell Chew Choo (a train ride from Lewistown to Great Falls and back)
The National Bison Range at Moise.
The Museum of the Plains Indian at Browning
Last Chance Gulch in Helena, including the Capitol and the Cathedral
The Fort Missoula Army Museum in Missoula
Hungry Horse Dam near Hungry Horse
I know, that's more than 5. Pick the 5 that seems more your style.
Have a good trip!

Hungry Horse Dam on the S. Fork of the Flathead River (saw the dam being built ) near Glacier Park.

[Kaligirl]

Hi there my City Data friends!!! I posted in an earlier thread, but here’s an update.
I cannot thank you all enough for your input!! We are so excited and will be leaving on our trip soon. We love the outdoors, water, trails, fun family things, entertaining or quirky even. Some of you mentioned places to eat, stay etc. and we truly would love to know of things to do…. Things out of the ordinary,since we have a mall here at home and bowling and theaters etc., we are looking forward to seeing what your state and cities have that make them unique. Some of you mentioned canoeing, tube rides in the river, horsebackriding, train rides and Alpine slides etc. (Everyone in my family is so excited about those ideas). We really need to know where and when are the best to do these? So we can call ahead and work around our schedule, dogs, kids, etc. What other adventures and ideas do you have for us?
We have had a few changes in our route and planning. Due to time, we can only make four states: NV, WY, ID and back to CA. We also have added a puppy to the mix, just because we didn’t have enough going on. LOL!! Therefore, we will be bringing our travel trailer with us and have booked reservations near the following cities. So it will be two adults, three kids and two dogs.
We’d love your input on where to stop and what to see on the way and what to do when we get there!! Also dog considerations too….Any lakes to take the dogs to? Which lakes are dog friendly and can walk on shore, maybe swim?
Here are our planned stops:
Southern California to Mesquite, NV. (Just an overnighter here)
Mesquite, NV to Salt Lake City. (We would like to see some of Park City too while there, ideas?). Is there a good view of the Lake without going to Antelope Island? Just a thought to keep down the extra driving and give us time to get to Park City. Heard about a train ride to Provo and back, how’s that? Trains elsewhere?
Salt Lake City to Jackson Lake, WY (South of Yellowstone, East of Grand Tetons, North of Jackson) We’d like to see all three of these areas and that’s why we will stay in the middle. We’d like to know what you have us See and Do and explore in all three areas here.) We know there are some things we cannot do because of our dogs, but I heard there might be a few places we could do? Which ones? What time of day is best? How do we find them? Someone mentioned Lower Loop in Yellowstone, which road is that? What to see in Grand Tetons, so excite, which way do we go? Heard wonderful things about Jackson hole, please tell me your favorites to do.
Next from Jackson Lake, WY to Twin Falls, ID (passing Idaho falls and Pocatello on the way. What to stop and see). Thinking of time at the falls? Other falls? Time in Boise? Should we see Lake Lowell while there? Time in Sawtooth? What to do in those places? What’s the best route, most scenic, best drive, etc?
Long drive from Twin Falls, ID to South Lake Tahoe, CA (we ran out of time and sadly must do Oregon next trip) Our drive will take us through North Nevada. Any good stops on the way? What to do in Tahoe when we get there…did I mention we eloped there, almost twenty years ago? And we will be traveling over our 20th wedding anniversary. LOL. So I’d love ideas for Tahoe, things to explore and do. As it’s a special spot for us, but we never did get to explore it the first time around.
From South Lake Tahoe, CA to Yosemite, CA (Any RVers out there? Would you take 89 to 4 to Big Oak flat? Or would you take 50 to 49 and then down?) Okay, so say we get there…here’s hoping! What to do and see in Yosemite? As with Yellowstone, we know we are have with trail usage problems because of our dogs, but I heard there might be a few we could do? Which ones? What time of day is best? How do we find them?
From Yosemite, CA we head home to Southern California. And pass out! LOL….
I want to thank all of you for helping us decide which way to head to get the most out of this trip (and even giving us ideas for our next trip, did I just say that?) Please if you can take a minute to tell me about your favorites in our route it would help us a great deal since our timeline is tight and we are trying to see and do as much fun, local things as possible.
Kindest regards, Kaligirl and family!
PS We leave this Sunday, July 19th, post quickly…… THANKS AGAIN!!

[lorelei2873]

The kids would really like a lot of things in SW Montana: Museum of the Rockies in Bozeman (dinosaurs!), Virginia City (real territorial ghost town), Lewis and Clark Caverns not too far away, and Gates of the Mountains Boat tour near Helena (see bighorn sheep, learn a lot of history about Lewis and Clark, etc.), and, if possible, take a drive up to Glacier. But, although most of it's not in Montana, you must, must, go to Yellowstone!!!!

[lorelei2873]

Oops, didn't see your last post. Well, you're missing out! Have spent quite a bit of time between SLC and Jackson and don't think it's much worth your time.

[Analysis]

The Grand Tetons are very beautiful. I went to jackson hole once and found it very un kid friendly in attitude, and phony and just yuck. But it is pretty there. Best of luck with your trip, I once took a two week with the parents (back when you could stuff everyone into the station wagon with blankets) and it was one of the best trips I ever took. (WIth four children btw).