Day
Trips
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| Scenic drives along Montana river valleys lie in every direction |
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| The Lodgepole Inn is half-way between Glacier and Yellowstone National Parks |
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The city of Helena, once a gold-mining boom town and now the capital of Montana, is twenty minutes to the east of the Lodgepole Inn. You’ll find shopping and restaurants in the historic downtown Last Chance Gulch district, and Helena, with a population of about 25,000 people, is consistently voted one of the great small arts towns in the country. Various arts-related activities include the Western Rendezvous of Art, the Holter Museum of Art, the Montana Historical Society Museum, the Mount Helena Music Festival, the Archie Bray clay pottery foundation, and the Grandstreet Theater. Every Wednesday during the summer there’s Alive At Five, free live music set up on outside stages in the historic downtown district.
No matter which way you turn from the Lodgepole Inn, you’ll find a scenic drive through the heart of old-time Montana. Head east and you can visit the ghost town of Elkhorn, once a huge gold mining community. Pan for sapphires on the El Dorado bar, or take a scenic boat cruise on Hauser Lake through the Gates of the Mountains made famous by Lewis and Clark. Head west and you can visit the hot springs in Fairmont, the territorial prison in Deer Lodge, Butte and the Berkely Pit, and the Jack Nicklaus designed Old Works Golf Course in Anaconda.
Rodeos are happening in one local town or another throughout the summer, and the Lodgepole Inn is located midway between Glacier National Park and Yellowstone National Park in an undeveloped river valley. Park to Park travelers will find the Lodgepole Inn a relaxing compliment to the hustle and bustle of the Parks, which lie a half-day’s drive over some of the lesser-traveled Montana highways in either direction.
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