10 Best Places to Shop in Billings, Little Big Horn, and the Montana Plains, Montana

For those looking to corral their toes into no-nonsense work boots, moccasins, and custom cowboy boots with prices to suit a ranch hand's wallet (as well as the millionaire ranch owner's), this is your best bet in Billings. Not in the market for footwear? Unique accessories and gifts, including one-of-a-kind belts, bottle openers, and Montana-made jewelry also line the shelves.

In downtown Great Falls, this outdoors specialty store carries everything from camping-stove fuel and freeze-dried food to ice-climbing equipment and kayaks. The store also rents canoes, kayaks, pack rafts, stand-up paddleboards, cross-country skis, skate skis, and snowshoes.

This Main Street mainstay smells like the tempting candles it sells and is worth checking out even if it's just to sample fancy goat milk lotions or chocolates. You can also buy cute tea towels, kitchen goods, Montana apparel, and gifts galore for the folks back home.

Billing itself as Montana's largest specialty store, Dragonfly Dry Goods carries a huge selection of carefully curated women's clothing, boots, backpacks, blankets, tea towels, candles, earrings, magnets, and more. They also have a nice selection of books, clothing, and toys for kids.

This gallery features impressionist images by the award-winning Montanan artist, and lifelong resident, Harry Koyama. He uses a palette knife and bold colors, and his subjects include horses, wildlife, Native Americans, and dramatic landscapes. You can call to see if you can visit by appointment on the weekend.

This country store owned by proud Montana natives is housed in a historic brick building dating back to 1914. It boasts a wide selection of made-in-Montana merchandise in addition to one-of-a-kind finds in its antique warehouse. It also has a decent-sized market and grocery section (think like Cracker Barrel's gift shop, but more local, premium products).

The craftspeople at Miles City Saddlery, in business since 1909, design custom saddles of legendary quality. They also craft saddlebags, holsters, and other leather goods. Even if you're not buying, this is worth a stop.

This company creates cowboy hats for both working cowboys and movie stars and will custom-fit a felt fur hat. Prices range from an affordably luxurious $300 to an eye-popping $2,000. You can also just pick up a less custom casual baseball cap or a beanie.

It's easy to spot this behemoth of a sporting goods store against the horizon. In fact, Scheels is so big it has a Ferris wheel inside. You can also bowl, admire the exotic fish in the floor-to-ceiling aquariums, have lunch, or simply shop while the kids play in the arcade. Scheels is two very impressive stories of apparel, fishing gear, firearms, home goods, ski equipment, bikes, Montana-themed gifts, and just about everything you need to enjoy the local outdoors. It also rents out ski equipment, snowboards, and snowshoes from November through March. Bike rentals are available in the summer from Memorial Day to Labor Day.

Thanks to insightful city planners, Great Falls is blessed with a beautiful and extensive downtown shopping district full of the kind of old-fashioned stores—including galleries, toy stores, and clothiers—that in other parts of the country are rapidly giving way to chain stores and shopping malls. During the summer the downtown area comes alive with events such as the Great Falls Farmer's Market, held outside the Civic Center from June through September, and Alive at Five, which brings live music downtown one evening a week. Most of these businesses are in an area bounded by the Missouri River, 8th Street, 4th Avenue North, and 4th Avenue South.