Billings, MT
 

Hello. I'm going to be in Billings for a wedding a couple weeks and will have a whole Saturday to play. Any suggestions on things I must see or do? Thanks!

Billings isn't exactly at the end of the world, but you can probably see it from there. If you have access to a car, the Custer (he of the "Last Stand")Battlefield National Monument is about an hour to the east on I-90 and well worth a visit.

If it is open, the Beartooth Highway. One of the most scenic drives in the U.S. If you do a search here you will see tons of posts recommending it.

You could drive Red Lodge to 296 (Chief Joseph Hwy) down to Cody and back to Billings. A search for Cody will give you lots to do there, as well.

If you like to fish, the Yellowstone River east of Livingston is a great place.

With the greatest of respect for the folks who live there, when you GET to Billings you'll understand why it is important to get out of Billings as soon as possible if you want to see any of Montana's beauty.

By the way, if you happen to see any trees in Billings, be sure to report them..they're about as rare as UFOs.

The Red Lodge/Beartooth Hwy would be my suggestion also. Some people don't quite understand the Yellowstone Valley and will make comments which are pretty stupid. Enjoy the wedding and festivities.

I live in Red Lodge and would definitely come here to eat, hike, drive the Beartooth Hwy. We have a brewery here...Red Lodge Ales which is a nice way to end a day of hiking or just walking around. The only other thing to recommend is a trip to the Custer Battlefield. Other than that, sorry, can't think of anything. There may be something happening in Billings but just pick up the Billings Gazette when you get to town. People disparage Billings, but it is really quite nice. There are lots of trees.

The Billings Gazette is online and has a section for visitors. Happy Trails.

Red Lodge is cute in the sense of nice.
If the Beartooth is still open in mid October, drive to the crest.
But I doubt if it will be open. It is high and catches a lot of snow which begins early.

By this time last year the highway had already been closed for a period of time. (September 11 to be exact was the closing day I saw in the newspaper.)

I'm not sure what Topman is talking about re: the lack of trees since the city of Billings is widely acknowledged to have a large abundance of trees - just stand on top of the rimrocks overlooking the city and you'll see that they are everywhere. Anyway, not sure if you have access to a car or not. If you do, I agree that Red Lodge is a good day trip destination. Only about a hour away and you can either go on a scenic drive up the Beartooth highway or just mess around in the little town - it is basically a cute little ski/mountain town. If you are not planning on leaving Billings - I would stick to the old downtown area - hopefully you are staying there(the only Sheraton is downtown). There are a few museums (Yellowstone Art Museum, Western Heritage,etc.), antique stores, some clothes/gift stores, etc., and plenty of coffee shops/ bars/ restaurants all within the downtown walking area.

Thanks for all your help. I just got from Billings and had a blast! Living in Los Angeles, it was great to see so many trees, especially this time of year. Georgeous! We spent Saturday afternoon in Red Lodge - this is the kind of thing we miss out on living in L.A. What a fun place. The people there are incredibly nice. Ate at Bogart's in Red Lodge and Stella's for breakfast in Billings. Although, being Asian, I'm pretty sure I stood out - caught more than a few stares. :)

Glad you had fun! Plus you went to two great local places - Bogarts has great pizza and I always buy my bread at Stella's when I visit Billings...