Bozeman has a ton to offer in terms of outdoor recreation and places to eat, drink, and be merry. Boutiques, art galleries, book stores, coffee shops, ice cream and sandwich shops line the streets of downtown. For dining out: if you love sushi, Dave's is the place to go. If you love pizza, our favorites are Blackbird, Bridger Brewing, Mountains Walking Brewery or Pizza Campana. If you want a good burger Montana Ale Works or Teds Montana Grill or Copper are great. If pasta is your thing, Cafe Fresco or Blacksmith Italian are amazing. Stacey's Old Faithful Bar and the Old Saloon are fun saloon style restaurants/bars. Land of Magic and Sir Scott's Oasis are staples for prime rib/steaks. Lastly, there are countless breweries, distilleries, tea houses, and a kombucha bar to visit, you can't really go wrong.
Head out and hike a few of our favorite local trails! Sourdough Canyon (Bozeman Creek) Trail, take the easy way up the College "M" Trail (has the best views of Bozeman), Drinking Horse Trail, Sypes Canyon, Triple Tree Trail. We're always happy to give more suggestions, just let us know! The All Trails app is a great resource.
Our "backyard" playground. Hyalite is a very popular recreation area for camping, fishing, hiking, etc. You'll be treated with amazing mountain views here so if you have a vehicle, it's definitely a must see! Notable places to visit are the reservoir and Palisade Falls. Bring warm clothes as weather can change quickly!
A fun and easy hike with great views just right off of Bozeman's main street. (super popular & one of the many dog friendly parks here).
For the museum fanatics, this is a pretty cool place to visit! It consists of a rotating exhibit(s), a big dinosaur exhibit, and planetarium.
Only about a 10 minute drive from the Sacajawea Hotel, the Missouri Headwaters is a beautiful and historic area with easy to access hiking trails and beautiful views. This is the point where the Gallatin, Madison, and Jefferson rivers converge and marks the beginning of the Missouri River, hence the name Three Forks.
Learn about the history of the Buffalo Jump, hike around and take in the views!
The local hot springs are one of our favorite ways to relax. The Bozeman Hot Springs is the closest and most convenient. Norris Hot Springs and Chico Hot Springs are great options and offer fun experiences; both are within an hours drive from Bozeman. Yellowstone Hot Springs is located just north of Yellowstone NP in Gardiner.
There are many public fishing access sites to throw out a few casts. The Madison, Gallatin, Jefferson, and Yellowstone rivers are all within range for trout fishing. Bring your gear and explore the rivers! There are several excellent fly fishing guide services if you'd like to go that route.
You'll find views, breweries, and restaurants up at Big Sky. At the ski resort, you can take the chairlift up, hike down or walk around and ride back down. Some hiking/walking trails in the area are Ousel Falls, Kircher Trail, Uplands Trail. Lava Lake and Storm Castle Peak are excellent but advanced. Make sure you have bear spray.
Though the caverns may be closed, this is another great area to hike and camp near Three Forks.
The encounter is a fun and educational way to observe and learn more about grizzlies.
Yellowstone NP is a hop skip and a jump away from Bozeman. There are two options to get there: driving to the North entrance via Gardiner, MT or driving to the West entrance via West Yellowstone, MT. Either way you go it's about a 1.5 hour trip one way and both are beautiful and scenic drives. Driving to the North entrance will take you through historic Livingston, MT and you'll see beautiful views of the Yellowstone river against the Absaroka/Beartooth mountains. Driving to the West entrance will take you through the Gallatin canyon where you'll follow the winding Gallatin river and eventually pass through Big Sky, MT. One suggestion to see it all is to take a round trip going through one entrance and leaving from the other. The West entrance will spit you out closer to Grand Prismatic + Old Faithful while the North entrance will give you access to Mammoth Hot Springs and the famous Lamar Valley and Cooke City.
If you have the time, break up your road trip with some fun stops along the way. -If you're driving via I-94 a few notable places to visit are Painted Canyon, Medora, and Theodore Roosevelt NP. -If you're driving via I-90 there's the Badlands NP, the Black Hills National Forest, Mount Rushmore, Wind Cave NP, Custer State Park, and Devil's Tower