PeterT

I’m planning my first trip to the Montana area with my wife in late June early July of this year. We will be flying into the US from Ireland and have the choice of coming in at a number of cities before flying on. The main attractions on our agenda would be Glacier NP and Yellowstone and we will probably have about two weeks in total in the area. Has anyone got any comments on where would be the best local place to fly into, what itinerary to take and any “must sees”. Any advice would be very much appreciated.

John

Hello from NW Montana!!
Not sure if you are flying into the east or west coast but in any case your best bet is probably to fly into Salt Lake City,Utah. From there you should be able to get a flight into either Bozeman or Kalispell Montana.
From Bozeman you can then visit Yellowstone and drive north to Glacier Park.
From Kalispell you can visit Glacier park and drive south to Yellowstone.
For more info on parks
www.nps.gov (national parks)
www.discoveringmontana.com (Montana)
Lots of great hiking and scenery in both parks. Both will be busy at that time of year but it is still worth the visit.
Glacier park has had a relatively mild winter so it should be open(Going to the sun Road)when you arrive.
Have a great time and welcome to the "Last best place",Montana.

bob_brown

My suggestion is to fly to Billings, Montana. It is the largest city in the state, although by eastern and west coast standards it is small.

You can reach Billings via several airlines from Denver and from Minneapolis-St Paul.

It is a fairly short drive over the mountains to Yellowstone, and it is a spectacular trip.

The problem with most of the destinations in Montana is the high rental car rates. I think you can get the best package deal by flying to Billings. However, you need to check the prices before you make up your mind.

hilda

I suggest flying into one airport and departing from another to be able to see more and not backtrack. We flew into bozeman, flew out of Billings. can you add an extra day or two to see the Tetons? Northwest airlines and others fly jets into Bozeman and Billings. Get your reservations for the park lodges asap. Yellowstone offers all day bus tours that are tremendous, reasonably priced, run by the park service. The South loop leaves from Old Faithful Lodge, the North loop leaves from the Lake Hotel. These tours hit the highlights and are very informative. If you go to the Tetons the Jackson lake lodge is wonderful.

John

bob_brown


Where do you live?

PeterT

Thanks for all the info - that certainly gives me a few pointers to work on. In response to john's question we live in Irelaand so will probably be flying to the US via London. That will give us a choice of which US city to fly into and spend a few days before moving on to Montana. Any thoughts on the weather at that time of year and appropriate clothing for hiking?

Deborah

Hi Peter:

Not sure what city you will fly into, but I believe that BA flys to Seattle non-stop from London. There are easy connections to Billings or Bozeman on Alaska Air from there. I flew into Bozeman. It was a little cheaper than Billings and not quite as far as Billings. If you don't want to stay in the park, consider staying in West Yellowstone. I was in Yellowstone last May and had just a hooded sweatshirt as a jacket. I think if you just layer, you'll be fine. Enjoy your trip. It's a beautiful place.

Deborah

Should probably clarify that the drive from Bozeman to West Yellowstone was not as far as Billings, which was a little bit farther.

freemant

Flying into or out of Kalispell is also easy - Northwest and Delta have multiple flights a day. This would give you access to Glacier and the southern part of Canada.

One thing to watch on the rental cars is whether they have unlimited mileage. Some only have 100 miles per day and that doesn't get you very far in the Big Sky State.

jenny

Peter, if you have not seen Canadian Rockies, this might be a great opportunity to include that area. My husband and I flew to Kalispell, rented a car and drove through Glacier Park and into Canada to Banff , Jasper, etc. It is gorgeous country ! We had 8 days, which was alright (we hope to go back !).Flew back from Kalispell. It was cheaper this way than using different airports. Yellowstone is interesting , but if I had to choose, I'd pick Can.Rockies any time !
Have a good time !

Mellyz

We ski at Big Sky, just 45 min north of Yellowstone every year. We ALWAYS fly into Bozeman. Usually Northwest via Minneapolis. This year it was United via Denver. Never have had a problem with rental cars at Bozeman - always get a GM SUV (Tahoe or Suburban) - with unlimited miles via internet specials. The GM vehicles handle the mountains better. My husband flew into Glacier this winter (Kalispell) for a ski trip to Fernie BC. Was on a "cattle call" flight, stopped at every small town in Montana. Try a multiple destination - fly into Bozeman, then Bozeman to Kalispell, then home from Kalispell. We did Yellowstone last summer - it was incredible.

LaurenSKahn

Bozeman is the closest airport to Yellowstone.

If you want to do Grand Teton National Park too, you could fly into Jackson Hole, Wyoming, and go home from Bozeman, Montana (or vice versa).

If you can get a room in Yellowstone, stay in Yellowstone. West Yellowstone is just tourist dumpy in my opinion. Please note that Yellowstone is huge--I think it is bigger than Rhode Island. You want to be where the action is, not in West Yellowstone.

John

MELLYZ
Where did you fly from that you had a *cattle call* flight into Kalispell? You can fly direct to Kalispell from Seattle,Salt lake or Minneapolis.
Incidentally, I live in the mountains and drive a Ford 150. Have no problem at all. Also drive a Chevy Lumina with no problems.

hilda

Peter, repost when you have your airline reservations. I'm sure this board will have lots of suggestions for you.

bob_brown

I live in Georgia. But I have visited Yellowstone quite a few times. I have flown into Kalispell, Great Falls, Billings, and Calgary for various visits.
Kalispell has good service to and from Denver, but rental car prices the last time I checked were high.
I like the drive through Red Lodge, over the Beartooth Highway, then the Chief Joseph Highway to Cody and into Yellowstone via the east gate.
I plan to drive over the Beartooths in just a few weeks.

John

BOB BROWN
Correction Kalispell has absolutely terrible service to Denver. Either you fly or drive to Missoula where there is approx. 2 flights a day or fly to Minneapolis,Spokane or Seattle to connect to Denver.
Kalispell has non-stop service to Salt Lake City,nonstop to Seattle,nonstop to Spokane and 1

stop service to Minneapolis but HORRIBLE service to Denver.
Didn't want to lead anyone astray!!

bob_brown

OPPS right. Kalispell has good connections from Salt Lake City!!
I have flown into Kalispell from Atlanta via Salt Lake City. ThereforeI should know. I either meant to say Denver - Billings or Salt Lake City Kalispell.

That is what I get for rushing through these things. Denver to Kalispell is non existent. Right now I am looking at Billings for my self.