# Road trips in Montana > 8 road trips and 16 hand-picked places in Montana, with routes, stops and practical tips for driving and camping. Source: https://camping-spirit.com/roadtrips/montana/ 8 road trips and 16 hand-picked places in Montana, with routes, stops and practical tips for driving and camping. ## Road trips through Montana - [Going-to-the-Sun Road, west to east](https://camping-spirit.com/guides/glacier-sun/): Fifty miles of cliff-edge road across Glacier National Park. Check vehicle size limits first. - [Glacier’s quiet corners: North Fork and Two Medicine](https://camping-spirit.com/guides/b8-glacier-quiet-corners/): The less-visited sides of Glacier National Park: a dirt road to Bowman Lake, then US-2 over Marias Pass to Two Medicine and the Blackfeet Nation. - [Missoula to Whitefish via the Bison Range and Flathead Lake](https://camping-spirit.com/guides/b18-flathead-lake/): North through the Flathead Reservation to a mission church and a bison range, then around Flathead Lake to Kalispell and Whitefish. - [Montana’s gold rush trail: Virginia City, Bannack and Big Hole](https://camping-spirit.com/guides/b18-montana-gold-rush/): Caverns, gold-rush towns, a ghost town that was once a territorial capital and a Nez Perce battlefield on the back roads of southwest Montana. - [Chief Joseph Byway and Yellowstone’s northern range](https://camping-spirit.com/guides/b18-chief-joseph-yellowstone-north/): From Cody over Dead Indian Pass to Cooke City, then through the wildlife of Lamar Valley to Mammoth and Paradise Valley. - [Grand Teton, Yellowstone and the Beartooth Highway](https://camping-spirit.com/guides/yellowstone-beartooth/): Mountain reflections, geysers, and then a climb to nearly 11,000 feet on the way out. - [Mesa Falls to Yellowstone’s Grand Canyon, Hayden Valley and Cody](https://camping-spirit.com/guides/b18-yellowstone-grand-loop/): From eastern Idaho past Mesa Falls to West Yellowstone, then through Yellowstone’s geysers, canyon and lake to exit east toward Cody. - [Bighorn Mountains: Medicine Wheel and Bighorn Canyon](https://camping-spirit.com/guides/b18-bighorn-mountains/): From the Bozeman Trail forts over the Bighorn Mountains to an ancient stone circle, a deep canyon and a waterfall, ending in Cody. ## Places worth the detour in Montana - [Logan Pass – Going-to-the-Sun Road](https://camping-spirit.com/places/logan-pass/): The high point of Glacier's cliff-hugging road at 6,646 feet. Vehicle size limits apply, and reservations may too. - [Bowman Lake](https://camping-spirit.com/places/b8-bowman-lake/): A long, quiet lake in Glacier’s North Fork, framed by peaks and reached on a rough dirt road. Not suitable for trailers or large RVs. - [Two Medicine Lake](https://camping-spirit.com/places/b8-two-medicine/): The quieter southeast valley of Glacier National Park, with a tour boat, a campground and the short walk to Running Eagle Falls. - [Devil Canyon Overlook, Bighorn Canyon](https://camping-spirit.com/places/b18-devil-canyon/): A viewpoint 300 m above Bighorn Lake in Bighorn Canyon National Recreation Area, reached just over the Montana line on paved WY-37 north of Lovell. Wild horses from the Pryor Mountain range are often seen along the same road. - [CSKT Bison Range](https://camping-spirit.com/places/b18-bison-range/): A wildlife refuge run by the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes, with bison, elk, pronghorn and bighorn sheep. Red Sleep Mountain Drive is a steep one-way gravel loop; vehicles over 30 ft and trailers are not allowed on the drives. - [Bannack State Park](https://camping-spirit.com/places/b18-bannack/): The ghost town of Montana’s first territorial capital, founded in the 1862 gold strike, with more than 50 buildings you can walk into. It is reached by a gravel road southwest of Dillon and has a campground. - [Many Glacier Campground](https://camping-spirit.com/places/cg-many-glacier/): A trailhead campground on Glacier's wild east side. Keep bear spray within reach. - [Goat Lick Overlook](https://camping-spirit.com/places/b8-goat-lick/): A viewpoint on US-2 above a mineral bank where mountain goats come to lick salt, most often in early summer. - [Museum of the Plains Indian](https://camping-spirit.com/places/b8-museum-plains-indian/): A museum on the Blackfeet Reservation with clothing, beadwork and art of the Northern Plains peoples. - [Roosevelt Arch](https://camping-spirit.com/places/b18-roosevelt-arch/): The 1903 stone arch at Yellowstone’s north entrance, inscribed “For the Benefit and Enjoyment of the People”. There is parking beside it on the edge of Gardiner, the only Yellowstone entrance open to cars all year. - [St. Ignatius Mission](https://camping-spirit.com/places/b18-st-ignatius/): An 1891 brick mission church with 58 interior murals painted by a Jesuit brother, set against the Mission Mountains. It is just off US-93 in the Flathead Reservation town of St. Ignatius; donations welcome. - [Wayfarers State Park](https://camping-spirit.com/places/b18-wayfarers-sp/): A small state park on the northeast shore of Flathead Lake, with rocky beaches, short forest trails and a view west at sunset. It has a campground and is a short walk from the village of Bigfork. - [Conrad Mansion Museum](https://camping-spirit.com/places/b18-conrad-mansion/): A 26-room Norman-style mansion from 1895, built for Kalispell founder Charles Conrad and kept with its original furnishings. Guided tours run from spring to autumn; the museum is a few blocks east of Main Street. - [Lewis and Clark Caverns State Park](https://camping-spirit.com/places/b18-lc-caverns/): Montana’s first state park, with limestone caverns full of stalactites and columns, and a summer nursery colony of bats. The guided tour takes about two hours with many steps; the park also has a campground and cabins. - [Nevada City](https://camping-spirit.com/places/b18-nevada-city/): An open-air museum of relocated gold-rush buildings 2 km west of Virginia City, with a hotel, shops and a music hall collection. A narrow-gauge train links the two towns in summer; most buildings close in winter. - [Big Hole National Battlefield](https://camping-spirit.com/places/b18-big-hole/): The site of the 1877 battle between Nez Perce families and the US Army, in a quiet mountain valley on MT-43. A visitor center explains the flight of the Nez Perce, and trails lead to the camp site. ## FAQs **What are the best road trips in Montana?** Popular routes include Going-to-the-Sun Road, west to east, Glacier’s quiet corners: North Fork and Two Medicine, Missoula to Whitefish via the Bison Range and Flathead Lake and Montana’s gold rush trail: Virginia City, Bannack and Big Hole. CampingSpirit has 8 trip guides that pass through Montana, each with a stop-by-stop itinerary and a route map. **Which places in Montana are worth a detour?** Our editors recommend Logan Pass – Going-to-the-Sun Road, Bowman Lake, Two Medicine Lake, Devil Canyon Overlook, Bighorn Canyon, CSKT Bison Range and Bannack State Park.