The wonderful thing about Western Montana’s Glacier Country is that traveling from one place to the next is always scenic and there’s an adventure around every bend. With the region divided into nine travel routes, you’ll find unique Montana experiences no matter where you roam. Here’s a list of fun and noteworthy facts about each Glacier Country travel corridor that you should definitely keep in mind while visiting.

Flathead Lake is 26.9 miles long and 15.3 miles wide. Photo: Vagabond3

Clark Fork Corridor

  • The Ross Creek Cedar Grove Scenic Area, in Heron, has 1,000-year-old cedar trees up to 12 feet in diameter.
  • Trout Creek is the “Huckleberry Capital of Montana” and hosts the Trout Creek Huckleberry Festival every August.
Commune with the colossal cedars in Heron. Photo: Andy Austin

I-90 Corridor

  • The 15-mile-long Route of the Hiawatha Scenic Bike Trail features 10 train tunnels, seven sky-high trestles and the 1.661-mile-long Taft Tunnel. 
  • The lawless, former town of Taft (1907 – 1910) was the last boom town of the American West and was known as the “Wickedest City in America.”
The Route of the Hiawatha leads bicyclists through spectacular scenery. Photo: Andy Austin

Bitterroot Valley

  • The bitterroot is the Montana state flower and is a culturally significant plant for the Salish people, who, for centuries, established and used travel routes in the Bitterroot region, moving seasonally to hunt bison and trade with regional tribes.
  • Travelers’ Rest State Park is home to the only archaeologically verified campsite of the Lewis and Clark Expedition.
Walk in the footsteps of Lewis and Clark at Travelers’ Rest State Park in Lolo.

Flathead Corridor

The Garden of One Thousand Buddhas actually features one thousand hand-cast Buddha statues. Photo: Andy Austin

Northwest Corridor

  • Eureka was once known as the “Christmas Tree Capital of the World.” Northwest Montana once shipped more holiday trees than anywhere else in the country, mostly from Eureka.
  • The movies “The Revenant” and “The River Wild” feature scenes that were filmed at Kootenai Falls.
  • The name “Lake Koocanusa” combines the first three letters of the Kootenai River, Canada and the USA.
Kootenai Falls never fails to impress. Photo: HoneyTrek

Seeley Swan Corridor

  • The Bob Marshall Wilderness Complex is the third-largest wilderness complex in the lower 48 states and features a huge escarpment called the Chinese Wall, which averages 1,000 feet high.
The Chinese Wall lies deep in the Bob Marshall Wilderness—go with a guide. Photo: Cheff Guest Ranch

Blackfoot Corridor

  • KettleHouse Amphitheater, on the banks of the Blackfoot River, is No. 8 in the Top 50 Amphitheaters in the World.
  • The Blackfoot River was made famous by Norman Maclean’s novella “A River Runs Through It” and the movie version, which starred Brad Pitt.
Catch a summer concert at the renowned KettleHouse Amphitheater. Photo: Neubauer Media courtesy of Logjam Presents

East Glacier Corridor

  • The Blackfeet Indian Reservation is home to the 17,321-member Blackfeet Nation, one of the 10 largest tribes in the United States.
  • The Indian Relay, featured at North American Indian Days in Browning every July, has contestants riding bareback while switching mounts multiple times.
The Blackfeet Reservation sits along the eastern edge of Glacier National Park. Photo: Andy Austin

Glacier National Park Surrounding Area

  • The Hungry Horse dam is one of the largest concrete arch dams in the United States, at 564 feet high. The dam’s morning-glory spillway is the highest in the world.
  • Josephine Doody “the bootleg lady of Glacier Park” is the namesake of Josephine’s Speakeasy in Coram. She produced high-quality moonshine and delivered it across the river to passing trains.
  • The Izaak Walton Inn is a stop on Amtrak’s Empire Builder route, and lodging options include classic cabooses and luxury railcars. 
Spend the night in a historic Great Northern railcar at the Izaak Walton Inn. Photo: Noah Couser

Please note: We ask that all our visitors and residents Recreate Responsibly by being mindful of the following: know before you go; plan ahead; play it safe; leave no trace; tread lightly; and help build an inclusive outdoors.

November 14, 2022

Related: Biking, Bitterroot Valley, Blackfeet Indian Reservation, Blackfoot Corridor, Clark Fork Corridor, Coram, East Glacier Corridor, Eureka, Flathead Corridor, Flathead Indian Reservation, Flathead Lake, GNP Surrounding Area, Heron, I-90 Corridor, Montana, Northwest Corridor, Road Trips, Seeley-Swan Corridor, Trout Creek, Vacation

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