kbg717

My husband, son (will be 11 months) and I are hoping to go to Montana over the 4th of July. We would fly into Bozeman on Tuesday July 2 and leave Sunday July 7. We have never been to Montana before and realize it is a busy time of year but wanted to get some recommendations. We love outdoor hiking, national parks, cute towns, ranches etc.

We think it would be easiest to make one location our base (maybe Big Sky?) but are fine moving around if that makes more sense. Our options include visiting Yellowstone, Glacier National Park, Grand Tetons/Jackson, or just staying in Montana and seeing the surrounding area.

Do you have any must-see Montana sights close to Bozeman or should we look more at the Flathead Lake/Glacier area? We know we can't do it all but thought a small 4th of July town celebration would be really fun!

tomfuller

VisitWhitefish.com has a 40 page visitor guide which you can print out yourself or they will mail you a free copy.. Whitefish has 4th of July fireworks over a lake. They have free shuttle service from the O'Shaughnessey Center to avoid congestion in the center of town.
My favorite lodging in the area is at the Meadow Lake Resort near Columbia Falls. Be sure to drive all the way across the Going to the Sun road. There may still be some snow at the edge of the parking lot at the top of Logan Pass.

kbg717

This is very helpful, thank you! So do you recommend skipping Big Sky/Bozeman completely and just spending our time in northern Montana?

tomfuller

Drive south from Kalispell to Gardiner (or Mammoth if you are lucky) and spend at least a day in Yellowstone before returning to Bozeman. You will want to come back to see more of Yellowstone on a future vacation I'm sure.

kureiff

Do you already have your flights booked into Bozeman? If so, given that you have five days, I'd concentrate more on Yellowstone rather than driving to Glacier (about a 5.5 hour drive).

angie7911922

Check out Whitefish, and go to Glacier National Park. There is an amazing lake there that is off the beaten path. Easy drive, then a small hike, but it's hidden. We found out only because we have a local friend there. It was the most beautiful scenery I've ever seen in my life. If you decide to go there, let me know and I'll tell you more about it!!

kbg717

Awesome! We have not booked flights yet but the cheapest/easiest are the direct flights to Bozeman. There is a chance we could fly to Kalispell but Bozeman is much more likely. That's why we were having a hard time determining what makes the most sense. It sounds like Kalispell is the preferred area but if we did end up booking Bozeman, we could do Yellowstone.

Angie, I would love to hear more about this lake near Glacier National Park. That sounds exactly like our type of adventure!

tomfuller

There are several beautiful lakes in Glacier NP. On the west side is Lake McDonald where a famous Ansel Adams photo was taken. In the SE corner of the park is Two Medicine. On the east side is Lake St. Mary. All have great scenery. Along the southern boundary along US 2, is the Isaac Walton Lodge. The Amtrak Empire Builder also stops there if anyone is getting on or off.
East of the park in Browning is the museum of the Plains Indians which is interesting.