Skip to content
Menu
Montana Vacation Guide
  • Travel Planning
  • Glacier
  • Yellowstone
  • Helena
  • Missoula
  • Billings
  • Bozeman
  • Kalispell
  • Great Falls
  • Montana Travel Books
  • Montana Traveler X Feed
  • Travel Southwest Montana
  • Travel South-Central and Southeast Montana
  • Travel Northwest Montana
  • Travel North-Central and Northeast Montana
  • Travel Central Montana
  • SiteSearch+
  • Local Search for Tourists
  • Photo Gallery Montana
Montana Vacation Guide

Best Museums

RED LODGE POST

Montana has many wonderful museums. Collections cover a wide range of “subjects.” There are art museums, paleontology museums, and even a mineral museum and an old car museum. But most of the museums focus on local/regional histories. One museum in Helena does a fine job on covering the history of the whole state.




The great variety and scope of the state’s museum collections is amazing, given that so few people live in Montana and its cities are not large when compared with most other states.

Most certainly it is never possible to even scratch the surface if you are interested in seeing all the museums, as there are too many to visit even with countless trips to Montana. However, regardless of the towns or cities on your travel itinerary, an excellent museum will likely be nearby to entertain or educate.

For the best part, museums will give you background information for understanding and enjoying the things, architecture, cultural history, natural history, events, and creative endeavors that you will experience during your travels in Montana. Essentially many museums are there to showcase the state’s history, explain and interpret why it has developed as it has. In addition, some museums focus on the wonderful things and activities Montanans are currently engaged with on a regular basis.

Two museums, particularly, are outstanding. The Montana Historical Society Museum in Helena and the Buffalo Bill Center of the West in Cody, Wyoming just across the Montana state border, southwest of Billings. Both museums have huge, wonderful, and carefully curated collections.

The collections in Helena are large in scope and character ranging from original C.M. Russell paintings to the story about first peoples, the Native Americans. Subject matter covers mountain men and fur traders, mining and prospectors, early pioneers and the settlement of the state, natural history, wildlife, conflicts with native Americans, and more are all here.

Historical Society Museum MT
Montana Historical Society Museum in Helena. Photo courtesy State of Montana News Room, Montana dot gov.

Buffalo Bill who was a world-famous showman in the American West in the late 1800s is the central thread of the Buffalo Bill Center of the West in Cody, Wyoming, near the east entrance to Yellowstone National Park. But there is a whole lot more. This museum is really five separate thematic museums under essentially under the same roof covering: western art, culture of the plains Indians, firearms, natural history, and the man Buffalo Bill.

Museums Cody WY
Buffalo Bill Center of the West in Cody, Wyoming. Photo courtesy Buffalo Bill Center of the West.

The separate museums all have a name: The Whitney Western Art Museum; Plains Indian Museum; Draper Natural History Museum; The New Cody Firearm Museum; and the Buffalo Bill Museum. Every collection is world-class. Separately and together, these museums rival museums in much larger cities around the country. As a bonus, the Buffalo Bill Center of the West has the resources to put on major special exhibitions. In 2020, the museum showcases 100 years of the Cody Stampede and the Equestrian West, for example.

Not widely known, the Montana Historical Society Museum has a magnificent, non-circulating, research library on Montana history which is open to the public. The Buffalo Bill Center of the West also has a special library centered on topics which support the mission of the museums. This library may be open for people doing advanced research. Always inquire before you go.

Montana’s history is, in some ways, alike that of Wyoming; as such, the museums in Helena and Cody can be viewed as complimentary. Of Course, Wyoming has Buffalo Bill while Montana has C.M. Russell, both geniuses who came out of the same era, days when Wyoming and Montana lands were on the western frontier.

Both states played a central part in the glorious story of mountain men and fur trading in the early 19th century. But Montana alone can lay claim to a huge part of the famous Lewis & Clark Expedition that explored the great Northwest in 1804-1806. Plus, Montana had the precious gold and silver and the men and women who sought to gain riches from the earth.

Visit Montana’s museums, one or more. Amazing rewards await those who chose to come by for a few hours or more. It should be noted that the Montana Historical Society Museum in Helena is run by the state and open free-of-charge. Donations accepted. The Buffalo Bill Center of the West in Cody is a private operation. Visitors pay a fee to enter. Generally, $19.50, or less, depending on the age of the visitor. Seniors get a small break and for children free.

Both museums have extra-nice stores that sell books, art prints, and a variety of souvenirs. Your purchases at these stores help to fund the good deeds of the museums. Money earned is used on maintenance and to make the museums ever better.

Art Montana publishes an excellent directory of all museums in Montana, listed by city. Choose museums in the list, then a city, and pick out a museum to visit.

Horace Greely once said, “Go West, young man.” A wiser man might have said, “Conquer the West y’all, visit a Montana museum.”





Absaroka Mountain, Mont.

© 2021 John Sandy

Current Weather

Current weather in Montana cities: Check the weather often.  Find weather here for cities across the state. Weather can change quickly in the mountains and on the plains. Be prepared.

Site Navigation

  • Travel Planning
  • Glacier
  • Yellowstone
  • Helena
  • Missoula
  • Billings
  • Bozeman
  • Kalispell
  • Great Falls
  • Montana Travel Books
  • Montana Traveler X Feed
  • Travel Southwest Montana
  • Travel South-Central and Southeast Montana
  • Travel Northwest Montana
  • Travel North-Central and Northeast Montana
  • Travel Central Montana
  • SiteSearch+
  • Local Search for Tourists
  • Photo Gallery Montana

About Montana

Enjoy the Treasure State. Learn about people and places.

 

 

 

Books on travel in the Treasure State. A few history books, too. Snag and read a few books before you go.

 

Hotels and Bed & Breakfasts

Wonderful lodging of all kinds is available for travelers in most cities, big and small. Here are a few choices that are sure to please. Prices for rooms are a bit higher during the peak tourist season. Lodging in Montana is still a good value, however.

Explore The Best

Experience the Treasure State

  • Adventure Fly Fishing on the Madison River in Montana
  • Watching Wildlife in Yellowstone National Park in Wyoming and Montana
  • An Adventure Hiking in Glacier National Park in Montana
  • Dining on Culinary Journey to Bozeman, Montana
  • An Adventure Horseback Riding in Montana
  • Go to Official Montana Travel Website
  • Highest Mountain Peaks in Montana, with Elevation, County, and Mountain Range
  • Gates of the Mountains. Montana Painting for Sale
  • Fishing in the Bitterroot River in Montana
  • Fishing on the Madison River in Montana
  • Fishing the Upper Missouri River in Montana
  • Minnesota farms and farming undergo major changes in 1940s and 1950s: A revolution in farm machinery sweep the land
  • Horseback Riding in Montana
  • Trip planning Glacier National Park Montana.
  • Skiing Montana
  • Radon Health Mines
  • Glacier Park Chalets
  • Thomas Cruse: Prospector, Banker, and Rancher
  • Lookout Cabin Rentals
  • Montana National Forests
  • Bozeman Hotels
  • Yellowstone Park Entrances
  • Current Weather in Montana
  • Glacier Park Webcams
  • Blackfeet Tribe and Glacier Park
  • Saint Mary Lake
  • Glacier Reborn
  • Wildlife Refuges
  • Montana on my Mind
  • Best Museums
  • Ghost Towns in Montana
  • Many Glacier Hotel
  • Luxury Ranches and Resorts
  • Trail of the Cedars
  • Glacier Wildlife Gallery

RSS Glacier Official News

  • Glacier Park updates for Mother’s Day weekend 08/05/2025
  • Glacier National Park Taking Comments on Multiple Utility Projects 06/03/2025
  • Glacier National Park’s Fire Management Plan Environmental Assessment available for public input 10/02/2025
  • Timed Entry Vehicle Reservations open February 13 07/02/2025

RSS Yellowstone Official News

  • Man gored by bison in Yellowstone National Park 07/05/2025
  • Select Yellowstone National Park entrances and roads open to public April 18 10/04/2025
  • Yellowstone National Park's winter season begins Dec. 15, 2024 10/12/2024

Hiking In Helena Montana

Want to go hiking in the mountains. Try the trail that goes to the top of Mt. Helena, in Helena. This is an easy one even for young people. Elevation at top, 5,468 feet. Biking allowed too. The view of the mountains to the south and west from the top is awesome.

Don’t Miss in Montana

Montana Historical Society Museum in Helena. *** Going-to-the-Sun Road in Glacier National Park. *** Bigfork, a quaint and charming town in the wilderness. *** Funky downtown Missoula.

Shop Merino Wool Clothing

Made is Montana is always special. For the finest Merino Wool clothing go online to DuckworthCo.com. Wool used in their products comes from sheep raised on a ranch in southwest Montana.

Montana Luxury Vacations

Luxury vacation destinations offer extra nice lodging, great cuisine, and abundant activities, all in beautiful surroundings:. Triple Creek Ranch near Darby, Montana in the Bitterroot Valley offers so much. (406) 821-4600. TrippleCreekRanch.com. *** The Resort at Paws Up near Greenough, Montana, located 35 minutes northeast of Missoula, rivals the best. (877) 580-6343. PawsUp.com *** The Sage Lodge, a few miles south of Livingston, Montana, offers luxury and great amenities. This is a new resort. In a word, very Nice. (855) 400-0505. SageLodge.com *** The Silver Bow Club, in southwest Montana, offers luxury and wonderful outdoor activities. In Divide, Montana. (406) 491-2157. Silverbowclub.com ***

Gold Prospecting Supplies

The Prospector Shop is on U.S. Highway 12 a few miles west of Helena, Montana. A great place to pick up all kinds of supplies needed for prospecting. Gold mining pans and more. Nice souvenirs here too for wanna-be prospectors. Call (406) 442-1872.

Starbucks in Montana Too

Hey you are in far away Montana.  But finding a familiar coffee shop is a good thing.  Starbucks coffee houses:  in Billings (Grand Avenue); in Kalispell (Main Street); in Bozeman (Main Street) in Missoula (Reserve Avenue); in Helena (Prospect Avenue); in Great Falls (10th Ave. South).

Photo gallery Montana (click on image below)

Blackfeet Nation

Blackfeet Nation (Native Americans) seek to keep cultural traditions alive. Their reservation borders the east side of Glacier National Park in north-central Montana. Flathead Beacon story.

Recent Posts

  • Adventure Fly Fishing on the Madison River in Montana
  • Watching Wildlife in Yellowstone National Park in Wyoming and Montana
  • An Adventure Hiking in Glacier National Park in Montana
  • Dining on Culinary Journey to Bozeman, Montana
  • An Adventure Horseback Riding in Montana

Recent Comments

  • Absaroka on Yellowstone National Park
  • Heidi on Billings > Travel and Vacation Montana
  • Megan on Helena > Travel and Vacation Montana
  • Andrew on Travel Southwest Montana
  • Carl on Fly-Fishing Guide MT

About this site

Site Information

© 2023 John Sandy
©2025 Montana Vacation Guide | Powered by WordPress and Superb Themes!