This is a small park right by the hotel that I stayed at. I stopped here a few times on my trip to…read moresome steps in and also enjoy the spectacular views. There is a nice trail that goes through the park if you want to get a real walk/run in. My favorite part of the trip was one evening when I sat on the embankment and enjoyed some quiet time looking at the river and taking in the views of the mountains.

Idyllic little spot with beautiful trees and large spaces for pups to roam. Our dog had a great…read moretime exploring by the river and there were nice benches that were under trees. Will definitely be back.

We walked around Jacob's Island and the University of Montana's nearby parks. This felt like the…read moreoriginal old part of the city, because of its proximity to hiking trails and the river. The river winds through Missoula, at times too rough for tubers and canoes, but perfect for experienced kayakers and rafters during springtime melt. The area around Jacob's Island was full of college students on summer break, jumping into the water from the bridge, swimming, and tubing down a calm section. It was so hot the day we were there that I considered jumping in myself, but when you don't have a towel or a change of clothes, it's not possible. I'm not sure if river water smell ever gets out of cloth seats. The Clark Fork River outside of Missoula is quite impressive and begs all comers to throw in a line or drop in a canoe. In town, the river is a place to cool off, but it doesn't maintain the magical feeling of a Montana wilderness river. It may have had the feeling at one point, but the town is too built up now to still be there.

Spending the day with a resident expert in her field was so extra special i can't even say enough!…read moreWenFei answered our myriad of questions perfectly and made our trip out to Bison National Park memorable! In addition to knowing all things (and i do mean all) about the local birds, including their sounds and habitats, she could also share information perfectly about the bison, the antelopes (that we saw that day) and the native grizzlies. The local donuts were amazing as well as our lunch out with some local Montana fare. All in all a superb day, chock full of information that will have your feeling like an expert too! Don't miss this opportunity!

Wenfei organized a full day trip for us to the Flathead Wilderness Area. We went driving on bumpy…read moremountain roads, hiking up the side of a mountain alongside a picturesque babbling brook and picnicked next to a sparkling lake with a view of the mountains. Our focus was photography, and our route did not disappoint on that score. We also stopped for fresh baked goods and coffee on our way out of Missoula which made the ride that much more pleasant. We are generally outdoor people but we chose to use a tour company because we were traveling with a baby and didn't know how to find routes that would be child friendly and not overly demanding. We would definitely recommend Wenfei's guiding services and have referred several friends to her Big Sky Safaris for Montana travel. In particular her being a biologist makes an outstanding enhancement to hiking - we are not very knowledgeable about birds and animal droppings, and Wenfei pointed out all sorts of interesting things for us as well as small details worth photographing that we wouldn't have noticed on our own. Wenfei made us very comfortable, gave us excellent gear advice, and spared us many hours of poring over maps to identify good areas to visit. She also was really knowledgeable about the local plants and birds during our early autumn MT trip. This was a great splurge during our MT trip and one we'd do again in a heart beat.

As noted by others, Travelers Rest State Park contains the only physically verified campsite of the…read moreLewis and Clark Expedition of 1804-1806. The Park is well worth a visit if you are nearby. There is a ver nice interpretive center, walking trails and access to Lolo creek. I particularly enjoyed the Creek access. Lewis and Clark camped here twice. Once on the first leg of their journey traveling west and then on their return east. On their return the expedition temporarily split up to explore independently. This was the place they split so this is indeed a historical spot. I visited with my children and grandchildren. The kids particularly enjoyed wading in Lolo Creek as did our Labrador Retriever Gigi who retrieved lots of sticks. I am very glad we took the time to visit and highly recommend Travelers Rest Park.

This is only the second site along the Lewis and Clark trail where physical evidence of the Corps…read moreof Discovery has been found. This is one of the few spots where the Corps stopped both on the westward and eastbound legs of their journey. It was a serendipity discovery made when archelogists were trying to calibrate an instrument that detected magnetic anomolies. They moved it about 300 feet from a power line and turned it on. Amazingly, the instrument detected metal traces. By moving it around they found a rectangular area of trace mercury depositions. They had found the latrine for the Corps! The mercury was from soldiers taking a laxative pill called "Dr. Rush's Thunderbolts" that contained mercurous chloride (calomel). In the weeks the Corps camped nearby, the members of the expedition "excreted" enough of the medication to permit a thin layer to be detected. By referring to the Army Field Manual used by Lewis, who did everything by the book, they were able to find the camp, just 200 feet away. There they uncovered some bits of melted lead dropped from making bullets and found evidence of a blacksmith operation. There is an small museum that tells more of the story of Lewis and Clark. Occasionally, you may also find local reenactors who have set up a replica of what the Corps of Discovery's camp might have looked like. When in Lolo, visit Traveler's Rest!

I LOVE the M trails in Montana! I've never seen anything like it in other states but they're so…read morecute and always great little hikes. I live in Bozeman so I was very excited to compare M trails. The parking here was a little stressful as there are only 3 visitor spots and the rest you need a campus tag. It's nice for the students that it's so close by (that's not the case in Bozeman) but hard if you're not a student. There is only one way up to the M while there are several ways up to the Bozeman one. I loved the Strava map that showed all the crazy looking switch backs but in reality it was an easy hike with amazing views. The wildflowers were so vibrant and I loved that you can touch and sit on the M. The bathrooms are also fantastic! The hike is 1.8 miles with a little more than 500ft elevation so it's very fun and doable for most people.

Great path up to the M, wonderful views of Missoula. There were benches along the way if you need a…read morebreak or just to enjoy the view. Restrooms at trail head parking.

I have had the privilege of coming over here with a friend of mine after running the 2011 Missoula…read moremarathon in July. I wanted to see the tourist sites before returning home and my friend, who lives in Missoula, took me here and it was a good experience. It was on the Monday after, in the afternoon, and it felt like everything was deserted. Only a few cars that were parked in random places. I had a feeling that this place closed shop early. While I know it's just a historic site and tourist attraction, there could have been a bit more of a crowd, but sadly there wasn't. Probably it was due to being on a Monday during work hours. It was nice seeing Fort Missoula in its beauty. How the Fort was back in the 1800's and how modern day barracks crop up around the property really reflected the changing landscape of the old and the new. I got a kick out of seeing the log cabin and the old locomotive that was sitting out there in the sunshine day after day. There wasn't much to see, since majority of the original fort has been removed and retrofitted with the modern day fixes and amenities. I'm not really sure if this is currently a real life functioning military base of some sort, but it's great to bear witness to some bit of history while visiting Missoula, Montana. I spent about 3 hours waking around and the museum was closed for the day. I guess I just missed them. I felt the history through my eyes and it helped clarify stuff that I never thought of while reading the history books until now. Worth an hour of your afternoon to explore and rediscover history. A+ #Yelp flashback

Decent dog park could be better…read more What it has going for it: - good entry areas, newer fencing - poop bags provided - human & dog drinking water source - adequate seating What it has going against it: - fencing is rather short (4ft) - wood chip ground cover can get muddy after a good rain and snow melt - limited shade - no separate small dog run So this dog park ain't bad, but if you got a dog that can jump a 4 foot fence, I would find somewhere else to take them since the dog run is right next to a rather busy road. Add more shading, better ground cover and fence that is taller then this could be a 4 star dog run/park

Discovered this place driving by as there was no other reviews on Yelp. Great place to bring your…read morepooch for some social interaction. Have visited now twice and both times there was a variety of sizes puppies so our golden retriever was able to play and run around. There are a couple benches for the humans to sit, a water fountain for humans and puppies. The ground was covered in what looks like mulch so it is not as muddy as you'd expect it to be. There is no separate enclosure for small dogs but they seem to find each other and play with others their size. Will definitely be dropping by there everytime we are in town.