Montana was never really on my radar as a travel destination; and to be honest, if I didn’t have a friend’s destination wedding there, I probably wouldn't have ever visited.
Montana (in my universe) is so underrated, so for anyone who feels the same, here is why you should definitely add Montana to your bucket list.
What To Do?
Waterfall Hike:
MUST DO! Ousel Falls is a super gorgeous hike and is very easy! It took us about 20 minutes to get to the waterfall. Totally free of charge and such an enjoyable experience.
I think it was about 1.6 miles to the waterfall - more of a trail as it wasn’t very steep at all. We saw people of all ages walking to the waterfall. Definitely a beginner level hike.
White Water Rafting:
We went mid August and the weather was perfect! Not too hot, not too cold - the water however was FREEZING! But when you are baking in the sun floating down the river you don’t really mind the cold water every once in awhile (and I am one that adamantly hates anything cold).
We went with Montana Whitewater Rafting which was an awesome experience. The team was really great and they gave us a discount since we had such a large group! It was originally about $60 but we got it for $49. * We had a group of about 30 people *
We did the “hard” level which was not as intense as I thought it would be. Maybe it was the time of year we went? There wasn’t much water as other times of the year… maybe about 4 feet.
What was really cool is they had a couple people along the river banks taking photos of us while in action. The photos were good, the memories were better!
Horse Back Riding:
We did a two hour horse back riding adventure through the mountains of Montana. I was really surprised to see how well the horses get up the rocky mountains. It was so serene with the most gorgeous view!
I had a great time and it was just the right gradient for me - we rode pretty slow and once in awhile our guide would let us trot (which for a newbie feels super fast).
Where To Eat?
Compass Cafe:
This is a huge statement but it needed to be made… this may be thee BEST bakery I have EVER been to!
There I said it.
Most of the bakery items were gluten free which is totally not my style but it was DELICIOUS!
My favorite items on the menu was the Breakfast Bagel for breakfast and the Tuna Melt for lunch. I had the chocolate chip waffles also, but they weren’t that great - apparently the regular waffles were better (also gluten free).
YOU HAVE TO TRY THE TURTLE BROWNIE CAKE POPS! We went back 3 times to this cafe specifically for these cake pops! SO incredible! Their carrot cake was also really yummy!
Horn and Candle:
This restaurant was recommend to us by multiple people so we checked it out. We booked a reservation the day before for 8:30pm and didn't get seated till 9:30pm and our food didn’t come till 10:50pm.
I could rant about each individual experience but to save you the time… the service was terrible and the pricing was too high for the quality of food and service.
It’s a really cute restaurant but unfortunately my experience there wasn’t great.
Bucks:
Bucks was another restaurant that was recommended to us. The food was really good. My boyfriend ordered the Short Rib and really enjoyed it. For him it was a bit of a small portion.
I ordered the Boneless Buffalo Wings and they were really good - not your usual boneless wings, they added their own style to it. It was a pretty big portion.
The pricing was a bit above average but understandably so since it was a resort area.
Where To Stay?
Big Sky Resort:
This place is WOW! We stayed in a large cabin which had 1 bedroom with 4 double sized bunk beds (never have I seen such a big bunkbed) and 5 other large bedrooms with king sized beds. It had a large kitchen and a couple lounge areas, an upstairs porch area, garage and a hot tub! It was gorgeous!
We went in the summer, but you could tell it was definitely a winter resort. I would LOVE to come back for a ski trip to see everything covered in snow. The view from the cabin was incredible!
xoxo
Mariah McAlpin
@mariahmcalpin
