Montana’s State Parks Deliver Winter Fun

10 state parks with cross-country skiing, snowshoeing, cave tours, and wildlife
Iris Payne and Aoife Brachmann visit Elkhorn State Park on a Winter Adventure (photo by Keely Kiewiet)
Iris Payne and Aoife Brachmann visit Elkhorn State Park on a Winter Adventure (photo by Keely Kiewiet)
Category: Community | | 4 min read

Montana’s 55 state parks offer year-round recreation and learning, no matter how low the temperatures drop. Plus, state parks are free for all Montana residents! These 10 state parks have standout winter offerings, from trails and tours to haunting landscapes and wildlife viewing.

  • Ice skating in a ghost town

    Montana’s first significant gold discovery happened on Grasshopper Creek on July 28, 1862. A gold rush followed and created the town of Bannack. More than 3,000 people lived there by 1863, but as gold prices decreased, so did the population. With more than 50 intact buildings, Bannack State Park is Montana’s best-preserved ghost town. The Bannack Association sponsors ice skating on the town’s pond from January to early March. A warming hut and loaner skates are available on weekends. Call ahead to check conditions. The park also has year-round camping and a tipi rental.

  • Snowshoe back in time

    Elkhorn State Park is a living ghost town surrounded by Beaverhead-Deerlodge National Forest. In the 1900s, the population exceeded 2,000 residents, but there’s a handful of full-time residents today. Winter visitors can explore Fraternity Hall and Gillian Hall, excellent examples of frontier architecture, and then snowshoe through the national forest to the town’s cemetery. Read about this experience in our newsletter story “Adventures in Learning.”

  • Buffalo culture on the high plains

    First Peoples Buffalo Jump State Park honors Native peoples and the buffalo culture. It features a mile-long sandstone cliff that may be the largest bison cliff jump in the country. From the top of the cliff, visitors can imagine the buffalo thundering across the plains and enjoy views of the Rocky Mountain Front and the Missouri River valley. The park offers guided rock art tours, tree-trimming events, and other events in the winter. Learn more on their Facebook page or call 406-866-2217.

  • Candlelight tours of a limestone cavern

    Lewis and Clark Caverns has one of the largest limestone caves in North America. The caves are only accessible via tour. The park offers rare candlelight tours on just six days in December. The 2-hour tour visits Decision Rock, the Cathedral Room, the Pit, the Garden of the Gods, the Brown Waterfall Room, and Paradise. Purchase tour tickets online in advance. The park also has year-round hiking and camping, plus a tipi and cabins for rent.

  • Wildlife and snowshoeing in the Flathead Valley

    Lone Pine State Park has breathtaking views of the Flathead Valley, and you can even see Glacier National Park on a clear day. In the winter, the visitor’s center offers snowshoeing workshops, Snake Sundays, and a winter wildlife kit for junior rangers. Check out upcoming events on their Facebook page. The park’s 7.5 miles of trails are open for snowshoeing and cross-country skiing. Snowshoe rentals are available for $5 per person or $10 per family.

  • Snowshoe to a frozen cascade

    Lost Creek State Park is renowned for its 50-foot waterfall and resident herds of bighorn sheep and mountain goats. The park is closed in the winter, but visitors can park at the gate and snowshoe up to the frozen cascade. Winter is a great time to spot wildlife tracks in the snow.

  • Riverfront trails at the confluence

    Located at the confluence of the Clark Fork and Blackfoot Rivers, Milltown State Park is the site of a successful dam removal and river restoration project. This story map celebrates the human and natural history of the confluence. In the summer, Missoulians flock here to float and paddle. In the winter, hikers, snowshoers, and cross-country skiers can explore about three miles of riverfront trails depending on snow conditions.

  • Wildlife viewing near the Continental Divide

    Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks manages Mount Haggin Wildlife Management Area for year-round recreation. The WMA’s east or Big Hole side is open in the winter for cross-country skiing, snowshoeing, and wildlife viewing. Watch for elk, moose, and mule deer. Antelope, white-tailed deer, black bears, wolves, coyotes, mountain lions, grizzly bears, bobcats, beavers, pine martens, wolverines, and many bird species also find refuge here.

  • Solitude in a national historic landmark

    In 1876, one of the most important battles of the Indian wars took place on the rolling hills of Rosebud Battlefield State Park in eastern Montana. A buffalo jump and petroglyphs are evidence of human occupation for thousands of years before the arrival of white homesteaders. Winter visitors can enjoy snowshoeing, cross-country skiing, and plenty of solitude.

  • Explore a haunting winterscape

    Somers Beach State Park, on the north shore of Flathead Lake, features a half mile of shoreline. In winter, low lake levels transform the shoreline into a landscape of beach, mud flats, puddles, and driftwood. The 106-acre park also has extensive wetlands and borders the Flathead Lake Waterfowl Production Area, so there are many opportunities for birders and wildlife lovers.

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