Business View Magazine - April 2024

Visit Southwest Montana to explore vast mountain ranges and abundant waterways, and view wildlife in their natural habitat. Enjoy locally owned eateries and craft breweries complementing a lifestyle of rodeos, festivals, and living ghost towns. Wander through the 26-acre forest dedicated to the large-scale outdoor art exhibit at Blackfoot Pathways: Sculpture in the Wild. Relive the past in the country’s largest National Historic District in Butte. Explore the “gold rush” boom-and-bust days of the West in Southwest Montana’s ghost towns. Walk through the past in Bannack State Park, Garnet Ghost Town and in the towns of Virginia City and Nevada City, where you’ll enjoy living history with live reenactments, stagecoach rides, gold panning, and the theatrical performances of melodrama and vaudeville at the local opera house. Looking for a more unearthly experience? Download our Haunted History map for a list of ghost towns and historic places with tales of lingering souls—and take a walk on the paranormal side. Visit the small town of Philipsburg, known for its rich sapphire mines. Try your hand at prospecting for gemstones or find jewelry-quality sapphires at one of the local shops. Enjoy outdoor mining at Montana Gems’ seasonal water flume—kids love discovering precious gemstones and dinosaur teeth. Satisfy your sweet tooth at The Sweet Palace, an old-fashioned candy store, and savor award-winning Montana craft beer at Philipsburg Brewing Company. Discover Lewis and Clark Caverns, an intricate network of caves nestled in Southwest Montana’s many mountain ranges along the Jefferson River. See formations of stalactites and stalagmites as you navigate through chambers showcasing geological wonders forged over millennia. Enjoy a leisurely, narrated summertime boat tour on the Missouri River through the steep limestone cliffs of Gates of the Mountains—named by Meriwether Lewis as the expedition traveled through the area. Explore the Grant-Kohrs Ranch National Historic Site, established in the 1880s, and the Old Montana Prison Complex which housed prisoners from 1871 to 1979. Soak up more history along the Continental Divide Trail, the Nez Perce National Historic Trail, the Lewis & Clark National Historic Trail, or the Vigilante Trail. With its blend of natural beauty, outdoor recreation, and history, Southwest Montana promises unforgettable experiences for all who dig deeper into the treasures of this part of Big Sky Country. VISIT SOUTHWESTMT.COM FOR MORE INFO Ghost Towns, GemMines and CaveTours… The Rest is History