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A gravel road curving into a high mountain valley at first light, the peaks catching the sun.

The Overland Directory

Adventure lodging in Montana

Lodges, cabins, motels and ranches near the dirt, for the night you want a shower, a bed and someone else's cooking.

We’re working on adding the latest places to stay in Montana here.

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Montana by the numbers

Acres of federal land 1
27.2M
29.1 percent of Montana
Acres of national forest, the largest federal holding in the state 1
17.3M
Against 8.1 million acres of BLM land and 1.2 million under the National Park Service
Granite Peak, the highest point in Montana 4
12,799 ft
Park County. The lowest point is 1,800 feet, where the Kootenai River leaves for Idaho
Mean elevation 5
3,400 ft
An approximate USGS figure. The same table gives 6,800 feet for Colorado and 6,700 for Wyoming
Miles of BLM route open to motor vehicles 2
2,481
Roads and trails managed for public motorized use. A floor, not a full count
Federal campgrounds a vehicle can reach 3
316
273 Forest Service, 15 BLM and 15 National Park Service. 231 take reservations
The coldest reading on record in the contiguous United States 7
-70°F
Rogers Pass, 40 miles northwest of Helena, January 20, 1954
The vehicle length limit on Going-to-the-Sun Road 25
21 ft
Between Avalanche Creek and Rising Sun, with a width limit of 8 feet including mirrors

A bed where the pavement ends

Montana’s gateway towns are small and a long way apart, so book close to the road you came for: Red Lodge for the Beartooth Highway, Darby for the Magruder, Winifred or Fort Benton for the Missouri Breaks, Libby for Lake Koocanusa, Ennis for the Gravelly Range.

The high-country season is short. The Beartooth Highway runs from Memorial Day to October 15, Going-to-the-Sun Road usually opens over Logan Pass in early July, and the Gravelly Range Road opens on July 1.

The full guide to overlanding Montana

When a roof is the right call

Nobody plans a trip around motels, and almost every long trip uses a few. After a week of wind, when the weather turns, while the truck is in a shop, or when the people you travel with have simply earned a hot shower.

What makes lodging work for overlanders

It comes down to parking and attitude.

  1. 01Room to park tall and long vehicles, and trailers without unhitching
  2. 02Parking you can see from the room, or that is lit
  3. 03Late arrivals and early breakfasts
  4. 04A hose, a laundry, and no fuss about dust
  5. 05Staff who know the local roads and what is open

Before you book

Call rather than click when you have a big vehicle.

  1. 01Ask about parking for your height and length.
  2. 02Ask about the access road in wet weather.
  3. 03Ask about pets, and about leaving gear on the vehicle.

Questions people ask

Will my rig fit?

Ask before you book. Roof tents, campers and high-roof vans do not fit many parking garages, and trailers need pull-through space. Small-town motels and lodges are usually easier than city hotels.

Is it safe to leave gear on the vehicle?

Use judgment, park where you can see the vehicle or under lights, and bring in what you cannot replace. Ask the front desk where they would park it.

How high is Montana?

From Libby at 2,097 feet to Granite Peak at 12,799. Altitude decides what your engine, your brakes and your lungs have to work with, and how late in the year the passes open.

Towns

  1. Red Lodge Where the Beartooth Highway starts its climb on US 212, heading for Beartooth Pass and Cooke City. 5,568 ft
  2. Butte On I-90 with the BLM’s Western Montana District office. The Pipestone off-highway vehicle area is about 15 miles east at exit 241. 5,535 ft
  3. Philipsburg In Granite County, on the far side of Skalkaho Pass from the Bitterroot Valley. Montana 38 over the pass closes for the winter. 5,243 ft
  4. Dillon Home of the BLM field office that manages more than 900,000 acres in Beaverhead and Madison counties, and the Big Sheep Creek byway to the south. 5,097 ft
  5. Ennis On Montana 287. The Forest Service routes Gravelly Range traffic from here by the Varney road and the Call road, and keeps the area’s maps at its office in town. 4,946 ft
  6. Bozeman On I-90. The Custer Gallatin’s Bozeman Ranger District is one of the five west-side districts under the forest’s food storage order. 4,811 ft
  7. Helena State capital, and half the name of the 2.8-million-acre Helena-Lewis and Clark National Forest. Rogers Pass, 40 miles northwest, holds the national cold record. 4,048 ft
  8. Lewistown BLM field office for the Upper Missouri River Breaks and seat of the North Central Montana District. One of the two offices the BLM names for byway conditions. 3,952 ft
  9. Darby The Montana end of the Magruder Road Corridor. The Forest Service counts eight to ten hours from Red River, Idaho, to Darby without rest stops. 3,884 ft
  10. Hamilton In the Bitterroot Valley on US 93, near the west end of Montana 38 and in the middle of the 1.6-million-acre Bitterroot National Forest. 3,570 ft
  11. Winifred One end of the Missouri Breaks byway, which the BLM runs between here and the James Kipp Recreation Area on US 191. 3,228 ft
  12. Missoula On I-90 beside the 2.3-million-acre Lolo National Forest. The BLM field office here manages the Garnet Back Country Byway, which leaves Montana 200 about 30 miles east. 3,208 ft
  13. Billings On I-90 in south-central Montana. The BLM’s Montana/Dakotas State Office is here. 3,122 ft
  14. Kalispell In the Flathead Valley below the 2.4-million-acre Flathead National Forest, west of Glacier National Park. 2,955 ft
  15. Fort Benton Where the Breaks begin on US 87. The Missouri Breaks Interpretive Center here holds maps and road conditions for the monument. 2,635 ft
  16. Libby On the Kootenai River. The 67-mile Lake Koocanusa Scenic Byway runs north from here to Eureka on Highway 37. 2,097 ft

Passes, high roads and summits

  1. Granite Peak The highest point in Montana, in Park County. No road to the top 12,799 ft
  2. Beartooth Pass Beartooth Highway (US 212): Red Lodge to Cooke City, by way of the northwest corner of Wyoming 10,947 ft
  3. Mount Cleveland The highest peak in Glacier National Park, by the park’s own figure 10,448 ft
  4. Crystal Park Pioneer Mountains Scenic Byway: Montana Highway 484 at Wise River south to County Highway 278 7,800 ft
  5. Skalkaho Pass Skalkaho Highway (Montana 38): Ravalli and Granite counties, across Skalkaho Pass 7,261 ft
  6. Logan Pass Going-to-the-Sun Road: The west entrance of Glacier National Park to the east entrance, over Logan Pass 6,646 ft
  7. Nez Perce Pass Magruder Road Corridor: Darby, Montana, to Red River, Idaho, between the Selway-Bitterroot and Frank Church wildernesses 6,598 ft

Pass, road and summit elevations are the figures published by the agency that manages them. Town elevations are the town’s or county’s own figure where it publishes an exact one; the rest are from the U.S. Geological Survey (3D Elevation Program at the place’s official coordinates), retrieved September 18, 2026. Every source is listed at the foot of the page.

Sources for this page

51
  1. Congressional Research Service. Federal Land Ownership: Overview and Data (R42346), Tables 1 and 2, data as of September 30, 2024. Retrieved September 18, 2026.
  2. Bureau of Land Management. Ground Transportation Linear Features, public display. Sum of GIS_MILES by administrative state for routes managed for public or limited public motorized use.. Retrieved September 18, 2026.
  3. Recreation.gov. Recreation Information Database (RIDB) full export. Retrieved September 19, 2026.
  4. U.S. Geological Survey. Elevations and Distances in the United States, online edition. Retrieved September 19, 2026.
  5. U.S. Census Bureau, from U.S. Geological Survey data. Statistical Abstract of the United States: 2012, Table 366. Extreme and Mean Elevations by State. Retrieved September 19, 2026.
  6. U.S. Census Bureau. 2020 Census Apportionment Results, Table 2. Resident Population for the 50 States, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico. Retrieved September 19, 2026.
  7. NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information. Climate of Montana (Climatography of the United States No. 60). Retrieved September 19, 2026.
  8. U.S. Geological Survey. Geographic Names Information System and 3D Elevation Program point query. Elevation of the 3DEP surface at the GNIS coordinates of the named place, rounded to the nearest foot.. Retrieved September 19, 2026.
  9. Bureau of Land Management. Montana/Dakotas. Retrieved September 19, 2026.
  10. Bureau of Land Management. Montana-Dakotas Recreation Opportunities, including camping and stay limits. Retrieved September 19, 2026.
  11. Bureau of Land Management. Montana Fire Restrictions. Retrieved September 19, 2026.
  12. Bureau of Land Management. Upper Missouri River Breaks National Monument. Retrieved September 19, 2026.
  13. Bureau of Land Management. Monument Management at Upper Missouri River Breaks. Retrieved September 19, 2026.
  14. Bureau of Land Management. Plan Your Visit: Upper Missouri River Breaks National Monument. Retrieved September 19, 2026.
  15. Bureau of Land Management. BLM Completes Middle Two Calf Road Reconstruction, Reopens to Public Traffic. Retrieved September 19, 2026.
  16. Bureau of Land Management. James Kipp Campground. Retrieved September 19, 2026.
  17. Bureau of Land Management. Garnet Back Country Byway. Retrieved September 19, 2026.
  18. Bureau of Land Management. Big Sheep Creek Back Country Byway. Retrieved September 19, 2026.
  19. Bureau of Land Management. Big Sky Back Country Byway. Retrieved September 19, 2026.
  20. Bureau of Land Management. Pipestone Off-Highway Vehicle Area. Retrieved September 19, 2026.
  21. Bureau of Land Management. Dillon Field Office. Retrieved September 19, 2026.
  22. U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. Charles M. Russell National Wildlife Refuge. Retrieved September 19, 2026.
  23. U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. Charles M. Russell National Wildlife Refuge: Visit Us. Retrieved September 19, 2026.
  24. U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. Charles M. Russell National Wildlife Refuge: Rules and Policies. Retrieved September 19, 2026.
  25. National Park Service, Glacier National Park. Going-to-the-Sun Road General Info. Retrieved September 19, 2026.
  26. National Park Service, Glacier National Park. Fact Sheet. Retrieved September 19, 2026.
  27. USDA Forest Service, Custer Gallatin National Forest. US Hwy 212 Corridor: Beartooth Highway. Retrieved September 19, 2026.
  28. USDA Forest Service, Custer Gallatin National Forest. Food Storage Order. Retrieved September 19, 2026.
  29. USDA Forest Service, Custer Gallatin National Forest. Custer Gallatin National Forest home. Retrieved September 19, 2026.
  30. USDA Forest Service, Northern Region. Northern Region Camping, Target Restrictions and Pallet Prohibition (Order R1-2025-01). Retrieved September 19, 2026.
  31. USDA Forest Service, Bitterroot National Forest. Magruder Corridor. Retrieved September 19, 2026.
  32. USDA Forest Service, Bitterroot and Nez Perce-Clearwater National Forests. Magruder Road Corridor (R1-23-23, April 2023). Retrieved September 19, 2026.
  33. USDA Forest Service, Bitterroot National Forest. Bitterroot National Forest Food Storage Order. Retrieved September 19, 2026.
  34. USDA Forest Service, Bitterroot National Forest. Bitterroot National Forest home. Retrieved September 19, 2026.
  35. USDA Forest Service, Bitterroot National Forest. Skalkaho Snowpark. Retrieved September 19, 2026.
  36. USDA Forest Service, Beaverhead-Deerlodge National Forest. About the Area. Retrieved September 19, 2026.
  37. USDA Forest Service, Celebrating Wildflowers. Gravelly Range, Beaverhead-Deerlodge National Forest. Retrieved September 19, 2026.
  38. USDA Forest Service, Beaverhead-Deerlodge National Forest. Montana BDR Alternative Route (alert, July 6, 2026). Retrieved September 19, 2026.
  39. Recreation.gov, USDA Forest Service. Pioneer Mountains Scenic Byway. Retrieved September 19, 2026.
  40. USDA Forest Service, Helena-Lewis and Clark National Forest. Helena-Lewis and Clark National Forest home. Retrieved September 19, 2026.
  41. USDA Forest Service, Flathead National Forest. Flathead National Forest home. Retrieved September 19, 2026.
  42. USDA Forest Service, Lolo National Forest. Lolo National Forest home. Retrieved September 19, 2026.
  43. USDA Forest Service, Kootenai National Forest. About the Forest. Retrieved September 19, 2026.
  44. USDA Forest Service, Kootenai National Forest. Lake Koocanusa Scenic Byway. Retrieved September 19, 2026.
  45. Montana Department of Transportation. Seasonally Closed Roads. Retrieved September 19, 2026.
  46. Montana Department of Transportation. Montana Tire and Chain Laws. Retrieved September 19, 2026.
  47. Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks. Off-Highway Vehicles. Retrieved September 19, 2026.
  48. Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks. Off-Highway Vehicle Program Nonresident Temporary-Use Permit FAQ. Retrieved September 19, 2026.
  49. Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks. State Land Recreation Use License. Retrieved September 19, 2026.
  50. Montana Department of Natural Resources and Conservation. Trust Land Public Use: Camping. Retrieved September 19, 2026.
  51. Montana Department of Natural Resources and Conservation. Trust Land Public Use: Recreational Use Rules. Retrieved September 19, 2026.

Reviewed September 19, 2026. Conditions, closures and rules change; check with the managing agency before you travel.

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