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Featured Replies

Will be there for 4 days so looking for recs on things to do and places to eat.  Was thinking about Glacier NP but that's 3 hrs driving.  One friend wants to fly fish and the rest just want to hang out.  I know Missoula is a college town but is that enough to occupy us for 4 days?  What are some good hikes nearby?

3 minutes ago, APEX said:

Will be there for 4 days so looking for recs on things to do and places to eat.  Was thinking about Glacier NP but that's 3 hrs driving.  One friend wants to fly fish and the rest just want to hang out.  I know Missoula is a college town but is that enough to occupy us for 4 days?  What are some good hikes nearby?

If you go to Montana and you don't go fishing, you have failed.

We floated the headwaters of the Missouri, and caught some beautiful rainbows.  I also fished the little Blackfoot on foot.  Got some hits, but no hookups, didn't care, it was one of the prettiest places I've ever been.

There’s several breweries and a distillery or two there. 

Bbq place called notorious P.I.G. that I haven’t eaten at, but enjoyed their name. 

Theres a place called iron horse or something similar that was good as a bar and patio type casual American food place. 

Have a burger at the Missoula Club.  It's a cool little town.

Grab a drink at The Rhino for some stiff drinks and nice MT beer selections. Had a blast chatting with the regulars there. 

P

You're not too terribly far from Flathead Lake.  Every few years we have a family reunion at a camp on one of the "beaches".  I would suggest taking advantage of the lake.  Your buddy can fish and you others can fish/drink beer/drink beer & fish.  Apple orchards everywhere.  Watch out for rogue grizzly bears.  

22 hours ago, Brisketexan said:

If you go to Montana and you don't go fishing, you have failed.

We floated the headwaters of the Missouri, and caught some beautiful rainbows.  I also fished the little Blackfoot on foot.  Got some hits, but no hookups, didn't care, it was one of the prettiest places I've ever been.

My first trip to Glacier, we passed right by Three Forks.  I did not realize what was up until I saw the "Historical Marker" signs.  The significance of being at the headwaters gave me goosebumps.  Girlfriend thought I was crazy for digging out my swimming suit and swimming in the river, but eventually she did the same thing.  You're right- beautiful place.

I've never been but if you're there during football season...WaGrizz stadium is supposed to be an awesome experience for a UofMon game.

One thing I've heard is the world is full of bastards, with the number increasing rapidly the further one gets from there.

Great fucking town. Get a slice and a beer at The Bridge. Watch people surf on the river around the corner. Check the concert calendar at The Wilma, get drinks at the Red Lion on the river. 

Oh, and video poker at lucky Lil's is always fun.

Edited by pops
Because gambling

The M looked like a boring hike to me, to be honest. Is it just a hike up a grass covered hill?  I guess the view would be good at the top, but going up and down didn’t look interesting. 

It's not Yosemite.  It's just a big M behind campus.  Wait for the coeds to show up, then follow them.

Imagine Nation Brewing has a nice outdoor patio and good beers. Glacier is worth the drive, even if you just did a single night near the park. I did a rafting trip out of Missoula as well that was just 2 or 3 hours but a good time. NW Montana is among the most beautiful places I've ever been so definitely go outside

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  • 1 month later...
  • Author

Thanks for all the recs so here's my recap of the 4 nights in Montana.

Had a burger at the Missoula Club. The patty was good but the burger came without lettuce or tomato.  Lots of locals.

Tried Tamarack Brewery but their power was out and The Notorious P.I.G. next door ran out of food so we ended up Caffe Dolce which was passable.

My buddies hiked to the M and thought it was worth the effort. We also went to Rattlesnake Canyon for a hike.

The best meal was at Bridge Pizza.  Excellent pie and spaghetti and chicken piccata was tasty and good portion.

Tried various brews from Big Sky Brewery and liked them all. 

Downtown Missoula is a lot of fun.  Can watch surfers from the bridge on the Clear Form river.  Saturday farmers market was big for a town of less than 100K.  Racial diversity was non existent except for all the Asians manning the produce stands. If I had to guess, I'd say they are either Laotians or Cambodians.

Drove to Glacier NP and hiked the Highline Loop trail from Logan Pass to the loop. The first 7.6 miles was very scenic to the Glacier Chalet. The remaining 4 miles was a beating since its all downhill for 2,300 feet and a killer on your quad.  It took us 5.5 hours and we are decent shape.

Had dinner at Flathead Brewery on the way back to Missoula but the meal was not very memorable.

The beauty of Montana more than offset the lack of good grubs. It's amazing the entire population is a tad over one million for all that land. I left this morning when it was 60 degree and came back to Texas at 104.  If you have a chance, go visit. It is truly beautiful.

It is so damn hot right now, I would love to be in Montana. Did Glacier when I was a kid, I really want to go back.

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CSB.  Got halfway up the M and get texts from my wife, who decided instead to just walk around campus, and got stung by a bee, and freaked the hell out, and drove herself to the emergency room, and left me up at the M.  Got a ride to the hospital from some nice folks at the bottom of the M.

Montana is no country for redheads with allergies.

We went in summer and it was brutally hot. 

I agree -- get in the water as much as you can. 

On 7/19/2018 at 6:16 PM, Pato del Muerto said:

Western Montana is much different than central or eastern Montana. 

the hell do you have against miles city??

  • 5 years later...

Bump. Headed there by myself for a week this summer. Any new updates on hikes, bars, restaurants.

Hiking, fishing, rafting , day trip to GNP and good craft brews are on the docket. Thanks

I wouldn’t take a day trip to Glacier because it’s ~6 hours round trip. I would stay a night near Glacier. 

5 hours ago, Firemans4Horn said:

I wouldn’t take a day trip to Glacier because it’s ~6 hours round trip. I would stay a night near Glacier. 

I stayed in Kalispell and Whitefish last fall when I was up at Glacier. I really dug Whitefish. 

11 hours ago, Blotto said:

I stayed in Kalispell and Whitefish last fall when I was up at Glacier. I really dug Whitefish. 

Just got a place there.  Going to be up there from Memorial Day to Labor Day.  Going to be a big change from the Roaring Fork Valley.  But I am so looking forward to it.  Really loved skiing there for first time over Spring Break.  My house is on a manmade water ski lake in between Kalispell and Whitefish.  Going to spend a lot of the summer on that lake, Flathead Lake, and Whitefish Lake. Montana is beautiful.  And the people I have met so far, our neighbors, are awesome.

I am done spending summers in Texas.

On 4/2/2024 at 3:54 PM, txduck87 said:

Bump. Headed there by myself for a week this summer. Any new updates on hikes, bars, restaurants.

Hiking, fishing, rafting , day trip to GNP and good craft brews are on the docket. Thanks

I'll ask my daughter.  She lives there.  Her husband grew up in Polson, on the south end of Flathead Lake.

On 4/3/2024 at 9:33 AM, Frank Drebin said:

Just got a place there.  Going to be up there from Memorial Day to Labor Day.  Going to be a big change from the Roaring Fork Valley.  But I am so looking forward to it.  Really loved skiing there for first time over Spring Break.  My house is on a manmade water ski lake in between Kalispell and Whitefish.  Going to spend a lot of the summer on that lake, Flathead Lake, and Whitefish Lake. Montana is beautiful.  And the people I have met so far, our neighbors, are awesome.

I am done spending summers in Texas.

Sounds great and this is our plan starting in a couple of years.  If renting, how did you find your house to rent for that long stretch?

  • 11 months later...
Bump. Headed there by myself for a week this summer. Any new updates on hikes, bars, restaurants.

Hiking, fishing, rafting , day trip to GNP and good craft brews are on the docket. Thanks

Self bump. Didn’t make it last year but headed there with wife for a week in June.

Man... I wanted to get up there this summer on a road trip, but not sure I have that much time. My Aunt is up there and haven't been back since 2015.  Have a blast.  As my late uncle would say..."It's Beautiful...." 

I'll reach out to my cousin to see he if has any any input on bars and restaurants.  He lives in Revelstoke, BC, but gets down to see his mom often. 

Edited by Chico_SA

One of my favorite travel pics.  In 99  I took my new Jeep(still have her, and she only has about 130,000 miles) on a 3 week solo road trip. New Mexico, Arizona, Utah, Idaho, Montana, Wyoming, and Colorado. Vistited lots of parks and camped along the way, but stayed at my Aunt and Uncles in Missoula before turning around. Just a great town and area. My Aunt took this as I was about to head off to Yellowstone.  They loved their Samoyed dogs. 

Missoula.jpg

I visited my youngest daughter in Missoula last June.  I got there on a Thursday.

A few days before I got there, she sent me text showing the weather - It was showing a WINTER STORM WARNING.  On June 17th.

And yep, it snowed at her place.

Funnier though was that her husband and his brother (who both grew up in Polson) were on a week long hike up in the mountains just north of town.  They got caught in the storm and ended up finding a Ranger cabin that they got into while they rode out the storm.

It was absolutely beautiful weather when I got there on the 20th, though.

Edited by Ag with kids

  • 3 months later...
On 3/8/2025 at 9:08 AM, Ag with kids said:

I visited my youngest daughter in Missoula last June.  I got there on a Thursday.

A few days before I got there, she sent me text showing the weather - It was showing a WINTER STORM WARNING.  On June 17th.

And yep, it snowed at her place.

Funnier though was that her husband and his brother (who both grew up in Polson) were on a week long hike up in the mountains just north of town.  They got caught in the storm and ended up finding a Ranger cabin that they got into while they rode out the storm.

It was absolutely beautiful weather when I got there on the 20th, though.

We got 6 inches on Big Mountain in Whitefish a couple weeks ago.  Weather has been perfect since then.  We actually drove down to Colorado yesterday for a concert at Red Rocks tonight.  Heading back to Montana tomorrow morning. I don't mind the drive.  It's such pretty country.

On 6/29/2025 at 1:09 PM, Frank Drebin said:

We got 6 inches on Big Mountain in Whitefish a couple weeks ago.  Weather has been perfect since then.  We actually drove down to Colorado yesterday for a concert at Red Rocks tonight.  Heading back to Montana tomorrow morning. I don't mind the drive.  It's such pretty country.

So THAT'S where Brokeback Mountain was filmed...;)

But, seriously, it IS really beautiful there.

I just hate cold.  That's why I live on N Padre Island.

So, I'm only going to visit my daughter in the summer...

On 6/30/2025 at 6:31 PM, Ag with kids said:

So THAT'S where Brokeback Mountain was filmed...;)

But, seriously, it IS really beautiful there.

I just hate cold.  That's why I live on N Padre Island.

So, I'm only going to visit my daughter in the summer...

Drown down from Whitefish with son to tour Univ or Montana. He’s going to be a junior, and we just want him to see what’s out there.  While in Missoula, we stopped at church from A River Runs Through It.  This was Maclean’s church and was shown in movie.  

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My backyard.  That peak in middle of first is part of glacier NP.  Second pic is sunset.  Third is due north and Big Mountain / Whitefish ski resort.  I love Montana.

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Edited by Frank Drebin

Hiked 17 miles in Glacier today.  Did Highline and Grinnell Glacier Overlook.  Was a perfect day out there.  Got on the trail around 5:30 this morning.  Got off around 11:30.  Saw four big horns, two grizzlies, mountain goats, and many WT deer.  Only got one pic of first bear. He was hundreds of yards away and a small grizzly.  Second was a big one and I was ten feet from him.  He was in brush next to trail and took off when I got near.  Thank God. 

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I hope you're carrying bear mace and maybe a blunderbuss or something. Being 10 feet from a big bear and counting on it being startled doesn't seem like a good long term plan. 

10 minutes ago, SydneyCarton said:

I hope you're carrying bear mace and maybe a blunderbuss or something. Being 10 feet from a big bear and counting on it being startled doesn't seem like a good long term plan. 

That’s why I always hike with my wife. 

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Came home from a week in Bigfork, and brought home a gallon of huckleberries. Made ice cream this morning. 

4 hours ago, SydneyCarton said:

I hope you're carrying bear mace and maybe a blunderbuss or something. Being 10 feet from a big bear and counting on it being startled doesn't seem like a good long term plan. 

I carry both bear spray and a 10mm Glock with 220 grain Buffalo Bore ammo.  Not too worried about bears though.  The number of bear attacks in Glacier is very low despite there being 2 million visitors and 1 million of those doing hikes per year.  And the number of bear fatalities is very low.  I think ten in the last 100 years.  September/October is the real danger zone.  When they start getting ready to hibernate.

Statistically, I am much more likely to get hurt bad or die falling off a cliff on that hike or getting in a wreck on the way to the park.

I love long hikes.  I want to do them as long as I can.  I am 48 and hope to have another 20+ years doing them.  Hiking in the mountains, hunting open wild country, and snow skiing (nordic and cross country) are activities that I love to do so much that it motivates me to stay in shape all year round.

4 hours ago, Kennythetiger said:

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Came home from a week in Bigfork, and brought home a gallon of huckleberries. Made ice cream this morning. 

I hiked up to the top of the ski resort in Whitefish this morning.  About the tenth time I have done it in July.  Huckleberries were every where for the first time.  I am going to go back with the wife and kids tomorrow morning and get a bunch.

That ice cream looks amazing.

That’s….your wife??

Thank you for the ice cream compliment. Shredded two semisweet chocolate bars and put them in there too. Going to eat it in a couple of hours. 

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