Montana is where the National Park Service got serious. The state holds two of the most beloved parks in the system, Glacier and Yellowstone, and around them sits a constellation of battlefields, fur posts, and ranches that tell the story of how the West was won and lost. So do I.
There are nine National Park Service sites in Montana when you count the way the agency does. Two are full national parks. The rest are national monuments, battlefields, historic sites, a recreation area, and a national historic trail that the Lewis and Clark Expedition spent more time crossing here than in any other state. This guide walks through all of them in the order we would actually visit, with what each place is, why it matters, and how to plan a trip that does not waste a single Montana mile.
Montana National Park Service Sites at a Glance
| Site | Designation | What It Protects | Fee (vehicle) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Glacier | National Park | Going-to-the-Sun Road, alpine lakes, glaciers | $35 |
| Yellowstone | National Park | Geysers, bison, the Lamar Valley (Montana entrances) | $35 |
| Little Bighorn Battlefield | National Monument | Site of Custer’s 1876 defeat | $25 |
| Big Hole | National Battlefield | 1877 Nez Perce War battlefield | Free |
| Grant-Kohrs Ranch | National Historic Site | A working 1860s cattle ranch | Free |
| Bighorn Canyon | National Recreation Area | 71-mile reservoir and canyon walls | Free |
| Nez Perce | National Historical Park | Bear Paw and other Nez Perce sites | Free |
| Fort Union Trading Post | National Historic Site | Restored 1828 fur-trade fort | Free |
| Lewis & Clark | National Historic Trail | The expedition route across Montana | Free |
Two notes before we start. National Forests like Flathead, Custer Gallatin, and the Bob Marshall Wilderness are spectacular Montana public lands, but they are managed by the U.S. Forest Service and are not National Park units, so we keep them separate. And we count nine NPS sites here, which is the figure the Park Service itself uses for Montana.
1. Glacier National Park
If you visit one place in Montana, make it Glacier. The park drew more than 3.1 million visits in 2025, and almost all of them funnel onto Going-to-the-Sun Road, the 50-mile engineering marvel that climbs over Logan Pass and links the park’s two halves. The road typically opens in full by late June or early July and closes with the first heavy snow, so summer is the window most people get.
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The Many Glacier valley on the park’s east side is where we point first-timers. The Grinnell Glacier and Iceberg Lake hikes both start near the Many Glacier Hotel, and the Swiftcurrent Lake area now has 339 parking spaces after a recent expansion, which takes some of the sting out of the early-morning scramble for a spot. The park runs a vehicle reservation system in peak season, so check requirements before you go.
Plan with our Glacier reservations guide, our roundup of the best hikes in Glacier, the Grinnell Glacier hike, and our list of things to do in Glacier. Short on time? See whether you can do Glacier in one day, and bookmark our full Glacier National Park guide.
2. Yellowstone National Park
The world’s first national park sits mostly in Wyoming, but its three Montana entrances at West Yellowstone, Gardiner, and Cooke City are how a lot of people get in, and the road between Gardiner and Cooke City stays open all winter. Yellowstone logged more than 4.7 million visits in 2025, and for good reason: it holds roughly half the planet’s active geysers, the technicolor Grand Prismatic Spring, and the best large-mammal watching in the Lower 48.
The Lamar Valley, reached through the Montana side, is the spot we send wildlife photographers. Wolves, bison, pronghorn, and grizzlies move through it at dawn and dusk. Read our Lamar Valley wildlife guide, sort out logistics with our list of airports near Yellowstone and where to stay, and plan the rest with our things to do in Yellowstone and the full Yellowstone guide.
3. Little Bighorn Battlefield National Monument
On June 25 and 26, 1876, Lieutenant Colonel George Custer and more than 260 men of the 7th Cavalry were killed here by Lakota, Northern Cheyenne, and Arapaho warriors defending their way of life. White marble markers stand where soldiers fell, scattered across the grassy ridges above the Little Bighorn River. The Indian Memorial, added in 2003, finally tells the other half of the story. A self-guided auto tour connects the key points, and the visitor center frames a battle that still shapes how the country remembers the Plains Indian Wars.
4. Big Hole National Battlefield
Big Hole marks one of the saddest mornings in the 1877 Nez Perce War. On August 9, 1877, U.S. Army troops attacked a sleeping Nez Perce encampment here. Dozens of Nez Perce died, many of them women, children, and elders, during a fighting retreat that would eventually cover some 1,170 miles before Chief Joseph surrendered near the Bear Paw Mountains. Walking trails lead through the camp and siege areas, and entrance is free. The site is administered as part of Nez Perce National Historical Park.
5. Grant-Kohrs Ranch National Historic Site
This is a living cattle ranch the federal government keeps running. Founded by Johnny Grant and built into a cattle empire by Conrad Kohrs in the 1860s, Grant-Kohrs preserves the open-range era when herds drifted across unfenced Montana grass. Rangers still raise cattle and horses, demonstrate blacksmithing and chuckwagon cooking, and let you walk through the original ranch house full of period furnishings. It is free, it is in Deer Lodge right off I-90, and it is one of the most underrated stops in the state.
6. Bighorn Canyon National Recreation Area
Straddling the Montana-Wyoming line, Bighorn Canyon wraps a 71-mile reservoir inside canyon walls that rise more than 1,000 feet. Bighorn Lake fills a gorge that the Pryor Mountain wild horses still roam above. Boating, fishing, and scenic drives are the draws, and because it sits well off the main tourist circuit, you can have an overlook to yourself even in July. Access is free.
7. Nez Perce National Historical Park
Nez Perce National Historical Park is unusual: it is a single park made up of 38 sites spread across Idaho, Oregon, Washington, and Montana, all tied to the history and 1877 flight of the Nez Perce people. In Montana the key sites are the Big Hole battlefield and the Bear Paw Battlefield near Chinook, where Chief Joseph gave his famous surrender speech, just 40 miles short of the Canadian border and freedom. The Bear Paw site is quiet, windblown, and deeply moving.
8. Fort Union Trading Post National Historic Site
From 1828 to 1867, Fort Union was the busiest fur-trade post on the Upper Missouri, the place where the Assiniboine, Crow, Cree, and other nations exchanged buffalo robes for goods from across the world. The reconstructed fort straddles the Montana-North Dakota line and brings the trade era to life with costumed staff and an annual rendezvous. It is free, and it pairs naturally with the Lewis and Clark sites nearby.
9. Lewis & Clark National Historic Trail
The Corps of Discovery spent more time in Montana than in any other state, and the Lewis and Clark National Historic Trail follows their route across it. Decision Point, where the captains agonized over which fork was the true Missouri, looks much as it did in 1805. Downstream at Pompeys Pillar, William Clark carved his signature into sandstone in 1806, the only physical evidence of the expedition still visible on the landscape. The trail is a route rather than a single park, so you experience it at interpretive stops along the Missouri.
Planning a Montana National Parks Trip
When to go. July and August give you full access to Going-to-the-Sun Road and the high country, but they also bring the crowds and the wildfire smoke risk. Late June and September are the sweet spots if your timing is flexible. Winter turns Glacier’s interior into a ski-and-snowshoe playground and makes the Lamar Valley one of the best wolf-watching spots in the country.
How to route it. Most trips split into two halves. The northwest cluster centers on Glacier, with Grant-Kohrs an easy I-90 stop on the way. The south and east cluster pairs Yellowstone’s Montana entrances with Little Bighorn, Bighorn Canyon, and Big Hole. Fort Union and the Bear Paw site sit out in the northeast and pair with a Missouri River history loop.
Nearby states. Montana wraps around the top of two other park-rich states. See our guides to Wyoming national parks and Idaho national parks to extend the trip.
More Than Just Parks is a family operation. My sons Will and Jim founded it. Their work has been featured by the National Park Service, the Department of the Interior, and outlets across the country. When I tell you Glacier and Yellowstone are worth the trip, it is because our family keeps going back.
