A Wonderful Guide to Montana National Parks

Nandini Goswami
16 Min Read

Post Author

Montana is an absolutely stunning state located in the north-western direction of the United States. Are you not aware of the attractions present in this beautiful state of the United States? Are you confused about the places that you must visit when you are there? Let’s read and know about a few of the national parks, national attractions, memorials, and history behind them, which makes these places an attraction of Montana.

1. Montana National Parks: Glacier National Park

National park
Hidden Lake Overlook at morning Glacier National Park. The mountains that surround the Glacier National Park are carved into the present shape from the shape of the mountains of the last Ice Age. The gradual loss of glacier reduces these visuals’ aesthetic appeal to the visitors of Glacier National Park.

Far away in northwestern Montana, hidden from view by clustering mountain peaks, lies an unmapped corner – the Crown of the Continent said, George Bird Grinnell.

 Glacier National Park is situated on Montana’s North-Western side in the United States and Canada; precisely, Glacier National Park is situated adjacent to the Canadian provinces of British Columbia and Alberta.

Park
The turquoise colored Cracker Lake, with Siyeh Glacier in the background, is located in Many Glacier region, Glacier National Park, Montana, USA.

Glacier National Park encompasses above 1 million acres, and this National Park includes portions of two mountain ranges, which are the sub-ranges of the Rocky mountains. It consists of 130 lakes, of about a thousand different plant species and hundreds of animal species. This broad ecosystem is referred to as the ‘Crown of the Continent ecosystem.’

Native Americans inhabited this region of National Park at the beginning. 

Park
Goats standing on an overlook above a turquoise lake in the mountains.

Glacier National Park contains all of its original native animals and plant species, such as mountain goats, grizzly bears, and endangered species like Canadian lynx and wolverines. The national park has various ecosystems, from prairie to tundra. This National Park borders Waterton Lakes National Park in Canada. The two parts are concluded as Waterton Glacier International Peace Park and named the world’s first International Peace Park in 1932.

Both the nationals were named a biosphere reserve in 1976 by the United Nations, and it was named as World Heritage sites in the year 1995.

There are a few kinds of stuff that you can do to enjoy your visit to Glacier National Park, like going to the sun road, visiting mesmerizing places like Logan Pass, Lake McDonald, Avalanche Lake, Saint Mary Lake, Grinnell Glacier, Two Medicine Lake, Iceberg Lake, Swiftcurrent Lake, and Highline Trail.

 

2. Montana National Parks: Yellowstone National Park 

National park
Welcome signboard by West Yellowstone, the USA to Yellowstone National Park, this is the picture of north Entrance’s direction.

Yellowstone National Park is situated in the Western United States of America; it is spread in Wyoming’s northwest corners and extended in Idaho and Montana. 

Yellowstone National Park, created by the United States Congress and signed legal by President Ulysses S. Grant on March 1, 1872. This National Park is renowned for its wildlife and its features on geothermal, especially Old Faithful geyser.

National park
The American bison, also commonly known as the American buffalo or buffalo, is a North American bison that once roamed North America’s grasslands in massive herds. Their historical range, by 9000 BC, is defined as the great bison belt, a tract of rich grassland that ran from Alaska to the area of Gulf of Mexico, east to the Atlantic Seaboard as far north as New York and south to Georgia, with sightings in North Carolina near Buffalo Ford on the Catawba River as late as the year of 1750.

Yellowstone National Park is the main center of a broader 20 billion acres; the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem region includes Grand Teton National Park expanded wilderness adjacent National Forest.

More than 1,700 species of plants and trees are available in this national park, and 170 species of exotic species are known non-native species are also available in this national park. 

National Park
Photo Taken In Wyoming, United States

Yellowstone National Park contains almost 60 species, including Rocky Mountain wolf, coyote, cougars, Canadian Lynx, white-tailed deer, pronghorn, and many more.

Few attractions of Yellowstone National Park that you should visit are Tower Fall, Hayden Valley, Old Faithful Geyser, Grand Canyon of this National Park, Mammoth Hot Springs, Yellowstone Lake, Norris Geyser Basin, Lower Geyser Basin, Lamar Valley, and West Thumb Geyser Basin.

 

 

3. Montana National Parks: Nez Perce National Historical Park 

National park
A beautiful picture of the National Park from Nez Perce national park
Nez perce
A stunning picture of Nez Perce Creek clicked in broad daylight of a very sunny and beautiful day- Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming.

Nez Perce National Historical Park was set up in the year 1965, and a museum was established in the park in 1983 in Spalding, Idaho.

This Historical Park commemorates the stories, culture, and history of Nez Perce and the people. This National Park consists of sites associated with the war of 1877 that held in Nez Perce. 

National Park
Bisons resting on the ground on a pasture along the Madison River at Nez Perce, Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming.

The headquarters of this park is located in Spalding, Idaho, in the eastern direction of Lewiston.

Several sites of this historical park include Battle of Bear Pow, Camas Prairie, Camp Chopunnish, Weippe Prairie, Joseph Canyon, Old Chief Joseph Gravesite, Camas Meadows Battle Sites, Bighole National Battlefield, Battle of White Bird Canyon, and Battle of the Clearwater. 

 

4. Montana National Parks: Big Hole National Battlefield 

Battlefield
Tepee frames denoting and memorializing the Nez Perce camp at Big Hole National Battlefield Montana
Lake
A very exquisite scenery of a pristine lake in the Valley of Big Hole National Battlefield

Big Hole National Battlefield preserves the battlefield of the Nez Perce War. Big Hole National Battlefield is in Montana, United States. In this preserved area, the Nez Perce conflicted against the 7th infantry Regiment of the United States during August 9 and August 10 in 1877 due to their failed attempt to get away to Canada. This battle of the Nez Perce War was the largest battle between the United States Government and the Nez Perce; it continued for five months.

Battlefield

In 1992, Big Hole National Battlefield was created as a portion of Nez Perce National Historical Park. Big Hole National battlefield is a 409 ha area located in the west of Wisdom, Montana, on Highway 43 of Montana.

 

5. Montana National Parks: Grant – Kohrs Ranch National Historic Site 

Ranch
Grant-Kohrs Ranch National Historic Site in Montana.

The Grant – Kohrs Ranch National Historic Site was created in the year 1972. The Historical Site recalls the Western cattle industry from the year of the 1850s until recent times. 

The original ranch was created in the year 1862 by Johnny Grant, a comedian fur trader at Cottonwood Creek, Montana. This Historic Site was built alongside the banks of Clark Fork River. Later on, the ranch was expanded by Conrad – Kohrs, a cattle baron. 

Ranch
Cattle grazing in a scenic grass pasture with a Montana mountain range in the background and a dramatic cloudy sky above. No people in the image.

This area of 1,618 acres was designated as a National Historic Landmark in the year 1960. At present times this site is maintained as a working ranch by the National Park Service.

 

6. Montana National Parks: Lewis and Clark National Historic Trail

Trail
Lewis and Clark National Historic Trail – a group of friends river rafting 

The National Historic Trail of Lewis and Clark is a course across the United States, consisting of the Lewis and Clark Expedition of 1804 to 1806. The Lewis and Clark National Historic Trail is a section of the National Trail System of the United States.

The entire area of the Lewis and Clark National Historic Trail extends for about six thousand kilometers from the Wood River in Illinois to the mouth of the river Columbia in Oregon.

Trail
Lewis and Clark National Historic Trail – group of friends enjoying laughing the river rafting inside the historic trail

This trail is under the administration of the National Park Service. Still, the sites included in this trial are controlled by state, local, tribal, private agencies, and federal land management agencies.

This trail provides boating, hiking, and horseback riding opportunities at a few locations along the way.

 

7. Montana National Parks: Fort Union Trading Post National Historic Site 

Historic site
United States, North Dakota, Fort Union Trading Post National Historic Site

The National Historic Site of Fort Union Trading Post is a half reconstruction of the most significant trading post of fur on upper Missouri. The fort site is located almost about two miles from the confluence of the main river Missouri. The tributary of Missouri, Yellowstone River, on the North of the Dakota, Montana border is around 25 miles from Williston, North Dakota

In 1961, Fort Union Trading Post was declared as National Historic Landmarks, probably one of the earliest declared sites in the United States.

This Historic Site depicts how the fort’s portions and sections may have looked around 1851, based on archaeologists’ excavations and portraits and drawings by contemporaries such as Rudolf Kurz

 

8. Montana National Parks: Little Bighorn Battlefield National Monument

Battlefield
The broad view and a beautiful green picture of the National Monumental area of Little Bighorn Battlefield on a cloudy day
battlefield
Little Bighorn Battlefield National Monument – A portion of the Custer National Cemetery – this part also falls within the area of Little Bighorn Battlefield National Monument
Battlefield
Custer’s Last Stand monument on top of Last Stand Hill at Little Bighorn Battlefield

The National Monument of Little Bighorn Battlefield is situated near Crow Agency of Montana, United States. This monument preserves June 25 and June 26, 1876, when Little Bighorn held the battle.

Little Bighorn Battlefield National Monument serves as a memorial of the soldiers who fought the battle. The battle was fought between the Arapaho force combined with the force of Lakota- Northern Cheyenne force and George Armstrong Custer’s 7th Cavalry.

Custer National Cemetery is also situated on the battlefield; it is a portion of the national monument. Another site is a part of the national monument; it is about 3 miles south-east of the Little Bighorn Battlefield. It is a site based on a military event led by Frederick Benteen and Marcus Reno.

When you are in Little Bighorn National Battlefield, you must visit the Indian Memorial, walk up to Custer’s Last Stand, walk through the national cemetery, and many more.

9. Montana National Parks: Bighorn Canyon National Recreation Area

National Park
Bighorn River in Wyoming USA – Bighorn Canyon National Recreation Area
National park
Montana, United States of America – Bighorn Canyon National Recreation Area
Bighorn in montana national parks
Bighorn Canyon National Recreation Area American Bighorn sheep are sometimes referred to as Mountain sheep.

Bighorn Canyon National Recreation Area is a unit of the national park created due to Congress’s act on October 15, 1966, which led to the construction of Yellowtail Dam by the Bureau of Reclamation.

This area is spread along the border between Montana and Wyoming. The Yellowtail Dam was named after Robert Yellowtail, the famous crow leader. This dam harness the water of Bighorn River by changing the course of water into Bighorn Lake.

The Bighorn Lake extends up-to 114 kilometers, is about 71 miles, through Montana and Wyoming, and about 89 kilometers is around 55 miles falls within the boundary of the national recreation area.

A ratio of one – third of the park falls within the Crow Indian Reservation and about one – quarter of the Pryor Mountains Wilde Horse Range falls within Bighorn Canyon National Recreation Area.

You can enjoy boating, bicycling, hiking, camping, fishing, wildlife watching, and many more while you are in Bighorn Canyon National Recreation Area.

These are few facts about the Montana National Parks and a few mentions of other attractions. Let us know in the comment section below if you have been to Montana or any of these national parks and attractions.

Last Updated on by jayeeta.saha

Stay Connected

Share This Article
Leave a comment

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *