TOP 5 REASONS TO:
Come Early, Stay Late, Rent a Car.
1. Glacier National Park
Go, because there are only a couple glaciers left up there and some day soon they will sadly just call it "National Park". Go see the astounding turquoise glacier water and the "Going-to-the-Sun Road" and get your mind blown. Bring a whistle. You WILL see wildlife...on the trail with you. Excellent nearby town for shops and great swimming is Bigfork, MT on Flathead Lake, the largest fresh-water lake west of the Mississippi River, and famous for its delicious cherries. Don't forget to visit the Montana Vortex and House of Mystery, where gravity doesn't do normal things for some reason. GNP is about 5.5 hours away from Bozeman by car. Or you could fly into Kalispell or Whitefish.
2. Yellowstone National Park
This park is full of all the wildlife, plus hellish geothermal pools that are some kind of weird gorgeous. Plus geysers and open expanses and a great, popular natural hot springs spot called The Boiling River. This is a great see-the-wonders-of-nature-from-your-car kind of park if you want to just cover a lot of ground. YNP is about 1.5 hours from Bozeman by car.
3. Virginia City
This is a preserved ghost town from the 1800's. I mean, completely preserved so that you look into the shops, and every item is sitting there in the market store, authentic to the times as if you traveled in a time machine and are walking around in the wrong clothes (but luckily there's another shop full of the correct attire to purchase if you feel silly in your modern rags). There's a theater with great stage plays full of surprisingly good talent, there are restaurants, live music, ice cream, an opera house, and of course a couple saloons. Horse-drawn buggies can take you down the road to Nevada City where you can see more history including the Music Hall full of antique animated music machines that are creepy and impressive and cacophonous in the most glorious way. Virginia and Nevada Cities are a gorgeous 1 hour and 20 minute drive from Bozeman.
4. Paradise Valley/Livingston
This area is the reason Gillian grew up in Montana. Her grandfather and grandmother Howe raised Scottish Highland cattle there, when her grandfather wasn't sneaking away to fly fish the Yellowstone River (which is massive and wild---the longest (692 miles) un-dammed river left in the contiguous United States). When Grandma Howe passed away, the cattle reminded Grandpa Howe too much of his broken heart, so he brought them over to Ross Peak Ranch so that their son, Chum (and now grandson, Chad) could carry on her traditions. Paradise Valley is a gorgeous stretch of land beyond Livingston (a fun cowboy town that is more known these days for its writers, actors, and artists than for the cowboys of its history, but both combine for a great taste of Montana now). And you'd drive through Paradise Valley to get to all the fun that awaits at Chico Hot Springs Resort, should you choose. That's all about 1/1.5 hrs from Bozeman.
5. Sip 'n' Dip
This one's a stretch, but probably something you haven't otherwise experienced. It's 3/3.5 hours north of Bozeman by car and frankly there aren't many other reasons to go to Great Falls -BUT- if you go to the tiki bar called The Sip 'N' Dip, inside the O'Haire Motor Inn, you will be greeted with fishbowl-sized cocktails the color of swimming pools, and live, swimming mermaids behind the bar. If you wish for the mermaids to continue flirting with you and doing tricks, you must scotch-tape dollar bills to the glass. Otherwise they will swim to the top, out of sight, to smoke cigarettes and talk about boys.
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There are so many more unlisted reasons to make a vacation out of this trip to Montana--fishing, rafting, hiking, camping, rock climbing, galleries, festivals, horse-back riding, fireside singing, farmer's markets, motorcycle trips (did I forget to mention the Testicle Festival!?) etc. etc. Here are just a few more obscure links: The Garden of One Thousand Buddhas (on the Flathead Indian Reservation), Miracle of America Museum, the Blue Horses, Grasshopper Glacier with its billions of centuries-old ice-preserved locusts, the heart-breaking Shep Memorial for dog lovers, countless ghost towns to explore, Madison Buffalo Jump, Makoshika State Park (the oldest badlands in America), the Lewis and Clark Caverns, the insane history and great Irish pubs in Butte, Montana, and the Bozeman Hot Springs to name a few. It's great for families, adventurers, road-trippers, and romantics alike. We hope you love your stay in Big Sky Country!