Most people come to Montana to visit the state’s well-known national parks: Glacier National Park and Yellowstone National Park. Those places are absolutely worth the trip. At Glacier, you’ll find a stunning alpine roadway (aptly named Going-to-the-Sun Road), hikes to picturesque lakes, and some of the country’s last remaining glaciers. At Yellowstone, you’ll be awed by waterfalls, geysers, and up-close sightings of wildlife like moose, elk, and, if you're lucky, wolves.
But Montana aka Big Sky Country has a lot more going on than just those two well-loved destinations. The fourth largest state in the union, Montana is also the least populated. That means there’s a lot of space to spread out, and very little in the way of crowds. You can explore snow-capped peaks from hip mountain towns like Big Sky, Bozeman, or Whitefish, catch kokanee or rainbow trout on world-class fly-fishing rivers like the Yellowstone River or the Gallatin River (this is where “A River Runs Through It” was filmed, after all), or enjoy life on horseback from old-West-style ranches where time seems to slow down. Sounds dreamy, right?
And perhaps you like the idea of camping—being outside, stargazing, drinking your coffee while looking at a pretty view—but you don’t love the thought of sleeping on the ground with a thin layer of fabric between you and the elements. We get that. Montana gets that, too. Enter glamping, also known as luxury camping, which brings home and hotel amenities—think king-sized beds, fresh linens, air conditioning—to luxury tents, tipis, Airstreams, campers, treehouses, and more. Thanks to a recent boom in glamping spots across the state, there are plenty of places to rest your head.