If more fun for less sounds good, vacation at a Montana State Park this summer. Montana’s 42 parks offer exciting, affordable vacations all within an easy drive.
In a day or a few hours at a State Park you can create memories that will last a lifetime. For a longer get-away tailored to your family’s interests visit a couple of State Parks to do some angling, indulge in water sports, learn more about Western history, Native American culture, or even geology.
Planning a State Parks vacation is easy too. You can do your travel planning on FWP’s web site at www.fwp.state.mt.us . Click on Parks and Recreation and then on “Planning a Visit” for everything you need to be your own travel agent. Or, request a full color brochure with park descriptions and directions by calling 406-444-3750.
This summer take the State Parks family fun challenge. Set aside a weekend this summer and see how much old-fashioned, economical fun you can cram into 48 hours.
Here are some examples to get you started.
Enjoy a Scenic Northwest Adventure
“Going up the Swan” may be one of the most romantic trips in Montana. Driving from Highway 200 at Clearwater Junction north on Highway 83, with the Mission Mountains to your left and the Swan Range, rugged and remote on your right, puts motorists into scenery-induced nirvana. Even through the lens of a disposable camera, these mountains reach out and grab your heart.
You can camp on Friday evening at Placid or Salmon Lake. A little evening fishing will fill Saturday morning’s grill with fresh trout. Eggs already cracked into a glass jar and a few pre-washed frying potatoes help make a good breakfast for adventurers.
If the family has a canoe, this is the place to put your paddlers through their paces, whether on a nearby lake or the beautiful Clearwater River. Lakes along Highway 83 include Salmon and Placid Lake State Parks and other gems like Seeley and Holland lakes.
A scenic morning’s drive north leads to Flathead Lake near Kalispell. Six individual State Parks ring the lake: Yellow Bay, Big Arm with a front seat view of Wild Horse Island, Finley Point, Wayfarers and West Shore. Try the fall or early winter season when the tamarack trees turn golden and the air is mountain crisp, or August when the huckleberries are ripe.
Steep The Family in Montana History in South Central Montana
Imagine a place where indigenous people hunted for thousands of years, or an unexplored limestone cavern unseen until an explorer’s candle lit the glittering interior for the first time. Picture three rivers joining to form the headwaters of the mighty Missouri and where the ways of early homesteaders are still visible.
This is Western history, but not like it was taught in school. A weekend visit to Madison Buffalo Jump, Missouri Headwaters State Park, Parker Homestead and Lewis and Clark Caverns State Park, all within about a 30-minute drive of Three Forks, will restore you. Each site offers a completely different experience.
Camping is available at both Lewis and Clark Caverns and Missouri Headwaters State Parks. The Caverns also boasts cozy one room log cabins and nearby public showers. Try to plan this trip to catch a full moon rising over the serene slopes of the London Hills visible from the Caverns campground.
Get Away From It All In South Eastern Montana Take a Saturday to explore a different culture by visiting Chief Plenty Coups State Park, about 40 minutes south of Billings on the Crow Reservation. Here the Chief and his wife, Strikes The Iron, deeded their home and land for a “Nations Park” in 1928 as a way to bring all people together in understanding. Local Indian elders and tribal members work with FWP to keep this site a living place and to share their knowledge of Crow culture and oral tradition. The park preserves the Chief’s log home, sacred spring and farmstead.
From here a visit to Pictograph Cave State Park, about six miles south of Billings on the county road, takes you even further back in history to caves that generations of prehistoric hunters used. Over 30,000 artifacts were identified in the caves in the 30’s and 40’s. A paved trail takes you to view the ancient pictographs.
After feeding the intellect and heart, it’s time to feed the body and soul with a campout that evening at Cooney Reservoir State Park, about an hour’s drive southwest of Billings on U.S. 212. With good walleye and rainbow trout fishing and boating, Cooney is the place to unwind and refresh with some fun on the water before heading home Sunday.
For photos and park details on these and other great escapes, visit the FWP web site at http://www.fwp.state.mt.us/ and click on Parks and Recreation and then on Planning a Trip. Or call 406-444-3750 to order a Montana State Parks brochure.
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