Download now - Missouri River Country

f 

NORTH 

COHAGEN 

MILES FROM WOLF POINT TO: 

BISMARCK, ND..............292 

REGINA, SASK................211 

MINNEAPOLIS, MN.........714 

SPOKANE, WA ...............703 

SHERIDAN, WY...............421 

BILLINGS.........................294 

HELENA...........................411 

GREAT FALLS..................321 

REGINA, SASKATCHEWAN 

Address 

Phone 

Fax 

Email 

Web 

P.O. Box 118 

Fort Peck, Montana 59223 

1-800-653-1319 

1-406-653-1319 

2mtmrc@nemont.net 

www.missouririver.visitmt.com 

SPOKANE, WA 

WOLF POINT 

GREAT FALLS 

HELENA BILLINGS 

BISMARCK, ND 

SHERIDAN, WY 

Produced with Accommodations Tax Funds in Cooperation with Missouri River Country. Alternative accessible formats of this document will be provided upon request. 

Printed in the USA for free distribution. ©2011 Missouri River Country, Inc. and Northern Rockies Publishing. All rights reserved. Reproduction in whole or in part without 

written permission of Missouri River Country and Northern Rockies Publishing is prohibited. 

Printed on recycled paper. 

Written and produced by Rick and Susie Graetz, Northern Rockies Publishing. Design: Veltkamp Studios. Map illustrations: DD Dowden. Cover photo: Near Circle 

looking towards the Sheep Mountains – Rick and Susie Graetz. 

MISSOURI RIVER COUNTRY 

1 

TRAVEL PLANNER


East of the Haxby Road and north of Jordan | Rick and Susie Graetz 

What fun! This year they took me with them. No posh resorts or cruise ships this 

time. Just wide open spaces with fantastic fun for the whole family. 

We hiked. We swam. We explored. We boated. We went to parades and festivals. 

We hunted. We did all this and more amid some of the best scenery around. We slept in 

great little towns and ate some terrific food. I just can’t think of anything we didn’t do in 

Montana’s Missouri River Country. 

Best of all, we were welcomed by some fine folks who were truly glad we were there. 

Yes, even I was welcome (in most places)! 

If you are tired of being locked up in the kennel, and your family is stuck doing the 

“same old cruise ship” thing, tell them to consider Montana’s Missouri River Country for 

their next vacation. Assure them they will all have a great visit! Then hang your head out 

the window and explore some true beauty and have a dog gone good time! 

Andy the President’s 

Golden Retriever 

Contents 

This Is Missouri River Country......................4 

Our Friendly Towns......................................6 

Lewis and Clark.........................................12 

Notes for Traveling in NE MT......................14 

Big Country Under a Big Sky.....................16 

Landscapes...............................................17 

Missouri River to the Confluence...............20 

Valley of the Milk River...............................23 

Montana Map............................................26 

The Yellowstone in the MRC......................28 

Prairie Magnificence..................................31 

Great Northeast.........................................34 

Hunting.....................................................37 

Fishing.......................................................38 

Wildlife ......................................................39 

Bicycling....................................................42 

Events.......................................................44 

Accommodations......................................48 


2 

TRAVEL PLANNER

Heading towards the sunrise and leaving the abrupt wall 

of the Northern Rocky Mountains behind, one approaches the 

most magnificent prairie country in the nation… the northeast 

quadrant of the Big Sky - Missouri River Country - an uncommon 

piece of geography. 

This place of the Northern Great Plains harbors unique 

landforms. Grand scenes intermingle with smaller bits of 

geologic wonder. Space, much of it undisturbed, is its greatest 

commodity and an enormous sprawling canopy of sky delivers 

a feeling of no borders or confinement where a human can 

stretch and breathe. 

At first, the pervasive openness, the immensity and the 

distances may seem overpowering. Gradually though, you get 

comfortable with it all; then you notice the beauty and splendor. 

Not just the imposing structures, but also the abundance 

of simple grandeur and the soft fusion of earth and sky on 

seemingly endless horizons. 

Island mountain ranges, buttes, river breaks, canyons, 

badlands and a largely untouched landscape are the hall-marks 

of this big territory. If Lewis and Clark went up against the 

current of the big Missouri today, as they did in 1805, the explorers 

would recognize much of what they viewed back then. 

Missouri River Country is where Montana’s earliest 

known history was played out. Millions of bison migrated 

through the territory and nomadic Plains Indians followed 

them. The shaggy beasts sustained these great Indian Nations 

by providing food, clothing and shelter. 

Much of early-day Montana deserves the description the 

Wild West, but the landscape of the Little Rocky Mountains 

and of the country rolling south into the Missouri Breaks in 

the western sectors of Missouri River Country was perhaps the 

epitome of the Old West etched on movie screens. It’s been 

scarcely 150 years since the characters of those times ... cattle 

barons, gold seekers, outlaws, cowboys, vigilantes, rustlers and 

horse thieves went about their way here. 

The centerpiece of Northeast Montana is undeniably the 

mighty Missouri River. As a route of western expansion, it had 

few equals and became Montana’s lifeline to the rest of the 

country. Here, this powerful river holds forth in an incredible 

landscape of rough river breaks. Sculpted and cut by water, a 

labyrinth of coulees, gullies and canyons between high ridges 

fan out to the north and south from the river’s banks. 

Though mountains are scarce in this country, a dominant 

range makes its presence known. Indians migrating through 

the territory north of the Missouri River called them “the 

island mountains.” From a distance, the Little Rockies, a 

50-square-mile mass of igneous and sedimentary rock, resemble 

an atoll rising from the prairie sea of Northeast Montana. 

THIS IS MISSOURI RIVER COUNTRY 

French trappers, working the lower segments of the 

Missouri and Yellowstone rivers well before Lewis and Clark 

came through, referred to the barren, dry land formations 

they encountered as “les mauvais terres” (badlands). How-ever, 

exquisite sandstone formations are often found intermingled 

with these badland environments. Miniature and giant 

toadstools, castles and cathedrals, fine lined domes, balancing 

rocks, sentinel-like spires and other beautiful nature-carved 

statues add color and personality to these rain-furrowed hills 

while gremlins and goblins stand watch atop high cliffs. Wind 

erosion helps fashions them, taking away one grain of sand at 

a time. 

These landscape descriptions are but a few of a territory 

fitted with awesome prairie scenery. And places like the sprawling 

Charles M. Russell and Medicine Lake national wildlife 

refuges not only encompass incredible beauty, but are also 

home to wildlife populations unparalleled on the high plains. 

There are fewer people in Northeast and North Central 

Montana than anywhere else in the state; space dwarfs this 

human presence whether it is on farms and ranches well apart 

from neighbors, or in towns. A look at some of the communities 

out here shows the colorful human side to this Missouri 

River Country. These enclaves aren’t new, but rather have 

evolved from the solid “stock” of folks who struggled through 

the ruinous drought that halted the home-stead era, the tough 

winters and a roller coaster agricultural climate. Today, the 

citizens of these communities are the backbone of the Montana 

prairie country. 

Towns are the essence of this territory where the natural 

features capture attention. Social and commercial activities 

interact within them in a way that is all but disappearing across 

America. Cafes, hardware and grocery stores are where stockmen, 

farmers, implement dealers and bankers meet to discuss 

ag-economics, their families, and the weather. You’ll still find 

drug stores with soda fountains and chances are you can walk 

in the door of any business and shake the hand of the owner. A 

genuine welcoming atmosphere prevails. 

These descendants of sodbusters and cattle outfits that 

have been in the same family for generations provide the 

region with a sense of permanency and independence. A strong 

profile dictated by rural life and past experiences characterizes 

the folk who call the northeast Montana plains home. 

We, the residents of this quiet corner of Montana, invite 

you to commence your trip of discovery through our beautiful 

landscape and to experience our aura of history. Each of us will 

do all we can to make you comfortable. The gate is open so 

come join us. You will not be disappointed! MRC 


3 

TRAVEL PLANNER


4 

TRAVEL PLANNER

OUR FRIENDLY TOWNS 

fo o d l o d g i n g g a s c a m p i n g 

BAINVILLE 

Pioneer Pride Museum features rooms 

furnished as they were in the days of 

the pioneers. An old jail and a 1929 

fire truck add to the attraction. Open 

Memorial Day-Labor Day, Tues–Sun, 

1:30-4:30pm, free admission. • 406- 

769-2067 

BROCKTON 

Come help celebrate the Badlands with a 

powwow the 4th weekend in June. 

BROCKWAY 

In July, it’s always fun for families and 

folks at the Dairy Day Celebration and 

Rodeo. 

BRUSETT 

North of Jordan, accesses the Charles M. 

Russell National Wildlife Refuge. 

CIRCLE 

The McCone County and Circle Museum 

is a trip back to ranching and life 

in the 1880s. The wildlife taxidermy 

collection is outstanding. Open weekdays, 

May-Sept, 9am-5pm (other times 

by appointment), adults $2.00, children 

free • 485-2414 

CULBERTSON 

Culbertson Museum and State Visitor 

Information Center’s guided tours show 

early-day businesses, church, school 

and home. Open daily May thru Sept, 

8am-8pm, free admission - coffee and 

homemade cookies. • 406-787-6320 

DAGMAR 

Brush Lake State Park, four miles east 

of the Danish settlement of Dagmar, 

offers a spring fed, deep-water lake for 

swimming, boating, camping and other 

outdoor fun. 

DODSON 

Don’t miss the Phillips County Fair, the 

longest running fair in Montana, the 

first week in August. 

FAIRVIEW 

It’s the town divided by the Montana/ 

North Dakota border. 

Visit the nearby rare, vertical-lift bridges 

- Fairview and Snowden/Nohly. The 

Fairview Bridge, which is listed on the 

National Register of Historic Places for 

its past significance and unique engineering, 

and the Cartwright Train Tunnel 

have been developed into an enjoyable 

walking trail, which takes you across 

the Yellowstone River and through the 

one-lane tunnel. Ask locally how to get 

to the Snowden/Nohly Bridge over the 

Missouri River. 

FLAXVILLE 

Here you can find a piece of Montana’s 

past to take back with you. Home to 

antiques and collectables for sale 

• 406-474-2277 

FORT PECK 

The Powerhouse Museum has a pictorial 

history of the dam construction, also 

models and exhibits. The more than 400 

dinosaur and fossil specimens found in 

the area include an enormous skull of a 

Triceratops. Open Memorial Day thru 

Labor Day, tours of the powerhouse begin 

at the Fort Peck Interpretive Center. 

Weekdays - 9am, 11am, 1pm and 3pm. 

Weekends and holidays - every hour - 

9am-4pm. 406-526-3493. Must have 

picture I.D. 

Fort Peck Summer Theatre is the region’s 

only professional summer stock theater. 

Laughter and music ring from the rafters 

of this exotic and historical building. 

Built during the depression the theater, 

with its seating for 1,200, was for 

decades the largest facility of its kind in 

the state. 

Top Left: Opheim | Rick and Susie Graetz 

Native American Dancer | Wolf Point Chamber of Commerce and Agriculture 


5 

TRAVEL PLANNER

Today this 

delightfully 

designed 

theater is on 

the National 

Historic Registry. 

Professional 

actors and 

technical crew 

join a seasoned 

director and 

volunteers to produce quality entertainment 

as enjoyable and creative as 

the historic theater itself. Open May 

thru August, performances are Fri–Sat 

evenings at 8pm and Sun. 4pm. Reservations 

are not needed and tickets may 

be purchased at the door. Casual dress. • 

406-228-9216 

Off of Hwy 17, the Leo B. Coleman 

Wildlife Exhibit is a loop-drive around 

230 acres that are home to elk, bison, 

antelope and mule deer. 

Lewis & Clark Overlook is ½ mile east 

of the dam powerhouse on Hwy 24. 

Interpretive signage, picnic area and restroom 

facilities are handicap accessible. 

Continue East on Hwy 24 and you will 

cross the dam’s spillway. Then to the left 

is the road (l.5 mi.) to the Milk River 

Observation Point and Hiking Trail. 

This is a great chance to get out of the 

Town Square park in Plentywood | MontanaPictures.net 

car, stretch your legs and see the colored 

water of the Milk River mix with the 

Missouri. 

The Fort Peck Interpretive Center, an 

exciting exhibition hall and museum, 

features dinosaur exhibits including one 

of the most complete Tyrannosaurus rex 

skeleton, fossils of eastern Montana, construction 

of the dam and the wildlife of 

the C.M. Russell National Wildlife Refuge. 

Two enormous aquariums are home 

to a representation of the fish found in 

the area. Admission is free and hours are 

9am to 4pm daily. 

The new Fort Peck Fish Hatchery’s primary 

role is producing walleye to stock 

in Fort Peck Reservoir and other waters 

in Montana, it will also produce largemouth 

bass, northern pike, sauger, Chinook 

salmon and channel catfish and is 

equipped to hatch and rear endangered 

pallid sturgeon. 

The hatchery is open 

from 8am-5pm 

on weekdays for 

self-guided tours. A 

viewing window gives 

visitors a glimpse of 

the facility’s inner 

workings and interpretive 

displays 

explain various FWP 

programs in addition to the life cycle of 

walleye and fish of the region. 

FORT UNION 

Trading Post 

Explorers Lewis and Clark recognized 

the area for its potential wealth, strategically 

perched at the confluence of the 

Yellowstone and Missouri rivers. Naturalist 

John James Audubon visited Fort 

Union in 1843 and spent two months in 

the area documenting the “Quadrupeds 

of North America” and new species of 

birds. 

Built in 1829, the fort soon emerged as 

the upper-Missouri River commerce center, 

trading pelts and buffalo robes from 

the Assiniboine for retail and manufactured 

goods. 

Today, surrounded by an authentic mid- 

19th century setting, this National His 

Brush Lake | Tim Hutslar 


6 

TRAVEL PLANNER

Medicine Lake Parade | Tim Hutslar 

Fort Peck Reservation | Carolyn Sorensen 

toric site welcomes visitors to investigate 

life as it was almost 200 years ago. Open 

every day except Thanksgiving, Christmas 

and New Years, 9am-5:30pm, hours 

are extended in summer. Ranger guided 

tours in summer take guests through 

Bourgeois House—the post manager’s 

quarters, and the Indian Trading House, 

where trades and sales were made. • 701- 

572-9083 

FRAZER 

Colorful costumes, mesmerizing dances, 

rhythmic music and singing and traditional 

ceremonies are celebrated the 3rd 

weekend in June during the Red Bottom 

Pow Wow. 

FROID 

This small prairie town is an agricultural 

center offering full services and superb 

hunting. 

GLASGOW 

Sunnyside Golf & Country Club is 

Circle | Rick and Susie Graetz 

semi-private, but open to non-resident 

visitors. It has a reputation of having the 

best greens in northeast Montana. White 

yardage—3,152 yards, blue—3,233 

yards and ladies—2,875 yards. Open 

daily. • 406-228-9519 

Valley County Pioneer Museum has an 

extensive Lewis & Clark exhibit featuring 

the wildlife, plants they noted in 

their journals and largest Assiniboine 

collection on exhibit in the US. Displays 

include dinosaur bones, Indian artifacts, 

homesteaders, Fort Peck Dam history, 

the Buffalo Bill Cody bar and the history 

of local aviation. Open May 1 thru Labor 

Day, 8:30am-5:30pm, Fall & Winter 

1:00pm-4:00pm • 406-228-8692 

Children’s Museum of NE MT provides 

hands on activities for kids. Hours are 

Mon., Wed., Thurs., and Fri. from 10am 

to 5pm and Sat. from 10am to 3pm. 

www.nemtchildrensmuseum.com 514 

2nd Ave. S., 406-228-4FUN 

Good Kind Art Gallery is a contemporary 

art space whose focus is to “bridge 

the gap between local and outlying 

contemporary arts movements”. Open 

Tues.-Fri. 10am-6pm, Sat. 10am-3pm 

406-671-0659 www.glasgowgoodkindgallery.com 

HINSDALE 

This modest Hi-line enclave comes alive 

during the Milk River Days and Rodeo 

celebrated every 4th of July. 

JORDAN 

Garfield County Museum spotlights 

the exciting dinosaur discoveries in the 

nearby Hell Creek fossil beds. An actual 

Tyrannosaur’s head and a full-size replica 

of a Triceratops are on display. The 1912 

homesteading era is portrayed and includes 

a schoolhouse, jail and blacksmith 

shop. Open daily, June 1 to Labor Day, 

1-5pm, free admission. • 406-557-2577 

• twww.garfieldcounty.com 

LANDUSKY 

This once raucus, thriving gold camp sits 

hard up against the Little Rocky Mountains. 

Camping is available nearby. 

LAMBERT 

The Lambert Historical Society Museum 

traces the town’s earliest beginnings from 

1914 with historical tribute to native 

son, former Governor Nutter. Open 

May - Sept, Tues and Thurs, 11am-2pm, 

free admission. • 406-774-3439 


7 

TRAVEL PLANNER

Two girls in wagon | Tim Hutslar 

MALTA 

Phillips County Museum located on US 

Highway 2, includes displays of early 

Plains Indian artifacts, homesteading, 

ranching, farming and mining in the 

county, dinosaur and marine fossils 

found in the area and an exhibition telling 

the story of Kid Curry’s famous 1901 

train robbery just west of town. Visit our 

website at www.phillipscountymuseum. 

org or call • 406-654-1037 for hours, 

rates and more information. The Great 

Plains Dinosaur Museum and Field 

Station displays rare fossils: fish, invertebrates, 

plants, and a variety of dinosaur 

species such as Triceratops, 

Stegosaurus, sauropod, raptor, and 

Hadrosaurs “Roberta” and “Leonardo” - 

the mummy dinosaur listed as the “best 

preserved” dinosaur in the Guinness 

Book of World Records. Preparation lab 

and gift shop. Programs for all ages including 

summer field digs and area tours 

available. Season and hours of operation 

available at www.greatplainsdinosaurs. 

org, dinosaur@itstriangle.com, 406-654- 

5300. Located on Hwy 2 East next to 

the Phillips County Museum. 

Marion Hills Golf Course, a picturesque 

3,475-yard course, is considered the 

most challenging in the region • Open 

daily to the public • 406-654-5527 

The Bowdoin National Wildlife Refuge 

is just seven miles from town. • 406- 

654-2863 

MEDICINE LAKE 

This beautiful rural town is host to those 

who come to visit the thousands of 

migratory and nesting birds at the Medicine 

Lake National Wildlife Refuge. It 

offers full services to hunters and visitors 

alike. • 406-789-2305. For information 

about local events call • 406-789-2242 

NASHUA 

This gateway to water recreation at Fort 

Peck Lake features Bergies - an icecream 

parlor with homemade ice cream. 

PLENTYWOOD 

Plentywood Golf Course is public with a 

pro shop on site. The 5,196-yard course 

is hilly, breezy and open. Rentals are 

available and the course is open from 

7am - dark. • 406-765-2532 

Sheridan County Museum is dedicated 

to the preservation of Montana’s pioneer 

heritage. View the longest indoor 

mural in the state and wander amongst 

the hundreds of antique tractors and 

threshers. The surrender of the Great 

Sioux Chief Sitting Bull is remembered 

with a monument. Open Memorial Day 

to Labor Day, Daily from 10am to 5pm, 

free admission. • 406-765-2145 

Just outside of town, there’s swimming, 

fishing and picnicking under the openair 

cabanas at Bolster Dam. 

Still operating for your summer pleasure, 

one of the few drive-in movie theaters 

left in the state. 


8 

TRAVEL PLANNER 

Fort Peck Theater | Rick and Susie Graetz 

Almost every big game animal known 

to the state, plus 27 species of African 

animals can be admired up close here on 

the walls of local sporting goods stores. 

POPLAR 

Fort Peck Assiniboine and Sioux Culture 

Center and Museum features a permanent 

exhibit of its Native American 

heritage, arts and crafts. Open daily, 

8am-4:30pm, free admission. • 406-768- 

5155 Ext 328 

City Museum emphasizes fur trade from 

the 1840s through the 1860s and ranching 

and homesteading in the 1900s. It 

depicts the growth of a frontier town 

from an Indian camp. Open daily, June 

1-Sept 1, 11am-5pm, Mon–Fri, free 

admission. • 406-768-5223 

Poplar Indian Days are celebrated with a 

powwow the last weekend in August. 

SACO 

Chet Huntley Schoolhouse is preserved 

as the typical country school it was when 

the national newscaster, Mr. Huntley, 

attended. 

SAVAGE 

The Agate Stop, home of the Montana 

Agate Museum, presents God’s Paintings 

in Stone. See the glorious displays of 

Montana agates and other art depicting 

the stories of the Clark Travels through 

the Yellowstone Valley. Beverages served 

in a quaint setting. • 406-776-2373

SCOBEY 

The Scobey Golf Club course has been 

called “the best-kept secret” in northeast 

Montana. The 3,059-yard course 

with water hazards and two long, par-5 

holes is open from dawn to dusk. Golf 

carts, light lunches, alcoholic and soft 

drinks are available. • 406-406-487- 

5322 

In Pioneer Town and Museum, walk 

the boardwalks of a life-size old west 

Montana town. Stroll past St. Michael’s 

Ukrainian Greek Orthodox Church, 

take a right at the Dirty Shame Saloon 

and wander down main street visiting 

stores and peering through business 

windows. Scobey and other towns have 

donated more than 50 buildings from 

the Homestead Era that since have been 

restored, furnished and are now maintained 

by volunteers, local businesses 

and organizations. Open Memorial Day 

to Labor Day. Admission is charged. • 

406-487-5965 

Pioneer Town truly comes alive the 

last weekend in June with antique car 

and tractor displays, an art show and a 

parade. The Dirty Shame Show featuring 

the Dixieland Band and the dancing of 

the Dirty Shame Belles gets everyone in 

a festive mood for the three-day event. 

SIDNEY 

The Sidney Country Club is eastern 

Montana’s only 18-hole golf course east 

of Billings, and is a semi-private club 

open to out-of-town visitors. An enjoyable 

and varied level of play, this course 

has an on-site pro, a pro shop, bar and 

restaurant. Tee times required. • 406- 

433-1894 

REX Theater | Rick and Susir Graetz 

The MonDak Heritage Center, Museum 

and Art Gallery is one of the 

finest museums in eastern Montana. 

Stroll the boardwalk of an authentically 

reconstructed 1910 version of the 

town featuring a schoolhouse, bank, 

post office, train depot and an original 

homesteader’s shack. Two art galleries 

with regularly changing exhibits, an art 

library and a research library with local 

history, photos and genealogical records 

ensure an interesting visit for all. Open 

Feb-Dec, Tues-Fri, 10am-4pm and Sat 

1-4pm. www.richland.org 

• 406-433-3500 

The Lewis and Clark Information Center 

located in the Chamber of Commerce 

building. Includes an interactive computer 

program, artifacts, publications 

and brochures. 

The Missouri-Yellowstone Confluence 

Interpretive Center located three miles 

east of Fort Union at the actual confluence 

site, features Lewis & Clark, the 

local geography and genealogy and the 

history of Fort Buford. Open all year, admission 

charged. Call • 701-572-9034 

for hours. www.DiscoverND.com/hist 

WESTBY 

Camp along the Montana/North Dakota 

border surrounded by prairie pothole 

country and all the winged creatures it 

invites. 

WOLF POINT 

The Airport Golf Club is a private 

9-hole course accessible to the public. 

The seasonal, partially wooded links are 

playable from daylight to dark. Lunch 

served. • 406-653-2161 

Historical Society and Museum displays 

artifacts of the area’s early settlers and 

Indians, including period clothing, 

arrowheads and weapons. There is also 

an art gallery, and a video for the handicapped 

is available. Open Memorial Day 

thru Labor Day, Mon-Fri, 10am-5pm • 

406-653-1912 

Home of Montana’s oldest rodeo—the 

Wild Horse Stampede, and the Wadopana 

Pow Wow. 

Commercial airline and Amtrak services 

available. 

ZORTMAN 

Snuggled up against the Little Rockies, 

Zortman takes one back in time. Enjoy 

hiking the mountain trails among these 

Island Mountains and pan for gold in 

this historic mining town. • 406-654- 

1776 

At the Slippery Ann Ranger Station 

just down the road, an auto-tour route 

enables wild animal viewing, especially 

during the elk bugling season. 

Entering Westby from the west | Rick and Susie Graetz 


9 

TRAVEL PLANNER


10 

TRAVEL PLANNER

1 

2 

3 

4 

5 

6 

LEWIS & CLARK IN MISSOURI RIVER COUNTRY 

AREAS OF INTEREST 

MISSOURI/YELLOWSTONE 

CONFLUENCE - nearby Fort 

Union 

SOUTH OF CULBERTSON ON 

HWY 16 AT MISSOURI RIVER 

BRIDGE - Interpretive signage, 

picninc area, boat ramp. 

SOUTH OF WOLF POINT ON 

HWY 13 AT MISSOURI RIVER 

BRIDGE - Interpretive signage, 

picnic area, nature walk, boat 

ramp. 

GLASGOW - Vallet County Museum 

has an authentic Assiniboine 

elk hide tipiwhich is part of the 

Johsua Wetsit Collection and is 

one of the last three hide tipis in 

existence. A computer interactive 

kiosk features the never before 

told Assiniboine oral history in the 

native language by actual descendants 

of those who observed 

the Corps of Discovery 

MILK RIVER OBSERVATION 

POINT - View of the Milk River 

from near the vantage point that 

Captain Lewis named the river. 

Four interpretive signs, 1/4 mile 

elevated hike, benches, parking 

area. 

LEWIS AND CLARK OVERLOOK 

- Interpretive signs, picnic area, 

vault toilets, benches. 

“The country we passed today... 

is one of the most beautiful plains we 

have yet seen, it rises gradually from 

the river bottom...then becoming level 

as a bowling green...as far as the eye 

can reach...” Meriwether Lewis, May 6, 

1805 near Frazer, Montana. 

On April 27, 1805 the Corps of 

Discovery first stepped foot into what 

would become Montana and Missouri 

River Country near today’s Snowden 

Bridge. That evening Captain Meriwether 

Lewis described the day’s events 

in his journal. The words he wrote 

represent the first written history of 

Montana. 

Lewis and Clark’s adventure-filled 

historic route through Montana originates 

and terminates in Missouri River 

Country. In all, the Expedition spent 

more time in the state than anywhere 

else - close to six months. Thirty-seven 

of those days were in Missouri River 

Country, covering nearly 330 river 

miles and exposing them to some of 

the most varied and beautiful prairie 

country in the entire journey. 

Changing little since 1805-06, 

the landscape they encountered is yet 

today open, quiet and void of people. 

Experience it by vehicle, canoe, raft, 

motorboat, horse or on foot, and you 

will come away with an appreciation for 

this unique geography, not only rom 

gaining a sense of history, but through 

the pictures you’ll take in your mind 

and camera of the simple grandeur of 

northeast Montana. 

To better comprehend this epic 

passage, first read the captains’ journals, 

either abridged versions such as Lewis 

and Clark’s Montana Trail published 

by Northern Rockies Publishing or the 

complete journals as published by the 

University of Nebraska. Then sit on the 

bank of the Missouri in Missouri River 

country and imagine these explorers 

passing by over two centuries ago. 

In the field, the Montana Atlas 

in Gazeteer is a good companion, as it 

delineates public and private lands and 

shows the roads. 

Lewis and Clark campsite locations 

as shown in this map are only approximate 

and based on the captain’s notes. 

Both the Yellowstone and the Missouri 

Rivers have a dynamic flow and channels, 

junctions and sites have been and 

continue to be altered with time, and at 

least 11of their campsites are now under 

the waters of Fort Peck Lake. 

MRC 

Oppoaite: Missouri River Breaks at Snow Creek, | Rick and Susie Graetz 


11 

TRAVEL PLANNER


12 

TRAVEL PLANNER

NOTES FOR TRAVELING IN NORTHEAST MONTANA 

Traveling in northeast Montana will give you an opportunity to discover a piece of 

our nation that has changed little with time. Don’t rush through it, rather, savor the 

experience and let the peace and power of the landscape become a part of you. 

Your Vehicle. 

An ordinary road car or camper will suffice for the main 

highways and the well traveled gravel roads. However, there are 

many less maintained byways into the Missouri Breaks, Charles 

M. Russell Wildlife Refuge, Fort Peck Lake area and elsewhere 

where an all wheel drive rig with clearance is needed. It is best 

to make local inquiries as to the condition of a given road. 

Weather and Roads. The paved highways and gravel back 

roads are passable in all but the worst winter weather. 

Many of the out-of-the-way routes are dirt surfaced and 

most of the earth in these parts consists of bentonite. In dry 

weather they are fine to drive on, however, when snow is melting 

or it has been raining, these unimproved roadways turn 

to a “gooey gumbo,” making them impassable even with most 

4-wheel drive vehicles. Listen to weather reports or check with 

locals before venturing too far into the back country. 

Water. Food & Gas. 

Carry plenty of water with you to avoid dehydration. The 

humidity out here is low. There are enough communities along 

the highways with places to get gas, water and food. When 

venturing out into most of the lands beyond, services are 

non-existent so it’s a good idea to buy what you need in town. 

When to Travel. Spring dresses the prairie in its finest 

brilliance ... shades of green grasses and wheat fields stretch forever, 

a rainbow of wildflowers dots the landscape, while cloud 

patterns paint the horizon and magnificent sunsets follow 


13 

afternoon showers. For Missouri River Country at its best, this 

is the time to go ... early May until early July. 

Rain subsides during the summer, grasses cure to brown 

and yellow, maturing grain waves golden on the wind, billowy 

white clouds float through the clear blue sky and many rodeos 

and county fairs take place. 

By mid-September, autumn is in the air ... low lying brush 

turns red and the river bottom cottonwoods take on a flame 

orange hue. The sky can be cloudless for days. Wheat harvest is 

progressing and flocks of birds and geese are gathering on the 

lakes and ponds to prepare for their journey south. 

Try all three seasons, for each is special. This land is so big 

you need to take time to see it in all of its colors. 

Notes on Agriculture. Agriculture is Montana’s number 

one industry and in Missouri River Country it is the absolute 

mainstay of the economy. In simple terms, most of the landscape 

is a mixture of grass and grains ... ranching or dry land 

farming ... or is undisturbed. 

Badlands. 

Badlands are scattered throughout northeast Montana. 

This distinctive landscape is actually a small desert environment. 

Badlands come about when fire or some other disruption 

destroys the plant cover that would normally protect the 

soil from being eroded. Rain water hits the denuded surface 

and compacts it and new seeds can’t take hold. The run off 

starts forming gullies and soon strange looking formations 

TRAVEL PLANNER

North of Jordan on the Haxby Road | Rick and Susie Graetz 

consisting of bare earth appear. Badlands are usually 

permanent. 

Unusual and weird rock formations that look like toadstools 

or thin walls are scattered throughout the badlands. 

They are made of sandstone and were created by wind erosion 

once the vegetation disappeared. 

Red Rocks. 

In your travels throughout parts of Missouri River 

Country you’ll note hills that have a distinct red and yellow 

look to them and add color to the prairie 

topography. These colorful rocks are 

commonly called scoria, but the proper 

name is clinker. 

Clinker or scoria is the baked red 

sandstone and shale that at one time was 

lying above a burning coal seam. The 

coal caught fire from lightning strikes or 

prairie wildfires. This overlying formation 

is made up of literally” cooked” or 

metamorphic rocks. Heated to a high 

temperature from the burning coal, 

oxygen combined with iron in the rock 

to form iron oxide producing the bands 

of red rust color evident in some of these 

hillsides. Clinker is a very hard rock, in a 

part of the world where most of the rocks 

East of Hinsdale | Rick and Susie Graetz 

are of a soft nature, and is used for surfacing some roads. 

Breaks. 

River breaks, such as the Missouri Breaks, are a major 

landform in Missouri River Country. Formed by the erosion 

of the soil and soft rocks through the action of water, small 

gulches and deep canyons are cut out of the higher landscape 

above main waterways, streams, rainwater and snow melt find 

their path to the river. The resulting terrain is rough, wild and 

spectacular. 

MRC 


14 

TRAVEL PLANNER

BIG COUNTRY UNDER A BIG SKY 

… The Landscapes of Missouri River Country 

… A Place to Make new Discoveries! 

“This place of the Northern Great Plains harbors unique landforms. Grand scenes 

intermingle with smaller bits of geologic wonder. Space, much of it undisturbed, is its 

greatest commodity and an enormous sprawling canopy of sky delivers a feeling of no 

borders or confinement where a human can stretch and breathe.” 

“At first, the pervasive openness, the immensity and the distances may seem overpowering. 

Gradually though, you get comfortable with it all; then you notice the beauty and 

splendor. Not just the imposing structures, but also the abundance of simple grandeur 

and the soft fusion of earth and sky on seemingly endless horizons.” 

These words describe well the places of Missouri River Country that the following pages will showcase. 

They will take you on a journey through well-defined regions of a very uncommon corner of Montana. 

Let the journey begin! 


15 

TRAVEL PLANNER

LANDSCAPES 

Fort Peck Lake and the Charles M. Russell National Wildlife Refuge 

Fort Peck Lake looking south from the Pines | Rick and Susie Graetz, 

Opposite: East of the Haxby Road and northeast of Jordan | Rick and Susie Graetz 

It is an uncommon landscape...at once stark, beautiful, 

imposing, and inviting, this terrain holding Montana largest 

lake and the crown jewel of the nation’s wildlife refuge system, 

the Charles M. Russell National Wildlife Refuge. Time 

has left most of it with 

the same appearance as 

when the great Indian 

nations, among them the 

Assiniboine, Blackfeet, 

Nez Perce and Sioux 

hunted and did battle 

here. And while some of 

the wildlife species have 

disappeared, notably 

bison and grizzly bears, 

others, including elk and 

bighorn sheep, thrive. 

And if the Corps of 

Discovery were to revisit 

their original route, other 

than the sprawling lake, 

the landforms would still 

be familiar to them. 

Fort Peck community, 

long on colorful history, 

and 18 miles south 

of Glasgow, Montana via 

Trip Divide on the CMR National Wildlife Refuge 

Highway 24 is this regions and the lake’s eastern post. 

Campbell K. Peck and E.H. Durfee built old Fort Peck, 

a trading post and Indian agency, in 1867. With their new 

establishment the men had a near monopoly of the fur trade 

on this segment of the 

Missouri, trading with 

the Assiniboine and 

Sioux. Fort Union, near 

the confluence of the 

Missouri and Yellowstone 

rivers, and just across the 

border in today’s North 

Dakota, held sway as 

the most important fur 

trading post on the Upper 

Missouri; Fort Peck was a 

close second. 

The post was abandoned 

in the1879 and in 

a few years, the dynamic 

Missouri River swept 

away any remnants. 

In October of 1933, 

construction of Fort Peck 

Dam began. Completed 

in 1940, at the time it 

was the nation’s largest 


16 

TRAVEL PLANNER

The Missouri River Breaks and the Charles M. Russell National Wildlife Refuge | Rick and Susie Graetz 

public works project, providing at its peak in 1936 

10,456 jobs. The resulting Fort Peck Lake and its almost 

1600 miles of shoreline extends about 130 to the west behind 

this one of the largest earth - filled river impediments in the 

world measuring 21,026 feet in length. Its original purpose 

was not only to control floods, but also to create jobs in a 

depression-saddled economy. 

In the fall of 1933, with the commencement of the dam 

project, Fort Peck town site, planned and built by the Army 

Corps of Engineers to house its employees, began its orderly 

development. During the construction phase, the small settlements 

that sprung 

up around the 

town of Fort Peck 

were a boomtowns 

in every sense of 

the word. Thousands 

of workers 

from across the 

USA poured in to 

the region. 

Today Fort 

Peck Lake outdoor 

opportunities here 

are many. Six recreation 

areas within 

a few miles of 

Fort Peck provide 

access for water 

sports, fishing and 

hunting. Montana’s 

Governor’s 

Off of the Hell Creek Road and near Fort Peck Lake | Rick and Susie Graetz 

Cup Walleye Fishing Tournament, held the second weekend in 

July at Fort Peck, is a national event. 

The Beaver Creek Nature Trail, an easy three mile-long 

hiking path, starts at the campground downstream from the 

dam and leads through wildlife habitat along the Missouri 

River. A self-guided wildlife-viewing auto route ... the Leo B. 

Coleman Wildlife Exhibit takes off from near the Fort Peck 

Summer Theater. 

Built in 1934 as a movie house for the new town, Fort 

Peck Theater offers a fine summer theater company. And Fort 

Peck lays claim to The Fort Peck Interpretive Center and 

Museum. The Center 

is one of Montana’s 

new treasures. It 

showcases great discoveries 

and aspects 

of this region. This 

18,000 square foot 

gem’s focus is on 

paleontology, wildlife 

and the construction 

of Fort Peck Dam. 

Its overall theme is 

northeastern Montana. 

As if this new 

center wasn’t enough, 

the nearby Powerhouse 

Museum displays 

a collection of 

Indian artifacts and 

fossils uncovered 


17 

TRAVEL PLANNER

during the construction of the dam. 

The 1.1-million acre Charles M. Russell 

National Wildlife Refuge straddles part of 

the free flowing Missouri River and encircles 

250,000-acre Fort Peck Lake. 

Legendary wildlife habitat, and one the 

finest collections of prairie topography in the 

west, best describes the CMR as it is commonly 

referred to. Started in 1936 as the Fort 

Peck Game Range for sharp-tailed grouse and 

antelope, the refuge occupies a large swath of 

Montana’s northeast quadrant and is in the 

center of some of the least inhabited country 

in the United States. 

From the western boundary ten miles 

upstream of the Fred Robinson Bridge near 

Grand Island, moving in a straight line, a 

plane or boat will cover 145 miles by the time 

it reaches the spillway of Fort Peck Dam and 

the eastern perimeter of the Refuge. 

The mix of land forms of the CMR is 

impressive. Table-top uplands give way to 

rugged coulees, wide and precipitous canyons 

(some 1,000 feet deep) and spectacular badlands. 

This much dissected expanse of ground 

has been carved by flows of water, such as 

Seven Blackfeet Creek, Devils Creek, Snow 

Creek, Hell Creek, the Musselshell River. 

Hence the term river breaks. 

Elevations and relief are low by Montana 

standards, but when looking up at some of 

the high points from the bottom of a gulch, 

the slopes appear as tough to climb as any 

mountain. The lowest elevation on the Refuge, 

when Fort Peck Lake is at full pool, is 

2,246 feet. One of the loftiest spots is 3,241 

feet, in the area above Seven Blackfeet Creek. 

The CMR is easily reached via numerous 

access roads leading from Glasgow, Fort Peck 

and Malta on the north and Jordan to the 

south of the lake. 

Combined with all the amenities offered 

by the Fort Peck area and the lake, this bit of 

Missouri River Country geography is one of 

the great treasures of the west! MRC 

Along the North Fork of Rock Creek Road, 

CMR National Wildlife Refuge | Rick and 

Susie Graetz 


18 

TRAVEL PLANNER

FROM FORT PECK TO THE YELLOWSTONE… 

THE MISSOURI’S WILD STRETCH 

Below Culbertson, on the Missouri, Missouri River Country | Rick and Susie Graetz 

Much of the Missouri River below Fort Benton, travels 

through country void of people and a region that enjoys 

federally protected status in the form of the Upper Missouri 

River Breaks National Monument and the Charles M. Russell 

National Wildlife Refuge. Entering the domain of Missouri 

River Country at Kipp Landing and the Hwy 191 crossing, it 

will pass through some of the most pristine lands of its journey 

covering 140 miles before reaching a town. 

Civilization is reached at the former Indian agency and 

trading post, Fort Peck on the far eastern edge of the Fort Peck 

Lake. The townsite is contiguous to the enormous dam that 

holds back the river, creating a huge body of water, that at full 

pool takes in about 145 square miles. 

After resting in Fort Peck Lake, the Missouri exits through 

the dam’s spillway and runs clear much as it did at its birthplace. 

In its natural state before the dams, the river was known 

for its excessive amounts of silt and mud. Estimates were that 

in every one million gallons of water, 120 tons of silt were suspended. 

Steamboats plying the river had to continually clean 

buckets of mud from their boilers. 

Within 10 miles of leaving Fort Peck and after regenerating 

a channel, the Missouri meets the Milk River. The extremely 

silt-laden waters of the Milk are pushed aside by the stronger 

flow of the Missouri as it fights to keep the murky color at bay. 

The intense contrast of the two flows creates a light colored 

banner along the north bank until finally, the Milk gives up 

and succumbs to the mightier Missouri. 

No longer held back by a barrier, the river changes as it 

rolls eastward from Fort Peck. Channel meanders increase and 

sand bars and islands are plentiful. And while the Missouri is 

still dynamic through its final 185 Montana miles, it doesn’t 

have the strength it did before Fort Peck Dam was completed. 

Spring runoff once ran freely and moved, sometimes dramatically, 

the waterway’s course and confluences with streams 

entering along the way. 

A true river again, it once more travels through a quiet 

terrain briefly touching a few small towns. Much of the geography 

this former “moving highway” and “lifeline to Montana” 

passes through is inaccessible by roads and is as wild as when 

the Corps of Discovery moved west against its current. 

There are several accounts of how Wolf Point, the next 

settlement on our trip, took its name. The most accepted 

version was that during a miserable 1860’s winter, “wolfers” 

killed several hundred gray wolves that froze before they could 

be skinned for their pelts. The hunters stacked the carcasses in 

high piles at their camp along the Missouri and waited for the 

spring thaw. Indians took over the landing and camp before 

the skins could be removed; the putrid piles remained. They 

became a visible and scented landmark, especially to the steamboats 

coming up river that spring. 

Documentation of Wolf Point’s exact beginnings is hard to 

come by. An 1834 map noted an Indian fort at the location. As 

a settlement, it was probably first established as a trading post 

for the fur trade. The place was a genuine frontier outpost and 

featured a dugout hotel along the river. 

In 1914, Wolf Point benefited from a growth spurt 

brought on by the arrival of farmers when Congress opened up 

the Fort Peck Reservation to homesteading by non-Indians. 

Poplar, the next town heading east, is headquarters for 

the Assiniboine and Sioux tribes and was named for the 

widespread stands of poplar trees on the riverbanks. Here, the 

Poplar River comes in from the north and the Redwater River 


19 

TRAVEL PLANNER

adds a small amount of moisture on the south. The southern 

boundary of the Fort Peck Indian Reservation is defined by 

about 130 miles of the Missouri, extending from the mouth of 

the Milk to the Big Muddy River. 

The Corps of Discovery overnighted at present-day 

Poplar on May 3, 1805, and the captains 

named the Poplar River “Porcupine River,” because 

of the multitude of needled creatures inhabiting 

the place. Lewis penned that night, “the country 

in this neighborhood of this river, and as far as the 

eye can reach is level, fertile, open and beatifull 

beyond description. “ 

They also christened the present Redwater 

River, “2000 mile creek,” estimating it was 2,000 

miles from St. Louis. Many of the places Lewis and 

Clark designated lost the original names owing to 

the delay in the publishing of their journals. Others 

who followed, not knowing the sites already 

had a label, gave them different monikers. 

Thirty-three road miles from Poplar, The town of Culbertson, 

named for Alexander Culbertson, an early-day fur trapper 

from the American Fur, Company, got its start about 1888 and 

is considered to be one of the oldest towns in Montana east 

of the mountains. Just above the town the Big Muddy slowly 

works its way south from Canada to join the Missouri. 

A couple of miles southeast of Culbertson, the Hwy 16 

bridge crosses the Missouri. The sweeping river view from 

here is a favorite of photographers. Beyond the bridge, with 

34 miles left before the Missouri prepares to leave Montana 

and take on the Yellowstone, it rolls through a beautiful mix of 

bluffs, canyons and badlands. Continually impressed with the 

pleasant appearance of the landscape, William Clark declared 

“the Countrey on both Sides have a butifull appearance.” 

South of Bainville | Rick and Susie Graetz 

A bit north of the Missouri, Bainville, east of Culbertson 

on US Highway 2, is a place of note. This is the eastern-most 

Montana town on the “Hi-Line,” the road that stretches across 

South of Bainville | Rick and Susie Graetz 

the entire northern tier of Montana. It’s 641 miles from Bainville 

to Troy the western-most Montana community on the 

route - the road’s entire length in Montana is 667 miles. 

A few miles before leaving Montana, the Missouri passes 

Snowden Bridge and the site of the former village of Nohly, 

where Lewis and Clark and their crew spent their first night 

in what would become Montana on April 27, 1805. As Lewis 

began writing in his journals that night, the words he put on 

paper represent the first written history of Montana. 

Once this historic spot is passed, the Missouri appropriates 

the Yellowstone River just beyond the Montana/North Dakota 

border. It still has a long way to go before catching the Mississippi, 

but it has left the finest landscapes of its journey behind 

in Montana. MRC 


20 

TRAVEL PLANNER


21 

TRAVEL PLANNER

THE VALLEY OF THE MILK RIVER 

Top: The confluence of the Milk and Missouri rivers from the Milk River Hills | Rick and Susie Graetz 

Opposite: Gilbert Creek region-CMR National Wildlife Refuge and west of the Big Dry Arm | Rick and Susie Graetz 

Tumbling off the Hudson Bay Divide in Glacier National 

Park to the west, the Milk River gains international status as it 

meanders into Canada 47 miles after its birth. After spending 

167 miles north of the border it regains US citizenship reentering 

Montana northwest of Havre. By the time it gives up 

its water to the Missouri River southeast of Glasgow, Montana 

the Milk will have covered 538 miles. 

This river serves well the geography it claims. Though 

sluggish, brown-colored and lacking beauty in itself, this liquid 

gold, through numerous diversion dams provides, much needed 

irrigation on the northern Montana prairie. And while it 

doesn’t have the splendor of some its peers, the terrain it visits 

is quite beautiful. 

Well after passing Havre and other northern Montana 

towns this wandering river is greeted by Malta, Montana. 

Between 1870 and 1900, this area was the setting for the true 

“Old West” and Malta might well be considered its capital. 

Trappers, cattlemen, cowboys, and all manners of outlaws wandered 

through here. Cattle drives up from Texas brought herds 

to winter on the region’s rich grasslands between the Missouri 

and Canada. It was once the focal point of a vast beef empire 

and was founded to serve the area ranches. Big cow outfits held 

sway; names like Phillips, Coburn, Matador and Phelps are all 

etched in Montana’s history. 

Indians called the future town site “The Big Bend” as the 

Milk River turns in a half-circle near here. The first “citizen” 

was Robert M. Trafton out of Minnesota, who came to collect 

the bleached bones of slaughtered bison. In 1885, Trafton established 

a trading post a few miles to the west of what would 

eventually become the seat of Phillips County. 

The westward building Great Northern Railroad reached 

Siding 54 on August 13, 1887, and Trafton moved his store 

to the new town site in anticipation of increased business. 

Cowboys and other solitary souls inhabiting these high plains 

of north-central Montana needed a Saturday night destination; 

Malta became that place. And it was as wild as any western 

movie could depict! 

The newly minted community needed a proper name. 

Railroad agents gathering in Minneapolis, blindfolded an 

employee and had him point his finger to a spot on the globe. 

Thus Siding 54 was named Malta after an island in the Mediterranean 

Sea. 

Modern day Malta is a far cry from its raucous beginnings 

and now serves as a quiet agricultural center and a great base 

camp to explore some of the most unique prairie environment 

in Montana. To the south is the immense Charles M. Russell 

National Wildlife Refuge, the spectacular Missouri River 

Breaks, Fort Peck Lake, the Little Rocky Mountains with their 

colorful mining history and the Fort Belknap Indian Reservation 

home to the Assiniboine and Gros Ventre nations. 

Seven miles east of town, Bowdoin National Wildlife Refuge 

is a premiere haven for waterfowl. It lies in the central 


22 

TRAVEL PLANNER

Bowdoin National Wildlife Refuge near Malta | Rick and Susie Graetz 

flyway of one of the great winged creature migration routes 

of North America. 

Continuing east Saco is the next Milk River Valley port 

of call. The name was derived in the 

same fashion as Malta’s. This time the 

finger landed on Saco, Maine. On the 

way, you’ll pass by Hewitt Lake National 

Wildlife Refuge and an access road 

to Nelson Reservoir, one of northeast 

Montana’s popular water recreation and 

fishing areas. This back road through the 

valley lets you approach the Milk River 

in several places. Human sightings will 

be few, but you’ll probably encounter 

deer and antelope. 

Saco features a museum located in 

a renovated one-room county schoolhouse, 

the Huntley School, named after 

student Chet Huntley who went on to 

become a famous TV newscaster. 

Hinsdale, named for Reverend 

Hinsdale, is 14 miles east of Saco and on the Milk River. North 

of town, you’ll find some of the most spectacular and seldom 

visited badlands in Montana. Rock Creek Road, about two 

miles east of Hinsdale, heads north to Canada and leads into 

this region. About 18 miles up the road, you’ll be skirting the 

western edge of a true prairie wilderness ... the Bitter Creek 

region. Check with the BLM Office in Glasgow for a map and 

a description of the Bitter Creek Wildlife Viewing Area. It’s a 

loop trip through these badlands. The BLM recommends the 

use of a 4-wheel drive vehicle, and that you take a full eight 

South of Malta | Rick and Susie Graetz 

hours to do the trip. 

The terrain you’ll be driving through along Rock Creek 

is cowboy country. The ranches are big here and distances 

between human presences are great. If you look carefully along 

the ridges and hills above the creek, you’ll note faint remains 

of trails used by early-day Native Americans, including Sitting 

Bull. 

Toward the sunrise from Hinsdale, the Milk River switches 

to the south side of US Hwy 2 and its valley seems to open 

up even more than further west where hills and the distant 

Little Rockies are in site. Looks are deceiving though as just a 

bit south and north of this roadway the land is rugged, holding 

magnificent prairie terrain and sprawling ranch country. 


23 

TRAVEL PLANNER

Shortly the river reaches the thriving valley town of 

Glasgow. Glasgow’s location gives it access to all the wonders 

of huge Fort Lake to the south, and the prairie wild lands of 

Bitter Creek on the north. As the largest community in this 

part of northeast Montana, it offers plenty of amenities. Valley 

County Pioneer Museum has/offers exhibits and artifacts of all 

aspects of life on the northeast Montana prairie. Its collection 

ranges from Native Americans to the Homestead Era and is an 

outstanding and worthwhile place to study the vibrant past of 

the land the Milk River drains. 

Also in Glasgow, make sure you visit the South Valley 

Wildlife Viewing Area for an opportunity to see antelope, deer 

and other animals. The road route is about 65 miles long and 

can take three hours or more depending on how much time 

you have and what you want to see. Inquire at the Chamber 

of Commerce and Agriculture or the Glasgow Office of the 

Bureau of Land Management for maps, road conditions and 

information. Also check with the BLM on Bitter Creek directions. 

This is a great prairie eco system. 

Leaving Glasgow the Milk stays close to the highway, 

meandering, sometimes wildly, but for the most part keeping 

and easterly bearing. At Nashua, formerly a railroad depot, and 

14 miles from Glasgow this fabled river makes a sharp south- 

erly bend and then leads southwest covering its last leg before 

giving way to the Missouri. But where it meets the big river it 

makes its self know. Here the Missouri is clear and cold, as its 

water has just come from the depths of Fort Peck Lake through 

the dam gates. The Milk though is muddy and warm and it 

makes a statement by streaming a stream of brown water well 

into the Missouri heading east. 

On May 8, 1805, the first “tourists” to this region, the 

Lewis and Clark Expedition, camped at the confluence of the 

Milk and Missouri rivers. Lewis explored the Milk for about 

three miles and said, “... the water of this river possesses a 

peculiar whiteness, being about the colour of a cup of tea with 

the admixture of a tablespoon full of milk. From the colour of 

its’ water, we called it Milk river.” 

Lewis also noted the Milk River Hills that rise almost 700 

feet above the floodplain of the Milk and Missouri. These can 

be ascended on their south side and reached via MT Hwy 24 

across Fort Peck Dam via a .05 mile-long hiking trail. From 

these points one can view much of the terrain Lewis and Clark 

described, both along the Missouri on the north side of the 

hills and southwest out over Fort Peck Lake. Clark most likely 

MRC 

mapped the area from this interpretive site. 

Bitter Creek, north of Glasgow | Rick and Susie Graetz 


24 

TRAVEL PLANNER


25 

TRAVEL PLANNER

THE YELLOWSTONE IN MISSOURI RIVER COUNTRY 

ROLLING ALONG FOR ABOUT 335 MILES in Montana’s Missouri River 

Country, The Missouri takes top billing in northeast Montana. But the 

Yellowstone River isn’t just a bit player. While it only logs 50 miles in 

the territory, it takes in some exquisite landscapes and carries much 

Montana history with it. 


26 

TRAVEL PLANNER

Top: The Yellowstone River near Sidney | Rick and Susie Graetz 

Opposite: The Yellowstone River south of Sidney | Rick and Susie Graetz 

Gathering some of the finest mountain and prairie 

topography on the planet, Montana’s Yellowstone drains a 

70,000-square-mile piece of the west in grand fashion. Once 

serving as “a moving highway” into the wilderness, this unique 

river mirrored the passage of millions of bison, the travels of 

the Corps of Discovery, creation of the nation’s first national 

park and the foundations of a state. 

Long stretches haven’t changed since the Yellowstone’s 

not-so-long-ago yesterdays, much of the water continues to 

surge through clean space. Human presence has grown along 

the river, but for the most part it is unobtrusive. One could 

say this fabled waterway still represents the real Montana. The 

670-milelong waterway remains the nation’s longest undammed 

river. 

Savage and Crane, Montana, create small human outposts 

along a 15-mile stretch of the Yellowstone. Above Savage, in 

1909 a diversion dam was built for the Lower Yellowstone 

Irrigation Project. When the work was completed, there were 

nearly 400 miles of canals and ditches carrying Yellowstone 

River water to croplands, including widespread sugar beet 

fields. Historical notes show Savage, which benefited from 

the irrigation project, was named for H.M. Savage, a railroad 

official. The town of Crane, close to Sidney was titled after the 

owners of the Crane Ranch. 

From Savage to Sidney, nearing the end of its run, the 

river provides a popular floating stretch amid the Elk Island 

and the Seven Sisters Wildlife Management areas and the state 

owned Crittenden Island. Elk Island, actually three islands in 

high water and one in low flow, is near Savage, while Crane 

provides access to the seven small islands named Seven Sisters 

that legendary Yellowstone steamboat Captain Grant Marsh 

entitled in honor of his siblings. 

Floating from Elk Island to the Seven Sisters is a great way 

to see this special length of the Yellowstone, home to whitetail 

and mule deer, upland game birds, ducks and geese and other 

wild critters. It takes from five to seven hours to cover this 

12-mile stretch of water. Experienced “river rats” recommend 

paddling hard once you put in at Elk Island in order to get 

into the more scenic right-hand, side channel. And since the 

river moves slowly here, sightings of eagles, blue heron and all 

manners of birdlife are a strong possibility. 

William Clark wrote, on August 2, 1806, about this 

segment; “river wide and very much divided by islands and 

Sand and Mud bars ... Saw emence numbers of Elk Buffalow 

and wolves to day ... passed the enterance of Several brooks on 

each Side.” Clark was most likely describing Elk Island and the 

Seven Sisters. 

The river from Savage downstream with its wide bottoms 

crowded with islands and sandbars and cottonwoods growing 

in profusion, still looks very much as Clark depicted it. From 

Intake forward, the terrain on the river’s east side becomes 

rugged. Badlands and river breaks intermix and ascend well 

above the floodplain. Juniper, small ponderosa pine and green 

ash give a warm color to a harsh soil. 

Agates are another lower Yellowstone River attraction. 

Millions of years ago, volcanoes ruled Montana east of the 


27 

TRAVEL PLANNER

mountains. Powerful eruptions 

of molten lava and ash covered 

and destroyed hundreds of miles of 

forests. After centuries of activity, 

the climate cooled and rain washed 

silica and minerals from the surface 

of the land down into the labyrinths 

of hardened lava beds, filling 

the nooks and crannies with what 

several eons later would become 

Montana agates. 

In those unstable geologic 

times, mountains were being born 

and layers of buried lava broken 

up. Driving rains eroded the debris, washing it into the lower 

country. The Yellowstone River is the recipient of a magnitude 

of the alluvial gravel; and mixed among the rocks and stones 

are beautiful agate treasures waiting to be found. 

Sidney is about a mile west of the Yellowstone and about 

14 river miles short of its marriage to the Missouri. Named 

in 1888 for Sidney Walters, the young son of a local pioneer 

family, locals like to call it the Sunrise City, as this is where 

the sun first greets Montana. A pleasant community dotted 

with expansive tree-lined city parks, it is the largest town in 

northeast Montana. Sugar beets, wheat and ranching provide 

the dollars, and the exhibits at the highly acclaimed Mondak 

Heritage Center provide reminders of the rich, historical past. 

Between Sidney and Fairview, the valley of the Yellowstone 

spreads out in a display of agricultural artwork. At times 

looking like a billowing patchwork quilt, green fields of sugar 

beets are interspersed among squares of yellow wheat. Hay 

bales in various shades of gold scattered across the countryside 

give the scene definition. 

A few river miles north of Sidney, the Yellowstone crosses 

the North Dakota line, then abruptly changes her mind and 

rushes back into Montana. Finally, about two miles west of 

the border, the Yellowstone bids Montana adieu, turns toward 

North Dakota and stays on track for the Missouri. 

Some of Montana’s earliest recorded history was played 

Prickly Pear Cactus | Rick and Susie Graetz 

out here on the eastern fringes of 

our state where the Yellowstone 

ends its run. On April 27, 1805, 

the Corps of Discovery, after having 

spent a few days at the joining of 

the two rivers, first entered what 

would become Montana Territory. 

Fort Union stands out in this 

“Confluence Country,” from about 

1828 until 1867, it held supremacy 

over the fur trade business of the 

Upper Missouri. 

The original Fort Union, built 

in 1828 by John Jacob Astor and 

his American Fur Company, was located about six miles up the 

Missouri from the Yellowstone. A handsome, some would say 

royal place, it attracted famous men of the day. When the Fur 

Trade Era ended in 1867, the fort fell into disrepair. Much of 

the material was moved to aid in the expansion of Fort Buford, 

a military post closer to the Yellowstone’s confluence. Steamboats 

churning up the Missouri used what wood was left to 

feed their hungry boilers. 

Today, the Fort Union Trading Post National Historic Site 

has been reconstructed into an exact replica as it was in 1851, 

and with the natural reconfiguration of the rivers, it is about 

three air miles up from the joining of the waters. For anyone 

interested in the fabled Missouri and Yellowstone rivers, this 

historic site should be on your trail. 

The geographic history of the Yellowstone-Missouri Confluence 

is also worthy of note. The original site of the uniting 

of the rivers the Corps of Discovery witnessed is about two 

miles to the southwest of the current junction. A huge 1930’s 

flood forcibly moved it. 

Three miles from the eastern edge of Montana and Fort 

Union, the big, wide silt-laden Yellowstone gives up her independence 

to the Missouri, together forming one very formidable 

river. Under the flag of the Missouri, it lunges toward a 

rendezvous with the Mississippi River. 

MRC 

Below: Fort Union near Fairview, Rick and Susie Graetz Opposite: The Hell Creek area | Rick and Susie Graetz 


28 

TRAVEL PLANNER

PRAIRIE MAGNIFICENCE – 

JORDAN AND CIRCLE COUNTRY 

LATE 1800S PHOTOGRAPHER L. A. HUFFMAN 

called it “The Big Open,” National Geographic 

termed it “Jordan Country” and others dubbed the 

sparsely populated landscape south of Fort Peck 

Lake “The Big Dry.” The heart of this scenic territory 

is the small town of Jordan. 


29 

TRAVEL PLANNER

Prairie lands, north of Sand Springs | Rick and Susie Graetz 

Rising from the banks of Big Dry Creek and straddling 

Montana Hwy 200, Jordan was founded in about 1896 by 

Arthur Jordan. He asked that the town take the name of a 

friend from Miles City who was also named Jordan. The first 

residence was Arthur’s tent. Later, he established a post office 

and store for this fledgling cow town. 

The town and surrounding expanse of rangeland are still 

very much cowboy country, and the place retains an old west 

flavor. False front buildings on Main Street haven’t changed 

much since the community’s early days...some are over 80 years 

old. 

This seat of Garfield County is the entry to some of the 

most remote and beautiful mix of deep river canyons, badlands 

and prairie wilderness in the west. The most rugged of 

the terrain is part of Charles M. Russell Wildlife Refuge. Out 

here, antelope, elk, mule deer, whitetail deer, wild turkeys, sage 

grouse and numerous waterfowl make these lands their home. 

Many roads and trails deliver you into and through this 

wild country. Before striking out, inquire at the Charles M. 

Russell National Wildlife Refuge in Jordan. They can advise 

you on conditions and the best routes to follow. It’s very 

important to get good information to make the most of your 

time. This is big territory you’ll be wandering into, and a place 

that will amaze you…it is truly an uncommon landscape and 

one of the most fantastic wilderness regions of America. 

Hell Creek State Park, on Fort Peck Lake, 26 miles north 

of Jordan, is a popular recreation area. On the way you’ll go 

through the scenic Piney Buttes and over high rises that offer 

excellent views of some of the upper reaches of the Missouri 

Breaks and the CMR Refuge. Out of Jordan, Devil’s Creek, 

Snow Creek and Crooked Creek are also worthwhile places 

to visit. And the Haxby Road, about six miles east of town, 

reaches a long way through the badlands into the Breaks and 

the western edge of an area called the Big Dry Arm of Fort 

Peck Lake. The scenic wonders these routes open up rank as 

the most magnificent prairie geography in the nation! 

The stretch of Missouri River Country from the Fred 

Robinson Bridge to Fort Peck is a showcase of sandstone creatures 

and badlands that illustrate evidence of what passed here 

many millions of years ago. Sections of Garfield (Jordan) and 

McCone (Circle) counties were home to Tyrannosaurus Rex, 

Triceratops, Albertosaurus, Mosasaurus (a marine reptile) and 


30 

TRAVEL PLANNER

other giant creatures. Because of erosion, some of the 

richest records of prehistoric life in the world have been, and 

continue to be, uncovered here. In 1902, one of the first intact 

T-Rex fossils ever found was discovered near Jordan in the Hell 

Creek badlands. Home to much of this dinosaur burial ground 

is the Charles M. Russell National Wildlife Refuge. 

Some 65 million years ago, when not totally underwater 

(much of Montana east of the mountains was covered by a 

shallow inland sea), this area was part of a hot humid sub-tropical 

coastline of marshes, rivers and river deltas bearing dense 

vegetation near the watercourses and grassy plains farther to 

the west. It was the time of the dinosaurs and other prehistoric 

creatures; climate and habitat was just right. 

Exploring further, from Jordan, head east on Montana 

Hwy 200 towards the town of Circle. Twenty five miles out, 

you’ll enter a ten mile stretch of spectacular views of red and 

yellow colored buttes, badlands and distant vistas. Farther yet, 

thirty-six miles from town you’ll encounter Hwy 24 pointing 

north. It parallels the Dry Arm section and eastern edge of Fort 

Peck Lake. If you’d like to camp, put a boat in the water or just 

see the lake, take advantage of the recreation areas along the 

its length, there are several and they are well marked. The Sand 

Arroyo badlands found here are fascinating. Be vigilant, most 

of the roads to these places are only passable when it is dry; 

make sure you get a map in Fort Peck or Jordan or have the 

state distributed Montana highway map with you for reference. 

Back to Hwy 200, turn toward the sunrise and continue 

on to Circle. Before reaching Circle and the Redwater Creek 

Valley, you’ll leave badlands and breaks topography and come 

upon a softer, rolling high plains covered with the eye-pleasing 

geometric designs of strip farming. 

Circle, like Jordan, another “cow town,” picked up its 

name from the Mabry Cattle Company’s circular brand. One 

of Montana’s earliest cattle outfits, the ranch was established 

in the valley in 1884. Today, Circle is still very agriculturally 

oriented. While you are there, be sure to visit the McCone 

County Pioneer Museum. To the south of town, you’ll note a 

distinct range of high sandstone hills. They are the Little and 

Big Sheep mountains named after the Audubon Sheep that 

lived there until the early 1900s. At 3,625 feet, they have the 

loftiest summit in these parts, but actually rise no more than 

300 feet above the adjacent country. MRC 

Badlands between Circle and Jordan | Rick and Susie Graetz 


31 

TRAVEL PLANNER

PIONEERS, OUTLAWS AND WILDLIFE 

THE GREAT NORTHEAST 

North Fork Poplar River west of Scobey | Rick and Susie Graetz 

Missouri River Country’s northeastern corner’s quiet demeanor 

of today belies a raucous past. A stock inspector speaking 

of the 1920s and 1930s noted in his files that, “Valley 

County (now this area is split between Daniels and Sheridan 

counties) is the most lawless and crookeddest country in the 

union and the Big Muddy is the worst of it. It has Indians, 

outlaws, horse and cattle rustlers, bootleggers, homesteaders, 

baseball rivalries, newspaper wars, political battles, communists 

and car thieves.” Two of its towns, Scobey and Plentywood 

were the center of these colorful and lively times. Now 

this peaceful region boasts of grand prairie scenery and wildlife 

havens. 

Idyllic prairie town ... clean, orderly, and picturesque, describes 

Scobey. Known as the center of one of Montana’s most 

productive grain-growing regions; surrounded by low hills 

and buttes, it occupies a small space in the broad Poplar River 

Valley. Like so many places in northeast Montana, the town 

began late in the first decade of the 20th Century, primarily as 

a result of the railroad and the accompanying homestead era. 

Early on, two competing railroads--the Great Northern and 

the Soo Line, running parallel to and seven miles apart from 

each other, were vying for the abundant agricultural products 

gathered in the area ... at least until the years of drought and 

depression came along. 

Incorporated in 1916, Scobey was named for Major 

Charles Scobey, a then agent at the Fort Peck Indian Reservation. 

Known in its earlier days as “One-eyed Molly’s House of 

Pleasure,” the distinctive Daniels County Courthouse, built 

about 1913 on Scobey’s main street, is on the National Register 

of Historic Places. 

Pioneer Town, a re-creation of an early 1900’s homestead 

hamlet and one of the finest museums of its kind, is Scobey’s 

featured attraction. Forty-two original structures, some 100 

years old, have been brought to the site. Many, falling into 

disrepair, were to be torn down; most came from nearby towns 

such as Whitetail. 

Pointing east from Scobey on Route 5 it’s 43 miles to 

Plentywood. That short distance gathers in a magnificent 

collection of high plains topography – rolling wheat fields, 

coulees, buttes, badlands and big vistas. 

When the Great Northern and other railroads first came 

through the northern prairie, sidings and depots were established 

about every six miles and small communities grew up 

around them. Most have long since disappeared and others 

are ghosts of their former selves. First en route to Plentywood, 

Madoc and its two grain elevators makes its presence known. 

One can only imagine eager homesteaders pulling up with 

their ample wagonloads of harvested wheat. 

Next down the road comes Flaxville. At one time, the only 

crop grown in the area was flax, so the name came easily. First 


32 

TRAVEL PLANNER

called Boyer, it was located a little 

more than two miles to the southwest. 

When the railroad arrived, the place 

was moved to its current location and 

the named changed. On the west edge 

of town, Duck Stamp dollars have 

helped establish a waterfowl production 

area. 

From Flaxville a seven-mile side 

trip north on County Road 511 leads 

to Whitetail, at onetime a stop on the 

Soo Line and a disappearing remnant 

of its former self. 

Redstone, east of Flaxville, was 

established somewhere around 1900. 

It took its name from the red shale in 

the area. “Dutch Henry,” a notorious 

outlaw leader, had one of his camps 

Medicine Lake NWR, Rick and Susie Graetz 

cially in the badlands of Big 

Muddy Creek to the north. 

The Outlaw Trail, named by 

Butch Cassidy and used to 

move stolen horses and cattle 

to Canada, wandered through 

the coulees of the Big Muddy. 

Cassidy had a “rest station” 

in the vicinity. Butch Cassidy 

named the trail and established 

a rest station in the Big Muddy 

Valley. 

Beyond Redstone, Hwy 

5 eases into the valley of Big 

Muddy Creek heading east 

towards Plentywood. 

The landscape around 

these parts hardly indicates 

nearby. The no longer functioning, colorful Westland Oil Co. 

Service Station and its antique pumps greets visitors. 

South from Redstone, in the vicinity of Eagle Creek and 

Eagle Nest Butte, the Wood Mountain and Moose Mountain 

trails come close to each other. Both of these historic paths 

lead into Canada. The Moose Route started at Wolf Point and 

snaked northeast leaving the United States in the area of Port 

Raymond, north of Plentywood. The Wood Mountain Trail 

began by Fort Union, near present day Sidney, and crossed the 

border northwest of Scobey. The Assiniboine and Sioux used 

both, as did other early day wanderers. 

Poke around some of the back roads near Redstone, espe- 

that there is wood to be found. In the open range days, 

several cowboys from the nearby Diamond Ranch outfit 

were attempting to build a buffalo chip fire. Old Dutch 

Henry told them, “If you go a couple of miles up this creek, 

you’ll find plenty wood.” Following his advice, they found an 

abundance of fuel and named this creek, that reaches the Big 

Muddy Creek just west of the present-day town, Plentywood. 

In 1912, the moniker was passed on from the creek to 

the emerging settlement developed by the railroads and an 

influx of homesteaders. 

Main street is very appealing and compact, with an 

assortment of businesses that belong in the heart of any com 

Homestead near Dagmar, Rick and Susie Graetz 


33 

TRAVEL PLANNER

Badland formations, west of Plentywood | Rick and Susie Graetz 

munity ... a drug store, hardware store, clothing shop, 

cafe, newspaper office, at least one saloon and a couple of 

banks. The Sheridan County Courthouse is at the head of this 

commercial thoroughfare. The fairgrounds stand out on the 

south edge of town. 

After defeating Custer at the Battle of the Little Big Horn 

in June of 1876, Sitting Bull traveled north, crossed the U.S. 

border and sought refuge in Canada for five years. Then in July 

1891, at the site of present-day Plentywood, he and his Sioux 

band “surrendered” to the US Army. 

A collection of early-day memorabilia at the Sheridan 

County Museum provides insight into all that came before in 

this distant part of Montana. 

East of Plentywood the ecologically important prairie 

pothole country breaks off from seemingly endless stretches 

of cultivated land. This is a critical breeding/migrating area 

for North American wetland and grassland birds. The Nature 

Conservancy of Montana through their Comertown Pothole 

Preserve, easements, and cooperation with the Fish and Wildlife 

Service has protected a total of 2,425 acres, allowing endangered 

species, such as the piping plover, a chance to recover. 

If the warm season is wet enough, wildflowers cover the green 

hills and birdsong echoes across the many ponds. 

Westby, on the sunrise fringe of this area and once part of 


34 

Brush Lake, east of Plentywood | Rick and Susie Graetz 

North Dakota, is as far as you can go in northeast Montana. 

This farm village boasts of the state’s most frigid average winter 

temperature. Far from the range of warming chinook winds, it 

latches onto cold air from the north and keeps it for a while. 

The town of Medicine Lake and Medicine Lake National 

Wildlife Refuge are 22 miles to the south of Plentywood. This 

large lake, sitting in the pre-ice-age channel of the Missouri 

River, is the summer home to more than 100,000 migratory 

waterfowl. Great blue herons, grebes, 16 species of ducks and a 

colony of 10,000 white pelicans share this prairie lake ecosystem. 

The refuge is a premier destination for bird-watchers seeking 

a glimpse of many rare prairie songbirds, such as Baird’s 

sparrow and Sprague’s pipit. Fall brings spectacular waterfowl 

migrations, and attracts thousands of bird hunters, for both 

waterfowl and upland game bird hunting. 

MRC 

TRAVEL PLANNER

HUNTING 

Hunting on the Medicine Lake NWR 

Hunters should set their sites high before taking aim 

in Missouri River Country. Big game animals, upland birds 

and waterfowl all make their homes in this wide-open land 

of northeast Montana. Pronghorn, mule and trophy whitetail 

deer wander these prairies and drainages. Elk with racks six 

points on a side roam the million-acre Charles M. Russell 

Wildlife Refuge. 

From its fertile river bottoms, through prairies of grass to stark 

badlands, this country teems with wildlife, just as it was when 

Lewis and Clark wrote of the area in 1805. 

Today, Missouri River Country remains remote and 

sparsely inhabited, but presently, three area cities enjoy regular 

airline service, Amtrak’s passenger trains cut paths across the 

landscape and an excellent highway system makes even the 

remotest areas close. By one path or another, an increasing 

number of hunters and others are finding their way to this 

country. Yet even so, there are millions of acres of public land 

in Missouri River Country and the opportunities for solitude, 

unspoiled, dramatic landscapes and great hunting experiences 

first written about nearly 200 years ago still can be found here. 

For those wanting to improve 

already favorable odds of finding what 

they seek, professional guides and 

outfitters are available to help create 

award-winning hunting experiences. 

Also open to the newcomer is the 

valuable advice of long-time area 

hunters. People are friendly and helpful 

in Missouri River Country and 

visitors can help keep them that way 

by respecting private property rights. 

Always get permission before hunting 

on private property. 

Those searching for still more 

information have several other sources 

Mule deer in the Missouri River Breaks 

Bull elk on the CMR 

to resort to. The Montana Department of Fish, Wildlife and 

Parks is where to turn for the last word on Montana hunting 

regulations and license applications. Any authorized license 

outlet also can provide similar information. Area offices of 

the Federal Bureau of Land Management also are invaluable 

sources for maps. Keep in mind that additional regulations also 

apply when hunting on Indian reservations or the Charles M. 

Russell Wildlife Refuge. 

Sportsmen also should be aware that during hunting 

season, Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks operates 

check stations to gather statistics on the harvest. It is 

mandatory for hunters to stop at the stations, whether 

or not they have taken any animals. It also is mandatory 

for big game hunters to wear no less than 40 square 

inches of blaze orange clothing on the upper body. 

Because big game, waterfowl and upland bird seasons 

overlap in time and location, it is a good idea for any 

hunter to wear the orange clothing. 

For more information on hunting 

and fishing licenses and regulations, 

contact the regional headquarters 

of the Montana Fish, 

Wildlife and Parks in Glasgow. 

For information on public and 

private land access, contact the 

Montana Department of Natural 

Resources. For information on 

regulations applying to hunting 

on the CMR, contact the Refuge 

office. See resource page for 

phone and addresses. 

MRC 


35 

TRAVEL PLANNER

FISHING 

Fort Peck Reservoir | Larry Mayer 

Those considering fishing in Missouri River Country 

should think big. Defined by sandstone formations, fields of 

grain and fertile river bottoms, this is a place where shorelines 

go on for more than a thousand miles and fish grow to more 

than 100 pounds. This is the land where men built a dam 

across the mighty Missouri River and created the largest body 

of water in Montana. This is the land of Fort Peck Reservoir. 

More than 50 different species of fish live in Fort Peck and 

they all have room to grow. The reservoir is 134 miles long and 

as much as 220 feet deep. Along its 1,600 miles of shoreline 

and under its 240,000 acres of surface area, walleye, northern 

pike, small-mouth bass, lake trout and Chinook salmon are 

waiting. Curious looking ling, prehistoric paddlefish and two 

species of sturgeon abide there too. 

Fort Peck’s diverse fishery continues to gain nationwide 

recognition and its popularity among anglers remains high. 

Stories of five-pound bass, ten-pound walleye and 20-pound 

northern pike continue to pique interest. To accommodate all 

of the use, three marinas and nine boat ramp/access areas are 

scattered along the reservoir. But Fort Peck remains even larger 

than the demand it creates and those seeking solitude and 

quiet waters can easily find them here. 

With the exception of space, the most abundant feature 

of Fork Peck may be its walleye fishery. The popular game fish 

can be found throughout the reservoir, but experienced anglers 

suggest focusing efforts on the bays and points of the reservoir 

and Big Dry Arm. Trolling with bottom bouncers and spinners 

tipped with minnows, leaches or night-crawlers, or using crank 

bait and jigs are advised as successful approaches for luring 

walleye from reservoir to net. Expect to catch walleye between 

two and four pounds but be prepared for eight to ten pound 

ones. 

Anglers looking for a fight may want to target the reservoir’s 

abundant small-mouth bass-possibly the scrappiest freshwater 

game fish that can be caught anywhere. These guys are 

so aggressive they will bite on just about anything...jigs, crank 


36 

Lake Trout caught on Fort Peck Lake. | Carolyn Sorensen 

bait, spinners or flies. Look for them near rocky areas around 

the points and islands between Devil’s Creek and Hell Creek. 

While most of the bass remain between two and three pounds, 

it is not uncommon to find a five-pounder on the line-and a 

fight on your hands. 

Another favorite among locals is the northern pike, which 

were first planted in the reservoir in the 1950s. Expect four to 

eight pound pike and hope for one of the 20-pounders in the 

Big Dry Arm Bay and lower areas of Fort Peck. 

Then there are all the rest...lake trout more easily taken in 

the spring and fall, ling that look too much like eels to become 

too popular and Chinook salmon that continue to be stocked 

in the reservoir. 

Fishing Missouri River Country isn’t just about Fort Peck 

Reservoir. The Missouri and Yellowstone rivers cut through 

dramatic landscapes here. Both are thick with their own possibilities-including 

the chance to land more than 100 pounds of 

something harkening back to another time. Ancient paddlefish 

of enormous size can still be found in both rivers. On the 

Yellowstone, seek them out near Sidney; on the Missouri, look 

between the Fred Robinson Bridge to the head of Fort Peck 

Reservoir. Fishing for these creatures requires an additional 

state license, big treble hooks, heavy weights and a deep-sea 

rod. 

Sharing space with the paddlefish are two species of sturgeon. 

The pallid sturgeon is listed as an Endangered Species 

and must be immediately released if caught. The smaller 

shovelnose sturgeon may be kept if it weighs no more than 16 

pounds. 

Another great angling spot is Nelson Reservoir, the experts’ 

pick for the best walleye fishing in Montana and home 

to record-setting pike and yellow perch. 

From one end to the other, Missouri River Country is a 

place of enormous fishing opportunities. Newcomers to Fort 

Peck are advised to seek out local fisherman for advice on 

where to go and what fishing techniques to use. MRC 

TRAVEL PLANNER

WILDLIFE 

TRAVEL PLANNER 37 

Antelope calf | Courtesy CMR Wildlife Refuge 

If wildlife viewing is the primary reason you are in Missouri 

River Country or planning to be our guest, then you’ll 

not be disappointed. 

Great Northeast Montana is nationally known for its 

wild critters. For starters, it can boast of being the location 

of the crown jewel of the nation’s wildlife refuge system – the 

1.1 million acre Charles M. Russell National Wildlife Refuge 

(CMR). This Montana prairie country is home to an enormous 

population of large and small animals and winged creatures. 

Turkeys, burrowing owls, white pelicans, elk, osprey, deer, blue 

herons, pronghorn antelope, Canada geese, sandhill cranes, 

cormorants, ducks, foxes, eagles, bighorn sheep, pheasants, 

coyotes, Hungarian partridge, grouse, prairie dogs and more 

than 200 species of birds are some of the wild residents of the 

Great Plains of Montana. 

Eleven areas in our territory are part of the National 

Watchable Wildlife program. Missouri River Country’s designated 

places are Bitter Creek, just 20 miles northeast of Hinsdale, 

Bowdoin National Wildlife Refuge outside of Malta, Elk 

Island at Savage just south of Sidney, Fox Lake Wildlife Management 

Area at Lambert west of Sidney (the road between 

Jordan and Hell Creek), the Little Rocky Mountains around 

Zortman, Manning Corral Prairie Dog Town near Zortman, 

Medicine Lake National Wildlife Refuge south of Plentywood, 

the Missouri River Downstream Recreation Area at Fort Peck, 

the Pines Recreation Area 30 miles southwest of Fort Peck, and 

the UL Bend National Wildlife Refuge south of Malta. 

Several of these places are major wildlife havens. Spring, 

early summer and fall are the prime times to see the Missouri 

River Country’s refuges and wildlife sanctuaries. As an added 

benefit, all these areas corral some of the finest prairie landscapes 

in the nation. 


37 

THE CHARLES M. RUSSELL 

National Wildlife Refuge 

The second largest wildlife refuge in the lower 48 states 

(about 1.1 million acres), the CMR is one of America’s great 

wilderness regions, as well as a wildlife refuge. It embraces 

about 229 of the nearly 300 Missouri River Breaks’ miles, 

surrounds Fort Peck Lake with its 1,600 miles of shoreline and 

is about 125 miles long. 

This wild country is remote, rough and spectacular. The 

canyons, some a thousand feet deep, buttes, hills, coulees and 

river bottoms, harbor elk, bighorn sheep, antelope, deer and 

prairie dog towns. More than 200 species of birds and 40 species 

of mammals have been identified on the refuge. 

There are many access points spread out over a vast 

Ferruginous Hawk | Dennis Lingohr 

TRAVEL PLANNER

landscape. For maps and information, 

call the CMR National Wildlife Refuges at 

406-538-8706. 

MEDICINE LAKE 


Just south of Plentywood, this body of 

water is a prairie gem and a summer home 

to more than 100,000 migratory waterfowl. 

It’s a place of high wildlife activity. 

A 14-mile-long driving route provides 

ample access to the refuge. Call 406-789- 

2305 or see http://medicinelake.fws.gov 

for information. 

Prairie Dog | Courtesy CMR Wildlife 

Refuge 

BOWDOIN 


Best known for its nesting colonies of white pelicans, this 

series of wetlands and lakes eight miles east of Malta, is the 

habitat for more than 230 different species of birds and waterfowl. 

There are many access points to the heart of the refuge 

and a 90-minute auto-route enables you to see much of this 

haven. Call 406-654-2863 for further information. 

Pelicans at Bowdoin | Erwin and Peggy Bauer Collection 

UL BEND 


Big game, as well as all the lesser critters, 

roam here. Isolated and beautiful, this 

refuge is located deep in the Missouri River 

Breaks about 50 miles south of Malta and 

40 miles southeast of Zortman. Visitors 

need to negotiate rough roads to reach 

the UL Bend and these passages are often 

impassable in wet weather. 

The UL Bend National Wildlife Refuge 

is contiguous to the UL Bend Wilderness 

and the CMR. Call the CMR number for information, 

406-538-8706. 

MRC 

Eleven areas in our territory are part of the National Watchable 

Wildlife program. Missouri River Country’s designated places are 

Bitter Creek just 20 miles north of Hinsdale, Bowdoin National 

Wildlife Refuge out of Malta, Elk Island at Savage just south of 

Sidney, Fox Lake Wildlife Management Area at Lambert west of 

Sidney, the road between Jordan and Hell Creek, the Little Rocky 

Mountains around Zortman, Manning Corral Prairie Dog Town 

near Zortman, Medicine Lake National Wildlife Refuge south of 

Plentywood, the Missouri River Downstream Recreation Area at 

Fort Peck, the Pines Recreation Area 30 miles southwest of Fort 

Peck and the UL Bend National Wildlife Refuge south of Malta. 


38 

TRAVEL PLANNER


39 

TRAVEL PLANNER

BICYCLING IN MISSOURI RIVER COUNTRY 

Whether you are hitting the pavement for a few hours 

of exercise or completing a leg of your coast-to-coast journey, 

Missouri River Country offers a fulfilling ride for any cyclist. 

There are two main bicycle routes that pass through the 

area – the Northern Tier and the Lewis & Clark. Both routes 

have been designated by the Adventure Cycling Association, 

a nonprofit originally established in 1973 with the mission of 

promoting bicycle travel throughout the United States. 

A 230-mile section of the Lewis & Clark Route, which 

stretches from Seaside, OR to Hartford, IL, also passes 

through Missouri River Country from Mosby to Bainville. As 

it is impossible to travel in the explorer’s exact footsteps due 

to the damming of the Missouri, this route brings you as close 

as possible. The route between Mosby and Circle along U.S. 

Highway 200 epitomizes the shortgrass prairie ecosystem that 

has remained virtually unchanged since the Corps of Discovery 

passed through over two hundred years ago. At Circle, 

the route continues in a north-south direction along the Big 

Sky Backcountry Byway (MT 13) where buttes and badlands 

interrupt the rolling prairie. At Macon, the route intersects 

U.S. Route 2 and follows the same path as the Northern Tier. 

If you have the time, take the 53-mile spur route that will take 

you to Fort Peck Dam. 

Chosen for their outstanding scenery, historical importance 

of the landscape, and relatively low volume of traffic, 

these routes provide the best cycling experience possible. 

Still, many considerations must be taken into account – these 

include weather (spring thunderstorms and extreme heat at 

the height of summer), varying road conditions, town services 

and accommodations, and age and experience level for longer 

rides. Before embarking on any trip, please contact the Adventure 

Cycling Association to purchase detailed maps and 

interpretive guides for your trip. 

Take the opportunity to get out of the car and experience 

Missouri River Country firsthand! 

MRC 

www.adventurecycling.org 

(800) 755-2453 / (406) 721-1776 

Bicyclist along the Lewis and Clark Route | 

Chuck Haney 


40 

TRAVEL PLANNER

DIRECTORY LISTINGS 

Garfield Motel 406-557-6215 

P.O. Box 234-361 Main Jordan, MT 59337 

www.midrivers.com/~garfield 

American Prarie Reserve 877-273-1123 (406-658-2252) 

P.O. Box 489 Malta, MT 59538 

www.americanprairie.org 

Gold Dollar Lodge 406-765-2730 

122 South Main St. Plentywood, MT 59254 www.golddollarplentywood.com 

King’s Inn Motel 406-787-6277 

Box 665-408 E 6th St. Culbertson, MT 59218 

Valley County Pioneer Museum 406-228-8692 

P.O. Box 44-816 US Hwy 2 W Glasgow, MT 59230 

valleycountymuseum.com 

Sherwood Inn 406-765-2810 

515 W. 1st Ave. Plentywood, MT 59254 www.sherwoodinnplentywood.com 

Campbell Lodge 406-228-9328 

534 3rd Ave. S. Glasgow, MT 59230 www.campbelllodge.com 

Buckhorn Store, Cabins & RV Park 

143 Whitcomb Street Zortman, MT 59546 

888-654-3162 

Big Sky Motel 406-653-2300 

U.S. Highway 2 East Wolf Point, MT 59201 

www.bigskymotelwolfpoint.com 

Club Bar, Hotel & Restaurant 406-789-2208 

202 West Main Street Medicine Lake, MT 59247 www.clubbarpizza.com 


41 

TRAVEL PLANNER

EVENTS 

Wagon train ride from Circle | Rosalie Bryan 

Dates listed are subject to change, please contact the town’s Chamber of Commerce for exact information. 

JANUARY 

1st Weekend 

Glasgow: 1st Friday Art Walk 

2nd Week 

Glasgow: New Trend in Agriculture 

2nd Weekend 

Sidney: Ag Days 

FEBRUARY 

1st Weekend 


2nd Weekend 

Glasgow: Ice Fishing Tournament 

MARCH 

1st Weekend 

Plentywood: NE Montana Ag Expo 


3rd Weekend 

Glasgow: Jeff Jurgins Memorial BB 

Tournament 

Glasgow: Fort Peck Fine Arts Council 

Chinese Auction 


4th Weekend 

Lustre/Wolf Point: Schmeckfest Food/ 

Quilt Show 

APRIL 

1st Weekend 


2nd Weekend 

Plentywood: Spring Craft Bazaar 

MAY 

1st Weekend 


2nd Weekend 

Glasgow: Bonnie City Blues & Brew 

Festival 

3rd Weekend 

Plentywood: High School Youth Rodeo 

Last Weekend 

Malta: Memorial Day Roping 

JUNE 

1st Weekend 

Rock Creek Marina: Rock Creek Walleye 

Tournament 

42 

TRAVEL PLANNER 


Malta: The Montana Dinosaur Festival 

Glasgow: Feather Fest 

Malta: First State Bank Car Show 

Plentywood: Old Car Club Show 

Plentywood: Bump & Run 

2nd Weekend 

Culbertson: Frontier Days & Rodeo 

Malta: District High School Rodeo 

Plentywood: Men’s Golf Roundup 

Wolf Point: The Cruise Night, Poker 

Run & Car Show 

3rd Weekend 

Fort Peck: Longest Dam Run 

Fort Union: Ft. Union Rendezvous 

Frazer: Red Bottom Pow Wow 

Jordan: Matched Bronc Ride 

Malta: Colgate Country Music 

Showdown 

Poplar: Wild West Days 

4th Weekend 

Brockton: Badland Celebration/Pow 

Wow 

Malta: Milk River Gospel Jamboree 

Opheim: Wagon Parade and Rodeo 

Sidney: Town & Country Festival

Last Weekend 

Medicine Lake: Evening in the Park 

Plentywood: Prairie Fest (9 days) 

Scobey: Pioneer Days & Dirty Shame 

Show 

JULY 

1st Week 

Circle: Fireworks 

Fort Kipp: Fort Kipp Pow Wow 

Glasgow: Fireworks 

Hinsdale: Milk River Days & Rodeo 

Lambert: Old Fashioned Fourth 

Malta: Fireworks 

Plentywood: Fireworks 

Sidney: Fireworks 

Wolf Point: Fireworks 

Wolf Point: Shrine Circus 

Zortman: Old Fashioned Fourth 

1st Weekend 

Plentywood: Prairie Fest 

Plentywood: Bump & Run 


2nd Week 

Plentywood: Trap Shoot 

Wolf Point: Country Showdown 

Wolf Point: Shakespeare in the Park 

Sidney: Shakespeare in the Park 

2nd Weekend 

Fort Peck Marina: MT Governor’s Cup 

Walleye Tournament 

Glasgow: Flatland Cruisers Car Show 

Sidney: Sunrise Festival of the Arts 

Sidney: Ag Appreciation Golf 

Tournament 

Wolf Point: Wild Horse Stampede 

Rodeo 

3rd Weekend 

Brockway: Dairy Day and Rodeo 

Fairview: Old Timer’s Reunion and 

Summer Festival 

Jordan: Walleyes Unlimited – Ladies 

Tournament 

Poplar: Wahcinca Dakota Oyate 

Celebration 

Fort Peck: Art In The Park 

4th Weekend 

Jordan: Hell Creek Walleye Tournament 

Plentywood: Sheridan County Fair 

Plentywood: NRA Rodeo 

Plentywood: Men’s Open Golf 

Tournament 

Dodson: Phillips County Fair 

AUGUST 

1st Week 

Plentywood: Women’s Golf Tournament 

Sidney: Richland County Fair & Rodeo 

1st Weekend 

Fort Union: Indian Arts Showcase 

Glasgow: NE Montana Fair & Rodeo 

Jordan: Walleyes Unlimited – Kids 

Tournament 

Scobey: Daniels County Fair 

Wolf Point: Wadopana Pow Wow 


2nd Week 

Culbertson: Roosevelt County Fair 

Culbertson: Fun Run 

Jordan: Garfield County Fair 

Glasgow: Relay for Life 

3rd Weekend 

Circle: McCone County Fair and PRCA 

Plentywood: Hot August Nights (Drive- 

In) 

Sidney: Lone Tree Gun Show 

4th Weekend 

Sidney: MonDak Harvest Fest Tractor 

Pull 

SEPTEMBER 

Every Labor Day 

Culbertson: Wagon Train/Trail Ride 

Poplar: Poplar Indian Days Celebration/ 

Pow Wow 

Saco: Fun Days and Barbecue 

1st Weekend 

Fort Union: Living History Weekend 

Jordan: Big Dry Open Cow Pasture Golf 

Tournament 

Malta: Mustang Stampede Rodeo 

Malta: Milk River Wagon Days 


3rd Weekend 

Circle: Town & Country Days 

4th Weekend 

Culbertson: Threshing Bee/Antique 

Show 

Circle: Wagon Train and Trail Ride 

NOVEMBER 

1st Weekend 

Circle: Arts/Crafts & Home 

Demonstration Show 

Sidney: Wine & Food Festival 

Glasgow: 1st Art Walk 

2nd Saturday 

Plentywood: Fall Craft Bazaar 

Glasgow: Turkey Trot 

3rd Weekend 

Glasgow: AAUW Community Bazaar 

Events Following Thanksgiving 

Sidney: Christmas Stroll/Parade of Lights 

Scobey: Christmas Parade of Lights 

Scobey: Pioneer Town Lights 

DECEMBER 

1st Week 

Culbertson: Christmas Stroll 

Jordan: Christmas Stroll 

Jordan: Annual Chili Feed 

Glasgow: Christmas Stroll/Parade of 

Lights/Santa Arrives 

1st Weekend 

Fairview: Silver Bells 

Maltz: Christmas Stroll/Parade of Lights 

Sidney: Ethnic Christmas Celebration 

Wolf Point: Santa’s Visit 

Wolf Point: Parade of Lights 


2nd Week 

Wolf Point: Townwide Open House 

*Circle: Santa Day (TBA) 

Week After Christmas 

Jordan: Alumni BBall Tourn. 


43 

TRAVEL PLANNER

INFORMATION SOURCES 

The following is a listing of addresses for various state and federal agencies that can offer information on places to see in Northeast Montana. 

STATE & FEDERAL AGENCIES 

Montana Office of Tourism 

• 800-847-4868 

• www.visitmt.com 

Montana Fish, Wildlife And Parks 

• 406-444-2535 

• www.fwp.state.mt.us 

Fort Peck 

• 406-526-3411 

OTHER RECREATION 

INFORMATION 

Fort Peck Indian Reservation 

• 406-768-5155 

Rail 

Amtrak • 800-872-7245 

www.amtrak.com 

Bus Charters 

C & L’s Chariot, Sidney 

• 406-488-4015 

Regional Headquarters Fish Wildlife and 

Parks, Glasgow • 406-228-3700 

U.S. Bureau of Land Management, 

Malta • 406-654-5100 

Glasgow • 406-228-3750 

Bowdoin National Wildlife Refuge 

• 406-654-2863 

• www.bowdoin.fws.gov 

Charles M. Russell National 

Wildlife Refuge 

• 406-538-8706 

• www.cmr.fws.gov 

Medicine Lake National 

Wildlife Refuge 

• 406-789-2305 

• www.medicinelake.fws.gov 

US Army Corps of Engineers, 

CIRCLE C of C 

• 406-485-2714 

CULBERTSON C of C 

• 406-787-5821 

www.culbertsonmt.com 

FAIRVIEW C of C 

• 406-742-5259 

www.midrivers.com/~fairview 

GLASGOW C of C & Agriculture 

• 406-228-2222 

chamber@glasgow.net 

www.glasgowmt.net 

JORDAN C of C 

• 406-557-6158 

MT Outfitters and Guides Assoc. 

• 406-449-3578 

Montana Historical Society 

• 406-444-4710 

Transportation 

Airlines 

Gulfstream Int’l Airlines-800-499-7450 

• www.flygia.com 

Delta • 800-221-1212 

Horizon • 800-547-9308 

Northwest • 800-225-2525 

Sky West • 800-453-9417 

United • 800-241-6522 

Charter Airlines 

Richland Aviation • 406-482-1832 

Prairie Aviation • 406-228-4023 

CHAMBERS OF COMMERCE 

MALTA C of C 

• 406-654-1776 

malta@mtintouch.net 

www.maltachamber.com 

MEDICINE LAKE C of C 

• 406-789-2242 

PLENTYWOOD 

Sheridan Cnty C of C & Agriculture 

• 406-765-1733 

POPLAR C of C & Agriculture 

• 406-768-3483 

SACO C of C 

• 406-527-3218 

Road Conditions Statewide: 

• dial 511 

• www.mdt.mt.gov 

Weather 

Statewide: 406-449-5204 

Local: 406-228-4042 

• www.weather.gov/glasgow 

Ports of Entry 

Port of Morgan 

June 1–Sept 15 

Port of Opheim 


Port of Scobey 


Port of Raymond 

406-895-2664 

9am-6pm 

8am-9pm 

9am-6pm 

8am-9pm 

8am-6pm 

8am-9pm 

open 24 hrs 

SCOBEY 

Daniels Cnty C of C & Agriculture 

• 406-487-2061 

Scobey@nemontel.net 

www.Scobeymt.com 

SIDNEY C of C & Agriculture 

• 406-433-1916 

chamber@midrivers.com 

www.SidneyMT.com 

WOLF POINT C of C & Agriculture 

• 406-653-2012 

wpchmber@nemont.net 

www.wolfpoint.com 


44 

TRAVEL PLANNER

REGIONAL TOURISM OFFICES 

CUSTER 

COUNTRY 

Southeast Montana 

800-346-18768 

www.custer.visitmt.com 

YELLOWSTONE 

COUNTRY 

Southcentral Montana 

800-736-5276 

www.yellowstone.visitmt.com 

GOLD WEST 

COUNTRY 

Southwest Montana 

800-879-1159 

www.goldwest.visitmt.com 

RUSSELL 

COUNTRY 

Northcentral Montana 

800-527-5348 

www.russell.visitmt.com 

GLACIER 

COUNTRY 

Northwest Montana 

800-338-5072 

www.glacier.visitmt.com 

MISSOURI RIVER 

COUNTRY 

Northeast Montana 

800-653-1319 

www.missouririver.visitmt.com 


45 

TRAVEL PLANNER

Fields of Canola, east of Scobey | Rick and Susie Graetz 

ACCOMMODATIONS IN MISSOURI RIVER 

CONT. BREAKFAST 

RESTAURANT 

BAR/LOUNGE 

POOL 

HOT TUBS 

INTERNET ACCESS 

DISABLED ACCESS 

NON SMOKING ROOMS 

PETS ALLOWED 

2006 RATES 

HOTELS AND MOTELS 

CIRCLE Travelerís Inn • 102 B Avenue • 406-485-3323 • FAX 485-2337 • • • • $ 

CULBERTSON The Kings Inn Motel • 408 East 6th Street • 787-6277 • • • $$ 

Diamond Willow Inn • 104 6th Street East • 406-787-5280 • www.diamondwillowinn.com • • • $ 

FAIRVIEW Korner Motel • 217 West 9th • 406-742-5259 • www.midrivers.com/~fairview • • • $ 

FORT PECK Fort Peck Hotel • 175 South Missouri Street • 406-526-3266 • • • • • • • $$ 

Lakeridge Motel & Tackle • 6004 Montana Highway 24 South • 526-3597 • $$ 

GLASGOW Campbell Lodge • 534 3rd Avenue South • 406-228-9328 • www.campbelllodge.com • • • • • $ 

Cottonwood Inn & RV Park • 45 1st Avenue Northeast • 406-228-8213 • www.cottonwoodinn.net • • • • • • • • $$ 

Koski’s Motel • 320 US Highway 2 East • 888-238-8282 • • • • $ 

La Casa Motel • 238 1st Avenue North • PO Box 91 • 406-228-9311 • www.nemontel.net/~lacasa • • • $ 

Star Lodge Motel • 1023 US Highway 2 West • 406-228-2494 • • • $ 

JORDAN Fellmanís Motel • Montana Highway 200 • 406-557-2209 • 800-337-1863 • www.fellmansmotel.comt • • • $ 

Garfield Hotel & Motel • 361 Main Street • 557-6215 • • • $ 

Hell Creek Marina • 2502 Hell Creek Road • 406-557-2345 • www.hellcreekmarina.com • • • • $$ 

MALTA Edgewater Inn & RV Park • 47176 US Highway 2 • 406-654-1302 • • • • • $ 

Great Northern Hotel • 2 South 1st Street East • 406-654-2100 • www.greatnorthernhotel.net • • • • • • $$ 

Maltana Motel • 138 South 1st Avenue West • PO Box 190 • 654-2610 • FAX 654-2905 • • • $$ 

Riverside Motel and RV Court • 8 Central Avenue North • 406-654-2310 • • • $ 

Royals Inn • 117 North 1st Street East • 406-654-1150 • • • $ 

Sportsman Motel, Inc. • 231 North 1st Street East • 406-654-2300 • • • • $ 

MEDICINE LAKE Club Bar, Hotel & Restaurant • 202 West Main Street • 406-789-2208 • • • • $ 

PLENTYWOOD Gold Dollar Lodge, Lounge, Casino & Steakhouse • 120 South Main • 406-765-2730 • www.golddollarplentywood.com • • • • • $ 

Sherwood Inn • 515 West 1st Avenue • 406-765-2810 • www.sherwoodinnplentywood.com • • • • • • • $$ 

SACO Saco Motel • 207 Taylor • 406-527-3261 • • • • $ 

SCOBEY Cattle King Motor Inn • 51 Montana Highway 13 South • 406-487-5332 • www.cattlekinginn.com • • • • • $$ 

Juel Motel • 514 Main Street • 406-487-2765 • • $ 

SIDNEY Lone Tree Inn • 900 South Central Avenue • 406-433-4520 • • • • • $$ 

Park Plaza Motel • 601 South Central Avenue • 406-433-1520 • • • • • $ 

Richland Motor Inn • 1200 South Central Avenue • 406-433-6400 • • • • • • $$$ 

Sunrise Motel • 2144 South Central Avenue • 406-482-3826 • • • $ 

WOLF POINT Big Sky Motel • 406-653-2300 • www.bigskymotelwolfpoint.com • • • • $$ 

Homestead Inn • 101 US Highway 2 East • 406-653-1300 • www.homesteadhotels.com • • • • • • $ 

Sherman Inn • 200 East Main Street • 406-653-1100 • www.shermaninn.com • • • • • $ 

ZORTMAN Buckhorn Store, Cabins & RV Park • 143 Whitcomb Street • 888-654-3162 • • • $ 

Zortman Motel & Garage • 302 Main Street • 406-673-3160 • • • • $ 


46 

TRAVEL PLANNER

UPLAND BIRD 

WATERFOWL 

BIG GAME 

BOWHUNTING 

PRIVATE LAND 

LODGING 

OVERNIGHT 

FLOAT TRIPS 

TRAIL RIDES 

FISHING 

GUIDED RECREATIONAL SERVICES 

BRUSETT 7-V Ranch • 424 Burma Road • Ross Childers • 391 (lic #) • 406-557-2845 • www.recworld.com/7vranch • • • • • 

CULBERTSON Timber Creek Ranch • PO Box 522 • 798-7770 • • • • 

FAIRVIEW Rocky Outfitters • 14478 CR 356 • Rocky Niles • 425 (lic #) • 406-480-1165 • www.montanawyomingdeerhunts.com • 

FORT PECK Hi-Line Charter Fishing • PO Box 1057 • Doug Komrosky • 7375 (lic #) • 406-262-2195 • www.hilinecharterfishing.com • • • • 

GLASGOW Antelope Creek Outfitters • 584 Billingsley Road • Paul Cornwell • 376 (lic #) • 406-367-5582 • • • • 

Billingsley Ranch Outfitters • PO Box 768 • Jack Billingsley • 373 (lic #) • 406-367-5577 • www.billingsleyoutfitters.com • • • • • • 

Burke Ranch Oufitters • 52 Keith Avenue • Kelly Burke • 4098 (lic #) • 406-228-9727 • www.burkeranchoutfitters.com • • • • • 

JORDAN Hell Creek Ranch/Trophy Fishing • 3223 Brusett Road • John E Trumbo • 436 (lic #) • 406-557-2787 • www.fortpeckfishing.com 

Kibler Charter Fishing • 1239 North Lodge Pole Road • Myron Kibler • 408 (lic #) • 406-557-2503 • www.kiblercharterfishing.com 

Landwehr Outfitters • #1 Stockyard Lane • Brett Landwehr • 1672 (lic #) • 877-622-7428 • www.landwehroutfitters.com 

SAND SPRINGS Kibler Outfitting • Myron Kibler • 408 (lic #) • www.kiblercharterfishing.com • • • 

ZORTMAN Lost Creek Outfitting, LLC • PO Box 242 • James Haynie •1935 (lic #) • 406-423-5406 • www.lostcreekoutfitting.com 

PRIVATE CAMPGROUNDS AND MARINAS 

CIRCLE Horse Creek Trailer Court & RV • 112 B Drive • 406-485-2610 • • • • • S 

CULBERTSON Diamond Coulee RV & Trailer Park • 402 6th Street West • 406-787-6676 • • • • • • • S 

FORT PECK Rock Creek Marina • 652 South Rock Creek Road • 406-581-6810 • www.rockcreekmarina.com • • • • • • S 

GLASGOW Cottonwood Inn & RV Park • 45 1st Avenue Northeast • 406-228-8213 • www.cottonwoodinn.net • • • • • S 

Shady Rest RV Park • 8 Lasar Drive • 406-228-2769 • • • • • • • • S 

Trails West Campground • 37 Skylark Road B2 • 406-228-2778 • • • • • • • • S 

MALTA Edgewater Inn & RV Park • 47176 US Highway 2 • 406-654-1302 • • • • • • • • • Y 

PLENTYWOOD AOK Camping • 509 West 1st Avenue • 406-480-0974 • • • Y 

Bolster Dam Campgrounds • 406-765-1700 • • • Y 

POPLAR Smith’s Mobile Park • 406-768-3841 • • • S 

SCOBEY Lions Campground • 11 Railroad Avenue East • 406-783-5666 • • • • • • S 

SIDNEY Five Wheels Inc. • South of Warren Lane, PO Box 2066 • 323 8th Street Southeast • 488-7169 • • • • • Y 

WOLF POINT Rancho Campground • US Highway 2 West • 406-653-1940 • • • • • • • • S 

CAMPSITE 

RV 

WATER 

ELECTRICITY 

SEWER 

DUMP 

SHOWER 

LAUNDRY 

STORE 

SEASON 

DUDE RANCH 

WORKING RANCH 

MEALS INCLUDED 

KID’S PROGAMS 

FISHING 

WORKING RANCHES, VACATION HOMES AND LODGES 

BAINVILLE Montana River Ranch • 406-769-2500 • www.montanariverranch.com • • • • • Y 

CIRCLE Wolff Farms Vacation Home • 1073 North Road • 406-485-2633 • www.midrivers.com/~ajw1 • • • • • • • • Y 

FORT PECK Buckhorn Lodge & Retreat • 6066 Highway 24 South • 406-526-3200 • www.fortpecklake.com • • Y 

JORDAN IOU Ranch • 1712 North Lodge Pole Road • 406-557-2544 • www.ranchvacation.net • • • S 

Sand Creek Clydesdales Ranch LLC • 756 Montana Highway 200 East • 406-557-2865 • www.sandcreekclydesdales.net • • • • Y 

Twitchell’s Sportsman Rental • 2042 VanNorman Road • 406-557-2554 • www.garfieldcounty.com/twitchell.html 

MALTA Tillmans • 1512 Colorado, Billings • 406-252-5537 • www.tillmansofmontana.com • • • • Y 

SACO Beaver Creek Lodge • 210 Montana Avenue • 406-527-3204 • • • • Y 

ZORTMAN Whispering Pines Vacation Homes • 720 Thompson Street • 406-673-3304 

WATER RECREATION 

HIKING 

TRAIL RIDES 

SEASON 


47 

TRAVEL PLANNER

CONT. BREAKFAST 

RESTAURANT 

BAR/LOUNGE 

POOL 

HOT TUBS 

KITCHEN 

INTERNET ACCESS 

DISABLED ACCESS 

NON SMOKING ROOMS 

PETS ALLOWED 

2006 RATES 

BED & BREAKFASTS 

DODSON Stage Road Inn • 30730 Stage Road • 406-383-4410 • 888-519-5151 • www.stageroadinn.com • • $$ 

FROID Spark’s Bed and Breakfast • 4349 Road 1007 • 406-963-2247 • www.sparksbedanbreakfast.com • • • • • • $ 

MOSBY Hill Ranch Oasis • Montana Highway 200, Milepost 161 • 406-429-6801 • • • • • $ 

WOLF POINT Missouri River Sportsman’s Lodge • 6849 BIA Route 1 • 406-525-3386 • www.montanahunters.com • • $$$$$ 

The Meadowlark • 872 Nickwall Road • 406-525-3289 • www.meadowlarkcabin.com • • $$ 

SPECIAL INTEREST TOURS 

JORDAN PaleoWorld Research Foundation • 406-557-2226 • www.paleoworld.org 

MALTA 

Great Plains Dinosaur Museum and Field Station • US Highway 2 East • 406-654-5300 • www.greatplainsdinosaurs.org 

CAR RENTALS 

GLASGOW Budget Rent-A-Car of Glasgow • 800-255-1472 

SIDNEY 

Avis Rent-A-Car • 406-489-3893 • www.avis.com 

WOLF POINT Way-Out-West Car Rentals • 800-733-1310 • www.highplainsmotors.com 

Native American trail, south of Plentywood | Rick and Susie Graetz 


48 

TRAVEL PLANNER

816 US Hwy 2 West Glasgow 

406-228-8692 

Open May 1st to Labor Day: 8:30-5:30 

Fall & Winter: 1:00-4:00 


49 

TRAVEL PLANNER

In South Phillips County 

202 1st Ave. E 

Plentywood, MT 59254 

PRSRT STD 

US POSTAGE 

PAID 

PLENTYWOOD, MT 

PERMIT NO. 10 


50 

TRAVEL PLANNER


51 

TRAVEL PLANNER


52 

TRAVEL PLANNER


53 

TRAVEL PLANNER


54 

TRAVEL PLANNER


55 

TRAVEL PLANNER


56 

TRAVEL PLANNER


57 

TRAVEL PLANNER


58 

TRAVEL PLANNER


59 

TRAVEL PLANNER


60 

TRAVEL PLANNER


61 

TRAVEL PLANNER


62 

TRAVEL PLANNER


63 

TRAVEL PLANNER


64 

TRAVEL PLANNER


65 

TRAVEL PLANNER


66 

TRAVEL PLANNER

Download now - Missouri River Country

You also want an ePaper? Increase the reach of your titles

Delete template?

Save as template?