Day Trippin' › Montana › From Butte
From Butte, the Anaconda smoke stack, the Old Montana Prison and Grant-Kohrs Ranch are about half an hour away, Lewis and Clark Caverns under 50 minutes, and Philipsburg and Helena about an hour. The best day trips from Butte, by drive time.
89 places within a 3-hour drive, by real roads.
Cave · 46 min east
Guided tours wind through one of the largest limestone caves in the Northwest, full of stalactites and columns.
Historic site · 31 min north
A working cattle ranch in Deer Lodge that tells the story of the open-range cattle era, with the ranch house, barns and living history.
Waterfall · 37 min northwest
A narrow canyon near Anaconda with 1,200-foot cliffs and a short walk to 50-foot Lost Creek Falls.
Town · 56 min northwest
A restored mining town on the Pintler Scenic Route with a colorful main street, a famous old-time candy store and sapphire shops.
Viewpoint · 32 min east
A pile of boulders east of Butte that ring like bells when tapped with a hammer.
Hot spring · 43 min northeast
A historic inn in the Elkhorn foothills near Boulder with mineral hot spring pools open for day use.
Historic site · 50 min south
A short walk up a rocky hill north of Dillon where William Clark took compass readings in 1805, with valley views.
State park · 53 min east
The spot near Three Forks where the Jefferson, Madison and Gallatin rivers join to form the Missouri, and where Lewis and Clark camped in 1805.
Museum · 1 hr 18 min east
A big natural and cultural history museum at Montana State University in Bozeman, with a dinosaur hall that includes the Big Mike T. rex and a planetarium.
Ghost town · 1 hr 19 min south
Montana's first territorial capital and gold strike site, with more than 50 buildings you can walk into along Main Street.
Town · 1 hr 32 min southeast
A gold rush town of 1863 and Montana's territorial capital, with wooden storefronts, shops and summer shows along Alder Gulch.
Ghost town · 1 hr 46 min northwest
One of Montana's best-preserved ghost towns, a high gold camp of the 1890s with many buildings still standing, east of Missoula.
Hot spring · 1 hr 59 min southeast
A historic hot springs resort in Paradise Valley near Pray with outdoor soaking pools open to day visitors.
Family fun · 1 hr 6 min west
Dig through gravel for your own sapphires at a mine on the Skalkaho Pass road west of Philipsburg.
Zoo · 1 hr 23 min east
A small rescue sanctuary on Bozeman Hill east of Bozeman that is home to rescued grizzly bears, plus goats kids can feed.
Trail · 1 hr 32 min northwest
A short, steep climb of 13 switchbacks above the University of Montana to the big concrete M and wide views of Missoula.
Museum · 2 hr 10 min northeast
A Great Falls museum devoted to the cowboy artist Charles M. Russell and other western and Indigenous art.
Historic site · 2 hr 10 min northeast
A mile-long sandstone cliff near Great Falls, possibly the largest bison jump in North America, with a visitor center on buffalo culture.
Wildlife refuge · 2 hr 36 min northwest
A tribally managed range near Moiese with bison, elk, pronghorn and bighorn sheep, seen from the Red Sleep and Prairie scenic drives.
Town · 2 hr 39 min northwest
A lake town at the south end of Flathead Lake, known for cherry orchards, a July cherry festival and lakeside parks.
State park · 2 hr 40 min southeast
A wildlife refuge on the Henrys Fork with moose, elk and trumpeter swans, a historic ranch, trails, famous fly fishing and groomed ski trails in winter.
National park · 2 hr 16 min southeast
The busy western gate to Yellowstone right at the edge of West Yellowstone, leading toward Madison and the geyser basins.
National park · 2 hr 22 min southeast
The park's year-round entrance at Gardiner, marked by the stone Roosevelt Arch, with the road on to Mammoth Hot Springs and Lamar Valley.
State park · 2 hr 41 min northeast
A day-use park on the Missouri River in Great Falls built around one of the country's largest freshwater springs, with a fish hatchery and trails.
Drive times are by road on a typical day from ZIP 59701 (OpenStreetMap data with the OSRM route planner). Facts checked against official sites; passes and hours change, so check before you go.