0
100
0
100
From: £3899
This is a holiday like no other! Jagged peaks, soothing plains, wide open spaces, two national parks and never ending sky - welcome to Big Sky Country!
The unforgettable landscape of this region of the USA will stay with you far beyond the holiday. The beauty and awe of the world's first National Park - Yellowstone, home of the most famous geyser on Earth, Old Faithful, will humble even the most seasoned traveller.
Glacier National Park, is a spectacular showcase of meadows, melting glaciers and hiking trails. All this in one holiday with lots of extra surprises - Big Sky Country does not disappoint!
Price per person includes:
Following day take a short 45-minute drive south on I-90 to visit the Little Bighorn Battlefield National Monument. This site commemorates the Indian victory led by Sitting Bull over Lt. Col George Custer's 7th Calvary in 1876. Each June, the battle is retold from the Indians perspective during the annual Custer's Last Stand Re-Enactment. If time allows, here are some other considerations for your day. Pompeys Pillar National Monument and the new Interpretive Center, features exhibits which relate to the journey of Captain William Clark and his detachment, including Sacagawea and her son Pomp, down the Yellowstone River Valley in 1806. Pictograph Cave State Park and Chief Plenty Coups State Park, 20 minutes and 45 minutes respectively from Billings, tell from an Indian's perspective, how they lived in Montana's past and present.
Western cookouts, and both sunset and day trip Montana Jeep Adventures are also available to pre-book from Billings. Call Bon Voyage to discuss your options.
Distance: 150 miles
Depart Billings and travel into Wyoming to Yellowstone National Park via the scenic Beartooth Highway (Highway 212). While only 53-miles (83 km) long, it will take you 3 hours to travel this seasonal National Scenic Byway and is considered one of the most scenic drives in the USA (typically this route is only accessible June- September). The route offers views of snowcapped peaks, glaciers, alpine lakes and plateaus as you descend into the northeast entrance of Yellowstone National Park. Yellowstone, the world's first national park, contains 2 million acres of scenery, hundreds of wildlife species (including bison, elk, bears and wolves) and over 10,000 geothermal features.Spend three nights in Yellowstone Park. Bon Voyage can pre-book tours for you in advance including Circle of Fire Lower Loop, Lake Yellowstone Sunset Tour, Evening Wildlife Tour, and an Old West Dinner Cookout. Bon Voyage can discuss the best accommodation options for your needs and budgets in the park.
You may want to extend this tour at this point to include a visit to Jackson Hole and The Grand Teton National Park, just 80 miles south of the park. Call Bon Voyage to disscuss your options.
Distance: 213 miles
Leave Yellowstone Park and head towards your next Big Sky Country stop, Butte, Montana. Butte's colourful history can be seen in its preserved Victorian uptown district and stately mansions. En route stop at the Grizzly & Wolf Discovery Center which will provide you with the unique opportunity to learn about, view and ultimately appreciate the grizzly bear and gray wolf in their natural habitat. Continue on to the Madison Earthquake area, for a brief stop at the site of a 1959 earthquake and landslide. Also, 90 minutes from West Yellowstone are the historic towns of Virginia and Nevada City. Spend time exploring these late 1800's gold rush towns, which have been authentically restored. Wander the boardwalks peering into history, browse for gifts or enjoy a brew or ice cream cone in Virginia City. If time allows, take the Alder Gulch Short Line, which connects these two towns for step back in time. Each weekend in the summer, see the past come alive during the Living History Days in Nevada City.Distance: 252 miles
This morning you can make a decision on which route to take for your first hour of driving: MT Hwy 1 or I-90, before continuing on to Missoula. Both offer unique attractions and take about the same amount of time to drive; but your experiences will be vastly different.Distance: 55 miles
Take a full two glorious days to explore Glacier National Park, the Crown Jewel of the North American Continent. Set in a rugged section of the northern Rockies, Glacier National Park joins Waterton Lakes National Park in Alberta, Canada. Together they create the Waterton-Glacier International Peace Park World Heritage Site - an ideal two nation vacation and the world's first peace park. The Going-to-the-Sun Road, a spectacular 52-mile highway through Glacier, crosses the Continental Divide at Logan Pass and traverses the towering Garden Wall. Take the Hidden Lake Trail at the pass, where from the boardwalk trail you'll see mountain goats, wildflowers and picturesque mountain lakes. There are over 700 miles (1,100 km) of hiking trails in the park, including Avalanche Creek or Hidden Lake; as well as scenic boat tours on five lakes and trail rides for those who wish to let others do the walking.Distance: 225 miles
Leave Glacier National Park area behind and travel on scenic byways to your next stop in Big Sky Country, Great Falls, Montana. Attractions to consider here are the CM Russell Museum, the site of the famous cowboy artist's home and studio. The Lewis and Clark National Historic Trail Interpretive Center retraces the expedition's route and explores their interaction with the Indian tribes of the Plains and the Pacific Northwest. Nearby, the Giant Springs State Park offers a peaceful setting where you can view one of the largest springs and shortest rivers in the world.Distance: 90 miles
Depart Great Falls and travel south on scenic I-15 to Ulm, where you'll turn off the interstate for a stop at one of the largest buffalo jumps in the U.S. Located above and below the cliffs that 14 tribes used to hunt buffalo, the First Peoples Buffalo Jump State Park provides walking trails and a Visitor Center that explain the importance of this plains animal to the tribes.Distance: 97 miles
Leave Helena on scenic Hwy 12 along Canyon Ferry Lake and connect onto the I-90 east into Bozeman. In Bozeman spend time delving into the past at the excellent, Museum of the Rockies, a premier Dinosaur Museum. In downtown Bozeman you’ll find a wide variety of boutique shops, western apparel outlets and fabulous local restaurants.Distance: 141 miles
Depart Billings, Montana on your last day.You may decide to extend your stay and include a few days exploring Jackson Hole or perhaps the Waterton National Park.
Call tone of our national park experts at Bon Voyage to discuss your perfect Yellowstone and big Sky Country, Montana adventure.