Jeff Welsch - Backroads & Byways of Montana: Drives, Day Trips & Weekend Excursions

T his isnt just a book about the best driving tours in Montana. Its also about capturing Montanas essence through twelve primary drives plus a Glacier National Park bonus drive, each revealing a different portrait of the Treasure States wide range of landscapes, communities, and personalities.

Our routes are all over the Montana map, literally and figuratively. Some are included for insights into local and historical culture, such as the Big Sky Backcountry Byway and The Warrior Trail in eastern Montana. Some are on well-maintained paved roads and some are on gravel or dirt that could be impassable after a hard rain- or snowstorm. Some, such as the breathtaking Beartooth All-American Highway near Yellowstone National Park and the Going-to-the-Sun Road in Glacier National Park, arent backroads or even byways per se, but are included because no book about Montana would be complete without the scenic tours.

At the beginning of each chapter, youll get the basics about the designated drivewhere it starts, mileage, estimated time, highlights, and how to get there. Youll also get an overview of the area and its significance in Montanas history, geography, and culture. We then complement most chapters with a short story about a relevant topic and tips for the best lodging, dining, and bars on the route. And at the end, in case the tour has whet your appetite for more, we add a nearby Detour with its own brand of character and charm.

Based on feedback from readers, in every chapter except The Warrior Trail we have added one or two short Side Tracks that are mostly on dirt or gravel and decidedly off the beaten pathbackroads in every sense of the word. Also new: two additional chapters, one on the Blackfoot Valley between Missoula and Wolf Creek, the other a loop through the picturesque ranch country of the Musselshell Valley beginning and ending in Lewistown, the geographic center of Montana.

In this book, we think youll find Montana backstories you wont see anywhere else. For instance, do you know about The Little People of the Pryor Mountains? The Blackfoot Challenge? The impacts the film A River Runs Through It simply known as The Movie in parts of Montanahas had on the region? The little town on the eastern prairie that briefly changed its name to Joe to capitalize on the name of a former National Football League quarterback of some renown?

For consistencys sake, we get you to the start of each route from points on or near Interstate 90, the busy (by Montana standards) freeway bisecting the state from east to west. We chose to start each drive in a community where essential amenities are available.