Montana offers group travelers an unforgettable journey through America’s wild beauty and living history
By Martín Camargo
There are few better plans for groups than to sojourn across the country and explore America’s unparalleled natural heritage.
The state of Montana, renowned for its massive expanses of unspoiled wilderness and stunning natural beauty, continues to grow as a tourism destination thanks to its array of sightseeing options and outdoor activities. Here are some natural wonders in Montana your group will love.
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Lewis and Clark Caverns State Park
Lewis and Clark Caverns. Photo by AllAroundTheWest
For a survey into the Earth’s deep past, go spelunking at Lewis and Clark Caverns State Park, which offers guided tours of one of the largest and best-preserved limestone caves in North America. Named after the famed explorers who discovered it on their way westwards, this underground experience will take you through a wonder of geological history, replete with stunning stalagmites, imposing rock formations, and a seasonal yet seldom seen bat population.
A variety of campsites
If your group is looking to take a break from all that cave diving, there is plenty to take advantage of in the great outdoors. With over forty campsites and three cabins available, this park is ideal for ensembles geared towards camping and hiking alongside the usual cave-goers. The ideal time to visit is between May and September to take advantage of the temperate Montana spring weather as well as all the amenities and activities the grounds offer.
Madison Buffalo Jump State Park
Searching for something more attuned to the continent’s more immediate history? Madison Buffalo Jump State Park can be your next stop. Located on the banks of the Madison River, this staggering limestone cliffside was used to hunt bison by the Native American tribes that inhabited the area. For nearly two millennia, able hunters would stalk their prey in disguise across the prairie before luring them in stampedes over the precipice and to their untimely demise for their tribe’s sustenance. This “buffalo jump” was for generations a rite of passage for young Native American men, and the big game remains that still litter the base of the cliffs are emblematic of the diversity of indigenous cultures and lifestyles that thrived in pre-Columbian America. Open year round, this locale is an excellent choice for the historically-inclined and for the rich cultural heritage that the state’s geography bears witness to. With your group, it’ll be all too easy to imagine the thunder of hooves giving way to the quiet lull of temporary flight–just take care not to follow the late bison all the way over.
Beavertrail State Park. Photo by Leonardo Dasilva
Beavertail Hill State Park
Should all the talk of cave-diving and buffalo-chasing have you preemptively out of breath, have no fear. In Beavertail Hill State Park, the focus is on camping under the stars and leisurely outdoor activities on the banks of the Clark Ford River. More than 24 campsites and two Sioux-style tip is available for rental allow you to tailor your group’s stay with an assortment of modern amenities, though the backdrop will be strikingly wild with all the hallmarks of the state’s characteristic natural charm. Outdoor camping, picnicking on the riverbanks and hikes through cottonwood-lined nature trails will fill up your time before sunset, smores around campfires and sleepful nights tepidly illuminated by the pale moonlight. Should you feel evening can’t come soon enough, the nearby tributaries provide superb fishing and boating opportunities to eat into this placid downtime. Make the most of these activities and more from May through the end of October, as the park winds down operations outside these months to accommodate for the frigid albeit beautiful Montana winters.
Outside of these group-oriented giants, there’s fun to be had year-round no matter what your areas of interest. Classic locations like Bannack State Park, housing one of Montana’s original gold rush towns fully preserved in all its ghostly glory, and Clark’s Lookout State Park, recreating the only verified campsite location in the famed explorers’ westward expedition, offer immersive experiences steeped in the state’s richly layered history for you to explore and recreate together. Should Montana have made you all Mother Nature’s Sons, its parks will never fail to blow your collective ideal of natural beauty out of the water, whether it be across Makoshika State Park’s impressive badland formations with some of the country’s best preserved dinosaur fossils or through Giant Springs State Parks and its eponymous oversized wonders across thirty miles of trail terrain. No matter where your adventures take you, just make sure to make the time for s’mores around a campfire as you sing lazy songs together below the setting sun.
For more travel tips and ideas for groups, be sure to Download the June edition of Leisure Group Travel and Subscribe for FREE
