5 REASONS TO VISIT MONTANA

Known as Big Sky Country, Montana is a sparsely populated state of spectacular scenery and magnificent wilderness areas. It has been used as a location for many great films over the years including, most recently, The Revenant, which tells the tale of legendary explorer Hugh Glass’s (Leonardo DiCaprio) epic adventure across the American wilderness and his quest for survival against all odds. Filmed in locations including the town of Libby, the film scored big at both the Golden Globes and the Oscars.

If you’ve got a taste for Montana from watching The Revenant, why not experience the real thing (but without the hardship)?

1 – More Movie Locations

Besides The Revenant, other films have featured Montana. Robert Redford’s 1992 coming-of-age tale A River Runs Through It, starring Brad Pitt, was filmed in Missoula in the west of the state, and The River Wild, starring Meryl Streep, was filmed around the Kootenai River, again near Libby. Glacier National Park featured in films including What Dreams May Come and Forrest Gump. You can stay near the park by spending a few nights in the picturesque town of Whitefish.

2 – Active Adventures

Montana is the perfect place to get off the beaten track and is one of the world’s best locations for everything from cycling to white-water rafting in the summer months. One attraction not to miss, if you’re brave enough, is the Swinging Bridge near Kootenai Falls, which swings 640m above the Kootenai River gorge. The original footbridge was destroyed by a major flood in 1948, but the bridge was rebuilt and is now protected from flooding by Libby Dam.

3 – Heritage, History and Pre-History

You can dig for fossils at locations across the state, where some of the world’s most impressive fossilised dinosaur skeletons have been unearthed. For a real taste of more recent Montana history, head to Bozeman to visit the Museum of the Rockies. You can even attend a real-life rodeo or go the whole hog and stay on a working ranch. For Native American heritage, you can learn about the Battle of Little Bighorn at Little Bighorn Battlefield National Monument.

4 – National Parks

Glacier and Yellowstone National Parks offer epic landscapes, abundant wildlife and some of the world’s most breathtaking road trips. In Glacier, don’t miss exploring the “Going-to-the-Sun-Road” by traditional red “jammer” bus. Glacier is one of the world’s largest “natural zoos”. While much of Yellowstone lies in Montana, the north entrance lies near the town of Gardiner.

5 – Historic Towns

Step back in time on a visit to historic Nevada City and Virginia City, mine for sapphires in Philipsburg and hike the “M” Trail up to Mount Sentinel, surf the river wave and learn about smokejumpers – brave firefighters who parachute in to remote wilderness areas to fight wildfires – and remote wildlife management at the Smokejumper Visitor Center in Missoula. Once again, there’s a movie connection: Red Skies of Montana is a 1952 adventure drama in which Richard Widmark stars as a smokejumper who attempts to save his crew while being overrun by a forest fire.