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-   -   Southern Montana in September. Help please! (https://www.fodors.com/community/united-states/southern-montana-in-september-help-please-1713934/)

juju1756 Mar 27th, 2023 03:07 PM

Southern Montana in September. Help please!
 
2 adults - 10 days - Sept 4-14, 2023
1.) 3 nights at Canyon Lodge in Yellowstone
2.) 3 nights in Jackson (Tetons, ride horses somewhere, float the Snake River.....)
3.) Here's where we need help. Want to go into Montana 2 nights before flying out of Bozeman. - Ennis? Big Sky? Would love to go to GNP but not enough time. Don't want tp spend too much time in the car. Montana is so big and I don't want to choose the wrong place!

TIA!


Moderator1 Mar 27th, 2023 09:02 PM

Moved to US Forum and tagged for Montana

tomfuller Mar 28th, 2023 06:23 AM

Where are you coming from and where do you intend to rent a car? You don't want a one way car rental IMO. By the second week of September there COULD be some snow in western Montana including Glacier NP. I've been to Yellowstone and I've been to Glacier but never on the same trip. There are float trips on the Yellowstone River out of Gardiner MT but I don't know if they run that late in the season.
One way that I like to get to the Glacier NP region is to take the Amtrak Empire Builder overnight from Spokane to Whitefish MT and renting a car from there. The best lodging I found near Glacier is the Meadow Lake Resort in Columbia Falls MT. Good luck on your trip!

kureiff Mar 28th, 2023 06:46 AM


Originally Posted by tomfuller (Post 17450420)
One way that I like to get to the Glacier NP region is to take the Amtrak Empire Builder overnight from Spokane to Whitefish MT and renting a car from there. The best lodging I found near Glacier is the Meadow Lake Resort in Columbia Falls MT. Good luck on your trip!

Not sure how this is relevant for two days coming from Yellowstone to Bozeman with a car.

I think it depends on what you want to do. I like Big Sky and you could do some hiking, but a lot of the restaurants and stores could be closed as it’s shoulder season. Big Sky has grown some but it’s still primarily ski based.

You could stay in Bozeman and visit the Museum of the Rockies and explore the town. Lots of great restaurants. I would look at staying downtown. Hotels are expensive, especially if there is a home football game while you are there.

Ennis would be good if you want to fish. It’s a small town. You could also explore Virginia City from Ennis.

I would probably just stay in Bozeman and maybe stop at Big Sky on your way to Bozeman.

Another option is Livingston and staying at Chico Hot Springs.

juju1756 Mar 28th, 2023 10:11 AM


Originally Posted by kureiff (Post 17450427)
Not sure how this is relevant for two days coming from Yellowstone to Bozeman with a car.

I think it depends on what you want to do. I like Big Sky and you could do some hiking, but a lot of the restaurants and stores could be closed as it’s shoulder season. Big Sky has grown some but it’s still primarily ski based.

You could stay in Bozeman and visit the Museum of the Rockies and explore the town. Lots of great restaurants. I would look at staying downtown. Hotels are expensive, especially if there is a home football game while you are there.

Ennis would be good if you want to fish. It’s a small town. You could also explore Virginia City from Ennis.

I would probably just stay in Bozeman and maybe stop at Big Sky on your way to Bozeman.

Another option is Livingston and staying at Chico Hot Springs.

Thank you so much!

juju1756 Mar 28th, 2023 10:15 AM


Originally Posted by tomfuller (Post 17450420)
Where are you coming from and where do you intend to rent a car? You don't want a one way car rental IMO. By the second week of September there COULD be some snow in western Montana including Glacier NP. I've been to Yellowstone and I've been to Glacier but never on the same trip. There are float trips on the Yellowstone River out of Gardiner MT but I don't know if they run that late in the season.
One way that I like to get to the Glacier NP region is to take the Amtrak Empire Builder overnight from Spokane to Whitefish MT and renting a car from there. The best lodging I found near Glacier is the Meadow Lake Resort in Columbia Falls MT. Good luck on your trip!

Thank you. Glacier is too far for our time window, which is why we are trying to determine where to get most bang for our buck (horseback riding maybe) within a 2 or so hour drive to bozeman airport for flight out at 2 pm. We already have car rental.


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