Best Family Weekend Destinations in Montana

Montana's family destinations are dominated by outdoor adventures, but several institutions and attractions offer excellent structured experiences for children.

Glacier National Park (Going-to-the-Sun Road Drive)
The drive itself is a family experience — the views are immediate and accessible without leaving the vehicle. Junior Ranger programs are available at all visitor centers. The boat tours on Lake McDonald and St. Mary Lake are excellent for children. Trail of the Cedars (an ADA-accessible boardwalk through an ancient cedar and hemlock grove) is perfect for young children. Wildlife watching — mountain goats at Logan Pass, ground squirrels everywhere, bears in Many Glacier — engages all ages.

Grizzly and Wolf Discovery Center (West Yellowstone)
Located just outside the west entrance of Yellowstone, the center provides guaranteed, close-up viewing of grizzly bears and gray wolves in naturalistic enclosures — animals that were unable to be released back into the wild. The educational programs are excellent. A great complement to a Yellowstone trip where wildlife sightings are possible but not guaranteed.

Lewis and Clark National Historic Trail Interpretive Center (Great Falls)
A world-class interpretive center on the edge of Great Falls, near the site of the Great Falls portage that Lewis and Clark took 18 days to navigate. The exhibits cover the entire expedition but focus on the Montana sections. The multimedia theater and the reconstructed dugout canoe are highlights.

Museum of the Rockies (Bozeman)
One of the finest natural history museums in the western US, with the world's largest and most complete collection of dinosaur remains (largely thanks to paleontologist Jack Horner). The Siebel Dinosaur Complex covers the paleontological history of the Northern Rockies with spectacular specimens.

Little Bighorn Battlefield National Monument
The site of the 1876 Battle of the Little Bighorn (Custer's Last Stand) — the famous defeat of the 7th Cavalry Regiment by Lakota Sioux and Cheyenne warriors. The battlefield tour, the Indian Memorial, and the cemetery make this a profound historical site for older children.