Winter's Hidden Gem: Montana

  ~VisitMt

Nestled among the Pacific Northwest and the Great Plains is one of the country's most underrated winter destinations, Montana. While many travelers think of Montana for their warm-weather trip, the state's diverse downhill ski areas, snow-covered forests, cozy lodging accommodations, lively cultural attractions, hearty culinary scene and two national parks say otherwise. Plus, with direct flights from 16 cities—including Atlanta, Chicago, Denver, Dallas, Minneapolis, Newark, New York City, Salt Lake City, Seattle and others—getting to Big Sky Country in winter is easy.

For travelers planning a winter getaway, downhill skiing is likely the first activity that comes to mind. In Montana, the snow comes early and often as the sky drops some of the lightest and deepest power across the Rocky Mountains, preparing the more than 15,000 acres of downhill terrain for the coming ski season. With 14 ski areas to choose from, it's easy to fill your entire winter vacation with tree-lined runs, powder-filled bowls and expansive views at places like Red Lodge Mountain in Red Lodge, Discovery Ski Area in Philipsburg and Maverick Mountain in Polaris, as well as world-class terrain at Big Sky Resort and Whitefish Mountain Resort.

While downhill skiers and snowboarders will find no lack of runs on the mountain, there are plenty of other winter activities to get you into the heart of Montana's forested terrain, lush valleys and open prairies.

One of the best ways to see winter up close is on a snowmobile. While there are plenty of trails to explore on your own, a guided snowmobile trip with an experienced outfitter makes the adventure easy for any experience level of sledder, as outfitters provide a snowmobile, helmet, gear and guide. Most snowmobile outfitters operate out of the western portion of the state, with guided trips available in Glacier Country, Southwest Montana and Yellowstone Country.

Many companies offer daily guided trips, while there are a handful that provide a stay-and-sled experience, like Rich's Montana Guest Ranch & Outdoor Adventures. A family operation based outside of Seeley Lake, Montana, the Rich family combines a guest ranch stay with guided snowmobiling tours, giving their guests access to more than 1,500 miles of groomed and ungroomed trails, as well as snow-filled play areas. Additional snowmobile hotspots include Bozeman, Columbia Falls, Cooke City, Libby and West Yellowstone, with guides in West Yellowstone offering snowmobile trips into the world's first national park—Yellowstone.

During winter, natural hot springs provide a perfect complement to the state's snow-centered activities and travelers will find hot spring resorts in the towns of Anaconda, Boulder, Hot Springs, Jackson, Lolo, Paradise, Polaris, Pray, Saco, Sula and White Sulphur Springs. Each of the resorts has a different style of accommodations, ranging from rustic lodge rooms to condos and cabins, as well as on-site amenities and offerings that include dining, spa and live music. Plus, many of the hot springs are known for their healing properties and are a perfect way to end a winter day.

If you come to Montana, chances are you'll rub elbows with the locals while you're here, either at a local watering hole or favorite restaurant, where you'll soon meet an eclectic and charming assortment of residents, from farmers and ranchers to Olympic skiers and snowboarders and best-selling authors to James Beard-nominated chefs. And while you could meet a Montana local anywhere, the best place to meet the state's colorful assortment of characters is at an equally colorful annual winter event. 

One of winter's much-loved festivals is Cabin Fever Days in the small town of Martin City. Located between Whitefishand Glacier National Park in an area affectionately known as "The Canyon," each winter this quiet mountain town of 500 welcomes locals and visitors to enjoy Cabin Fever Days. Slated for February 8 – 10, 2019, Cabin Fever Days includes signature events like the barstool races and arm wrestling, as well as a variety of family-friendly offerings. Other not-to-be-missed winter events include Whitefish Winter Carnival in Whitefish, the Rodeo Run Sled Dog Race in West Yellowstone and the Last Chance Skijoring Race for the Gold in Helena.

While most snow-focused winter vacations tend to focus on outdoor recreation, Montana's cities and towns have plenty of options for entertainment, from live music to museums and farm-to-fork dining, as well as 16 distilleries and over 75 breweries.

More information can be found on winter in Montana—including cross-country skiing, dog sled adventures, sleigh rides, fat biking and more—at VISITMT.COM.

Fall’s Finale

  ~by Doug Stevens

Sometime in October, starting about the third week, it may seem like the color explosion of Fall is over.  The leaves of the high country flora, that earlier showed off their flaming reds, oranges and yellows, wither, turn brown and drop, usually beneath an early snow.  Lower down, the dazzling display of the of shimmering golds from the aspens and cottonwoods has passed, and they now stand barren with their leaves blanketing the ground around them, decomposing into new soil.  The symphony of bugling elk is now a memory, days are becoming noticeably shorter than the nights, and not usually as warm and sunny.  One starts to become resigned to the end of Indian Summer and the impending approach of the black and white of winter.

But wait!  If you live on the west side of the state, this play is not yet over  - there is one more brilliant extravaganza just around the corner – one final blaze of glory after all the other Fall colors have come and gone.  For me, this is the crescendo of the whole color progression through September and October – its Fall’s last hurrah.  If you live on the east side, or are new to the state and haven’t seen this before, it really is something to behold for the first time.  I am, of course, talking about the color change of the western larch, often referred to as the “tamarack”.

The larch is a deciduous conifer.  We are accustomed to thinking of all conifers as “evergreens”, but this genus does actually shed its needles every year.  It is somewhat of a surprise to people who have moved to western Montana from areas of the country that do not have larches.  It was to me when I moved west of the Continental Divide over 30 years ago. 

To be specific, there are a few different species of Larix (larch) and they can be found through northern Canada down to New England, northern Europe, mountainous China and Japan, as well as the western US and Canada, west of the Divide.  If you Google “tamarack”, however, you find out that the true tamarack is the eastern species – Larix laricina, and what we have out west is not tamarack per se, but the western larch, Larix occidentalis.  However, I haven’t met too many people in Montana or Idaho who do not refer to our noble version of this tree as “tamarack”.  It brings to mind that famous quote of Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet: “a rose by any other name would smell just as sweet”.  Regardless of what common name you give it, and which region you find it, the Larix species can put on quite a show in late October.

Larches are very cold hardy and tolerant of many different environmental and climate conditions.  This makes them “early populators”, meaning they have a competitive advantage to re-tree areas of the forest that have been opened up by fire, logging or other processes.  The net effect of this is they can appear in big blocks, almost as a monoculture on some mountainsides.  During the summer, when their needles are green, you may not notice this, however, when late October rolls around, literally whole mountainsides can turn a vibrant yellow with the changing color of their needles.  Set against the deep blue of a sunny October day, it is truly one of the iconic images of western Montana.

A prime example of this can be seen from the North Fork of the Flathead River.  To the east lies the western portion of Glacier National Park.  Large unbroken swathes turn bright yellow every late October.  Where earlier the scene was all green, it is now a solid yellow, especially the areas in the southern portion which are re-foresting from the devastating fires of the last 20 years.

This makes some of the drive-in destinations on the west side of Glacier a little further north still quite popular, even after the end of normal camping season, but nothing compared to the summer use.  For example, Kintla Lake and Bowman Lake campgrounds stay open through October, and both are loaded with tamaracks.  If you are a hiker, there are several great day hikes in this area, such as Numa Ridge and Numa Lookout, Akokala Lake.  The Bowman Lake to Upper and Lower Quartz Lakes trail, a 13 mile loop, also makes for a wonderful day hike if you are staying at Bowman Lake.  Area backpacking campsites remain open as well, such as the various Kintla and Bowman Lakes backcountry sites, as well as Upper and Lower Quartz Lakes and Logging Lake.   These can be a bit “buggy” during the summer months, but at this time of year all those insects are long gone, as are the summer crowds.  It is a great opportunity for the adventurer to indulge in this beautiful time of year up close and usually in solitude.

If you haven’t had the bounty of exploring the west side of Glacier, or ventured into some of the neighboring National Forest areas at this time of year, definitely put it on your calendar for next year.  You won’t regret experiencing western Montana’s “Fall Finale”!