I’m always hearing folks say there is nothing to do around here. What? What world are they living in?
We are fortunate enough to live in one of the most beautiful places in America. No, scratch that, in North America. And right here in Butte and the surrounding areas, there is soooooooo much to do. Fishing, hunting, hiking, road trips, history, national and state parks, festivals, rodeos, nature watching, biking, camping….the list goes on and on. Let’s take a quick look at a few things we can do:
Just in Butte alone:
Silver Bow County Fair: The County Fair returns to Butte once again. The County Fair is a family oriented Montana tradition which includes stock shows, livestock judging , 4-H exhibits, carnival rides. Please visit buttesilverbowfair.com.
An Ri Ra Montana Irish Festival: Founded by the Montana Gaelic Cultural Society to promote and preserve Gaelic culture through language, music and dance, this Uptown Butte festival brings Ireland to the Mining City. To find out more visit www.mtgaelic.org.
Original Festival: The Original Festival premier music gathering, fusing electronic music and soulful grooves with performing artist of every stripe. Now in its fifth year, it features the best of local and international that exhibit the fierce and loyal spirit of Butte. For more information please contact Matt Boyle at (406) 498-3549 or visit their website www.ogfest.org.
Butte-Toberfest: The ninth annual Butte-Toberfest will once again be held at the Original Mine yard in Uptown Butte. This year’s festival features 15 breweries, each bringing original beers to taste, a kids area, stein races, German food, live music and a best dressed contest. All proceeds will benefit the Silver-Bow Development Disabilities Council. For more information, please contact Todd Hoar at (406) 720-2070 or visit www.buttetoberfest.org.
The above courtesy of the Butte Silver Bow County website.
With all the Forest Service and BLM access in SW Montana, you have your choice of hiking, camping, fishing and so much more.
We have some of the best blue ribbon fishing in the world right here outside our front door. The Beaverhead, the Big Hole, the Madison Rivers all offer excellent opportunity to catch some of your favorite trout. Then we have the lakes and mountain streams that are also chock full of fishing fun.
Are you like me and love taking day trips? You could go somewhere new almost every day in this region and not see the same place twice. A couple of my favorite drives are the Pioneer Mountain Scenic Byway from Wise River to Elkhorn and then loop back through the Big Hole Valley. Or maybe hit the dirt road at Jackson and head up into the mountains to Reservoir Lake for a picnic lunch and continue out to Horse Prairie. I could go on and on about the amazing drives just in SW Montana alone.
Rodeos….one of the cornerstones of Montana history and still one of the most popular sports in America. We have ’em. The Don Harrington Rodeo is this weekend in Butte. The Missoula Stampede is coming up August 7-11. Bozeman has their Stampede Rodeo August 9-11. The Madison County Rodeo is August 10-11. Montana’s Biggest Weekend is in Dillon September 1-2. These are only a tiny sampling of the rodeos happening over the next couple months.
Concerts are always a great time. And this year, Montana has been inundated with country and rock artists who have discovered there is a large fan base here. Chris Stapleton is in Missoula tonight. Pearl Jam in Missoula on August 13. Blackhawk here in Butte August 23. Other area concerts over the summer include ZZ Top, Dustin Lynch, Kelly Clarkson, Suzy Bogguss, Alice Cooper, Randy Hauser, Michael Ray and the list goes on and on and on. Check out our concert listing on the main page of the KBOW website toward the bottom of the page.
Parks….so many parks!! Yellowstone Park is literally a short drive away. I do a day trip there many times over the summer. Pack a lunch and make a quick jaunt to Old Faithful and enjoy the drive. Take a couple more days and travel up to Glacier National Park. The beauty of the region will amaze you. And the number of state parks just in our area is amazing. Bannack State Park takes you back in history with Henry Plummer and his gang. Or head over to Virginia City, where the history comes alive every day during the summer.
There are so many more things to do around the region, but it would take pages and pages to list all the fun and exciting opportunities we have. These are just a tiny sampling and I hope you can enjoy some of them.
So the next time you hear someone say there is nothing to do around here…..just roll your eyes like I do.