Montana Small Towns and Downtowns

Bozeman in 1864, John Bozeman led a wagon train over Bozeman Pass into the Gallatin Valley, where his friends W. J. Beall and D. E. Rouse staked out the town site for the city of Bozeman. It is considered one of the most diverse small towns in the Rocky Mountains, with a mix of ranchers, artists, professors, ski enthusiasts and entrepreneurs drawn here by Montana’s world-class outdoor recreation.

Billings was established in 1882 with the coming of the Northern Pacific Railroad. Today it is a major shipping center for cattle and other agricultural products and is Montana's largest city. Known as Montana's Trailhead, it has access to the Beartooth Mountains, the Yellowstone River and local trails.

Missoula is nestled in the heart of the northern Rockies in the western part of the state.  Home to the country's largest smokejumper base, the historic downtown features classic early-century buildings and unique galleries, shops and restaurants. All three are excellent year-round bases to explore Montana.

Butte is a melting pot of ethnicities and culture that shape it to this day.  From all corners of the world, immigrants came to this tough mining town, created distinct neighborhoods, and brought with them the cultural heritage of their native countries of Ireland, Wales, China, Croatia, Italy, Serbia, Lebanon, England, Canada, and Finland. Butte’s very placement near the crest of the Continental Divide is unique.  The sheer elevation of nearly 6,000 feet makes the journey to the city a challenge.  The terrain of the city is a dichotomy between “the flats,” a stretch of even terrain that spreads south, and Uptown Butte, the face of the city that saw the most growth in the late 1800s and early 1900s.

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Beer Trail

Montana's vast farmland provides ample area for wheat and hops production and is home to 53 breweries, the most per capita in the country. Experience a walking brewery tour in historic downtown Billings where six breweries and one distillery are within walking distance of each other. Or tour the Bitterroot Valley south of Missoula and try seasonal varieties. Taste samples of brews such as Mountain Man Stout, Pigs Ass Porter or Coldsmoke throughout the state at many local craft breweries, each with their own special brews and character.

The Columbia River

American River Trails

The Columbia is the largest river in the Pacific Northwest and fourth largest by volume in the United States. Rising in the Canadian Rocky Mountains, it flows for 1,243 miles - 2,000 km - before emptying into the Pacific Ocean. Its watershed extends into seven US states and a Canadian province. The river's heavy flow and relatively steep gives it tremendous potential for the generation of electricity. 

14 Hydroelectric Dams produce more than 44 percent of total U.S. Hydroelectric Power

 

Culture the river and its tributaries have been central to the region's culture and economy for thousands of years. The river system hosts many species of fish, which migrate between fresh water habitats and the saline waters of the Pacific Ocean. Salmon provides the core subsistence for native peoples.

Transportation in past centuries, indigenous peoples traveled across western North America to the Columbia to trade for fish and overland explorers entered the Willamette Valley through the scenic Columbia River Gorge and pioneers began to settle the valley in increasing numbers. Steamboats along the river linked communities and facilitated trade; the arrival of railroads in the late 19^th century, many running along the river, supplemented these links.

Navigation locks were built to aid ship and barge service along the lower Columbia and its tributaries; dredging has opened, maintained, and enlarged ship channels. Since the early 20^th century, dams have been built across the river for the power generation, navigation, irrigation and flood control. 

Planning Your Trip assumes uniquely local dimensions in the places you visit, rooted in the local economy, history and traditions. TEMA develops personalized itineraries based on your preferences; we leverage an in-depth knowledge of your destinations with superior client service throughout your trip.

Your anchor locations when visiting the Columbia River: Portland Oregon and Seattle

Native Americans have inhabited the Columbia's watershed for more than 15,000 years, with a transition to a sedentary lifestyle based mainly on salmon starting about 3,500 years ago. In 1996 the skeletal remains of the 9,000-year-old prehistoric Kennewick man. Oral histories describe the formation and destruction of a land bridge that connected the Oregon and Washington sides of the river in the Columbia River Gorge. The bridge aligns with geological records of the Bonneville Slide. Stories about the bridge differ in their details but agree in general that the bridge permitted increased interaction between tribes on the north and south sides of the river.

European and American ships explored the coastal area around the mouth of the Columbia in the late 18^th century, trading with local natives. Lewis and Clark entered Oregon country between 1805 and 1807, encountering numerous small native settlements. From the earliest contact with westerners, the natives were not tribal, but instead congregated in social units no larger than a village, and more often at a family level. 

Captain Gray was the First Explorer to enter the River; he named it after his Ship Colombia Rediviva

Irrigation many farmers in central Washington build dams on their property for irrigation and to control frost on their crops. Six such dams have failed in recent years, causing hundreds of thousands of dollars of damage to crops and public roads. Fourteen farms in the area have gone through the permitting process to build such dams legally.

The Columbia Colorado and Mississippi Watersheds meet at Three Waters Mountain in Wyoming

Tributaries the Columbia receives more than 60 tributaries; the four largest are the Snake River, the Willamette River, the Kootenay River and the Pend Oreille River.

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