Exploring Beautiful and historical Fort Missoula. The history was pretty sad but the sunsets were absolutely amazing. read more

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Uninspiring at the very best. A mishmash of historical items including Fort Missoula references but also a whole bunch of other historical artifacts that are unrelated. Not much to see here unless you took the time to go outside leisurely. Seemed like more of the same. Perhaps if somebody took the time to link it all together with some kind of narrative it would be more impressive. read more

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I came to Fort Missoula's museum not knowing what to expect at all and I was taken for a big surprise. You drive through the park to the entrance to the museum. Admission prices are as followed: - $4 adults - $3 seniors - $2 students - $10 family - Free to all Missoula County residents I had always known about the aftermath of the bombing of Pearl Harbor when people of Japanese descent living in America were gathered and sent to internment camps. Little did I know that some of them were brought to Fort Missoula and I was standing there reading about it. The exhibit also talked about general Asian discrimination throughout US history. There were many excerpts and stories about individuals who were taken from their homes and families to Fort Missoula, then had to "prove" that they weren't a threat to America. It was years before they were able to see their families again and at that point their lives were not the same. At the end of the exhibit there was a partial list of the detainees at Fort Missoula. I was seriously so concentrated on reading the history and the stories and this could've been worth the price of admission alone. On the other side of the museum there were more pieces of history of the city of Missoula, the University of Montana, and many more. Upstairs there is the history of the forestry communication in Montana that tells the story of how communication was improved to prevent and stop forest fires in the backcountry. You can also walk around the fort to see what it was like at that time, and you can get a map from inside the museum. I didn't get a chance to do that but just the museum is fascinating enough. read more

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I was in Missoula for a few days for vacation and wanted to see some of the best things to do and this came up on a search. The fort is part of a massive park that has soccer fields, picnic tables, walking trails and all kinds of stuff. We spent about 2+ hours just touring the grounds of the fort. I posted a bunch of pictures for you so you can see what to expect. Plenty of flat ground walking, very easy. Lots of history, and plenty of signs to tell you what you are looking for. It is free to park and walk the grounds. I think ther was a small charge for the museum. I think that was also an audio tour you could follow along with. I did not go in the museum part of the fort, so I am not sure if that is worth the small admission price or not. There was also some old military stuff here like helicopters, armored track vehicles, and other stuff. There is an old train pulling an old library car, and all kinds of other stuff. There is a flower garden behind the museum, with all kinds of flowers. Definitely a nice place to walk and take in some history for the area. read more

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Came here with my husband for the annual Mopars at The Fort car show. Beautiful venue! The large Pavilion came in handy as it was a very warm day and there weren't enough full grown trees to provide any shade. It's kept clean with plenty of trash and recycling receptacles available. We would love to come back and go through the fort and museum! read more

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This was a great place to take a pit stop while cross-country drive. There is so much history in this small town, it is so exciting to learn about the people of these small towns that contribute to the larger picture that makes Americans who and what we are today. The museum was closed when we drove through town, but we did walk the grounds in late afternoon and had a very relaxing time. read more

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After reading several reviews we decided this was the place we would spend the afternoon post Missoula Marathon with the family. There really is a lot to offer. For a family of 5, admission was just $10. Inside the main building were exhibits on the Vietnam War told from the perspective of a local French American from Missoula who was also a photographer; a quilt section with old 19th century quilts from the area; an introduction to the museums exhibits with a 10 minute video on repeat, exiting onto the grounds you could walk through the green grass and explore the internment camp, an old school building, the iron train, the fire observation lookout station which was closed, and we ended our tour at the beautiful garden. While this wasn't the largest historic museum, it had a good home towny feel. Everything was chill and relaxing. You could really feel the history too. I think you would enjoy it too. read more

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We went to Fort Missoula with the intention of visiting the museum. We got there early enough to take our dog to the dog park. They have two - one for big digs and one for smaller dogs. The whole park is awesome with soccer fields, walking paths, picnic tables, covered shelters. It's a fun place just to walk. We had so much fun walking out dog, we didn't make it to the museum. But that will be next time! read more

This was such a cool find, we love to take the kids to places where they will have fun and learn a lot and this place was an awesome fit! It is out of town and a little hard to find but I just googled the directions and it led me pretty close! There is an old look out tower that the kids loved to visit lots of older equipment, steam train, and plenty of older buildings that were full of of time appropriate clothing, items and furniture and lots of informational plaques that we enjoyed reading! Honestly this place was so amazing and filled with so much information I don't think we were able to take everything in and we spent over 2 hours here so we are already planning our next visit to Missoula so we can return!! read more

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Not what our group was expecting. Fort Missoula served several purposes over the many years it has existed. Chiefly, it was the home of the Buffalo Soldiers and served as a detention camp for Italian and Japanese detainees during World War 2. There are some exhibits that explain the fort's history, but our group felt the overall experience lacked some refinement that you'd expect from an attraction that is responsible for maintaining and exhibiting such a collection of historical treasures. The grounds feature many historical structures from around Missoula that are maintained such that they are still functioning for events, but they are locked such that most can not be entered as you tour the park. The grounds have a very nice walking path that I believe would allow access to all comers. The staff onsite was very nice as well. It was a nice break from driving, and I did learn some history of Fort Missoula. read more

Nice open park museum where one can check out various time slices of Missoula history from logging, forestry, WW 2 camp internment, and unusual train cars used in the logging industry. Enjoyed our time there and there was much to learn if you spent the time reading and walking around the property. read more

We love the Historical Museum at Fort Missoula for its beautiful setting, authenticity, and special displays. The outbuildings are well-preserved and the historically significance of the Fort is accurately explained. This is a wonderful place to walk as well. Recent improvements to the area include an events pavilion and athletic fields. read more

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This historic site is a good stop for some history of Missoula. The visit was relatively inexpensive. They have a small museum with the history of the area and short film for background. On the grounds you can tour several historic buildings including a train depot, traveling library, and schoolhouse among others. You can climb up one of the fire towers to get a good view of the area and see what it would be like to be on the lookout. Across the street is a military museum where you can see a tank and helicopter which is pretty cool. Nearby there is a nice park if you are looking too burn off some extra energy from the little ones. read more

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Little museum that has a nice overview of the history. Then we walked around the buildings. Our one complaint is many of the buildings you can't go in but there is a "Clear" plastic window. The windows are so hazy and the lighting so dim inside that you can't really see anything. On the Trolley barn - the window is an a position you can't really see anything. But a lot of interesting history that is well preserved. Great place for a picnic lunch as well read more