54 Best Sights in Kalispell, Missoula, and Northwest Montana, Montana

The construction of the Northern Pacific Railroad was instrumental in opening up the West to settlers, and the arrival of the line in Missoula is a key point in the city's history. The depot, opened in 1901, is an example of the Renaissance Revival architecture that dominates the north end of downtown. Today, the depot houses private offices, but you can still look around inside, enjoy a picnic outside, and examine Crossings, a sculpture of giant red-enamel Xs representing railroad trestles over mountain ravines.

You can ring the old school bell at the Northwest Montana History Museum, housed in the Central School Building that served as the educational backdrop for students of the Flathead Valley for nearly 100 years. The museum hosts galleries, activities, and displays about regional heritage and history, including local Native American culture. You'll also find a café, a museum store, conference rooms, and a reference library.

A Missoula landmark along the river's south shore, this 1910 passenger depot, with Romanesque windows, a Spanish-style roof, two towers, and mission-style parapet walls, is on the National Register of Historic Places. It's now the national headquarters of the Boone and Crockett Club, an organization founded in 1887 by Theodore Roosevelt to establish conservation of wild habitats. Open to the public is a display of a world-record taxidermied elk, bighorn sheep, and other wildlife.

If you happen to forget which country Kashgar is in, chances are you aren't standing in this square. A statue of Mao Zedong—one of the largest in China—stands with his back to Kashgar's Old City and his right arm raised in perpetual salute. The statue is evidence of an unspoken rule in China that directly relates the size of a Mao tribute to its distance from Beijing; the only Mao statue larger than this one is in Tibet.

Polson, a quiet community of 5,000 on the southwest corner of Flathead Lake, sits under the morning shadow of the jagged Mission Mountains. It's the largest town on the Flathead Indian Reservation. Picnic spots, lake access, and playgrounds are found at Boettcher, Sacajawea, and Riverside parks. Some other parks are for tribal members only; signs identify picnic areas that are closed to the public. Plan on attending the two-day Flathead Cherry Festival in late July to get your fill of the area's famous cherries.

The Ravalli County Museum, in the former courthouse, contains exhibits on natural history, fly-fishing, Native Americans, Lewis and Clark, and other subjects related to the region. During the Saturday Series (most Saturdays 2 pm, $5), speakers share local history and lore.

The heart of Missoula is the Clark Fork River, which cuts through Hellgate Canyon between Mount Sentinel and Mount Jumbo, and then flows by the university and through downtown. A 6-mile-long riverside trail (as well as the connecting 2½-mile Kim Williams Trail) makes for pleasant walks, with plenty of picnic spots and benches along the way. Look down from Higgin's Bridge and watch the surfers, kayakers, and paddleboarders on Brennan's Wave. Take note: the powerful currents of the Clark Fork are dangerous—they've taken many lives over the years.

The visitor center features natural-history displays (including hands-on displays for kids), films, art, taxidermied animals, a world-record pair of elk antlers, and an outdoor nature trail. The foundation works to preserve wild lands for elk and other wildlife; since 1984 the nonprofit organization has saved almost 8 million acres from development.

Logging's colorful past is displayed in the big log barn at Seeley Lake Museum and Visitors Center, along with tools of the trade and visitor information.

Hamilton, like Stevensville and Darby, is on the doorstep of the 1.3-million-acre Selway-Bitterroot Wilderness Area and is not far from the Anaconda-Pintler Wilderness Area to the east. Hundreds of miles of trails wend through the forests, where visitors may encounter bears, elk, moose, deer, and bighorn sheep. There are also songbirds and birds of prey such as eagles and owls.

Three miles south of Hamilton, turn east onto Route 38, also known as the Skalkaho Highway, and you'll find yourself on a beautiful 45-mile route leading into the Sapphire Mountains, past towering Skalkaho Falls and on to Philipsburg and the Georgetown Lake area. This fair-weather road is best traveled in summer, since 20 miles of it are gravel. Mountain bikers tour here, and there are plenty of hiking trails through the 23,000-acre Skalkaho Wildlife Management Area. Note that trailers are not recommended. Only 10 miles of the Skalkaho Highway are plowed in winter, which means the area is excellent for cross-country skiing and snowshoeing.

An award-winning history museum, it includes a replica 1930s lookout tower, exhibits explaining wildland fire ecology and behavior, firefighting techniques, and the nation's history of smoke jumping, which began here in 1942. Today it's the largest smoke-jumper base in the nation. From Memorial Day through Labor Day the center offers five tours daily, given by guides who provide firsthand accounts of jumping into blazing forests.

At the end of a long and often washboard gravel road, Spotted Bear is a remote entrance into the Bob Marshall Wilderness. You'll find there a ranger station, outfitter's ranch, campground, swimming, and rafting a short distance down the South Fork of the Flathead River to the Hungry Horse Reservoir.

The St. Ignatius Mission—a church, a museum, and collection of other buildings—was built in the 1890s with bricks made of local clay by missionaries and Native Americans. The 61 murals on the walls and ceilings of the church were used to teach Bible stories to the Indians. In the St. Ignatius Mission Museum (an old log cabin) there's an exhibit of early artifacts and arts and crafts. The mission is still a functioning church; mass is offered every Sunday morning in the rectory. To reach the mission from St. Ignatius, take Main Street south to Mission Drive.

St. Mary's Mission, established by Father Pierre DeSmet in 1841, was the first Catholic mission in the Northwest and the site of the first permanent non–Native American settlement in Montana. This historic site is run by a nonsectarian, nonprofit organization that encourages tour groups, school groups, and individuals to explore the home of Father Anthony Ravalli, an Italian priest recruited to the mission by Father DeSmet in 1845. Ravalli was also Montana's first physician and pharmacist. On the site are a photogenic chapel, a priest's quarters, a pharmacy, Father Ravalli's log house, and the cabin of Chief Victor, a Salish Indian who refused to sign the Hell Gate Treaty and move his people onto the Flathead Reservation. A burial plot has headstones bearing the names of both Native Americans and white settlers.

Historical artifacts in the Stevensville Museum include the belongings of early settlers, particularly the missionaries who came to convert the Native Americans of the West. Other exhibits provide an overview of the area's original cultures (Salish, Nez Perce, and Lemhi Shoshone), background on Lewis and Clark's two visits, and a look at later residents, from orchard farmers to today's cybercommuters.

If you want to check out a cross section of American life, drop by the Whitefish train station at 6 am as a sleepy collection of farmers, cowboys, and skiers awaits the arrival of Amtrak's Empire Builder, en route from Seattle to Chicago. Inside the half-timber depot is the Stumptown Historical Society's Whitefish Museum. The focus here is the Great Northern Railway, the nation's first unsubsidized transcontinental railway that passed through Whitefish. On display are lanterns, old posters, and crockery, as well as reminders of local history, such as the books of author Dorothy M. Johnson and photos of the Whitefish football team from 1922 through 1954, plus some real fun (look for the fur-covered trout). You can pick up a walking-tour map of Whitefish's historic district here.

A truly unique find on the western edge of the Flathead Indian Reservation, this rustic 1928 hotel has hot mineral pools from continuously flowing springs, spa treatments, massage, and live music on weekends. They host a blues festival in late July. In the restaurant, steak, seafood, and pasta satisfy hungry soakers. The hotel itself isn't a standout, though the rates are reasonable. Several historic hot springs in the area attracted Native Americans for centuries.

A refreshing stop for wildlife viewing, this 1,300-acre wildlife conservation property is intended to inspire, educate, and demonstrate conservation in action. Situated along 3 miles of the Bitterroot River, about 8 miles north of Hamilton, the refuge is home to otters, beavers, spotted frogs, and salamanders, as well as pileated woodpeckers, birds of prey, waterfowl, whitetail deer, and many native plants. Although most of the refuge is off-limits to the public (except by appointment), any visitors can take a stroll on the 1½-mile walking trail along the Bitterroot River. An education center conducts numerous conservation programs for the public. To get here, take Route 269 (Eastside Highway) to Quast Lane and follow the signs.

The Three Chiefs Culture Center (formerly The People's Center) allows you to experience the rich cultural heritage of the Salish, Kootenai, and Pend d'Oreille tribes. The Center includes artifacts, photographs, and recordings; runs educational programs; and offers guided interpretive tours, outdoor traditional lodges, and annual festivals. A gift shop sells both traditional and nontraditional work by local artists and craftspeople.

This park includes a Lewis and Clark camp on a floodplain overlooking Lolo Creek. The explorers stayed here from September 9 to 11, 1805, and again from June 30 to July 3, 1806. Archaeologists in 2002 found evidence of a latrine and a fire hearth, making this one of only a few locations with a physical record of the expedition's camp. Tepee rings suggest that Native Americans used the riverside location, too. Self-guided tours meander through cottonwoods and the historic campsite. Daily interpretive presentations and guided tours run during the summer.

Off the west shore of Flathead Lake, the lake's largest island is an ideal day-trip to hike, swim, and watch wildlife. An extensive trail system through one of the last short-grass prairie ecosystems in Montana provides an opportunity to get some exercise and see rare plants, bald eagles, truly wild horses, and full-curl bighorn rams. The only way to reach it is with a boat rental. Big Arm Rentals and Rides (in Big Arm) rents kayaks and power boats, or you can take one of their three daily shuttles.

One of 28 city green spaces, Woodland Park has a playground, ball fields, rose gardens, and a picnic area. Geese, ducks, peacocks, and black swans swim and flutter at the pond, which offers night-lit ice-skating and comfy locker rooms in winter. Open from June to August, Woodland Water Park is an affordable and popular attraction with a pool, waterslides, and a "Lazy River" float.

For nature lovers, the main attractions of the Flathead Indian Reservation are fishing and water recreation on numerous lakes and streams and bird-watching in Ninepipe National Wildlife Refuge. A tribal fishing license is required, and is available at most licensing agents.