We took the Historic Butte Underground Tour and seeing the horrific conditions in the old jail and…read more the speakeasy was interesting, but it was also pretty cheesy. The guide was very (overly?) enthusiastic with some exaggerated "facts" (didn't seem quite right to me, so I researched a few things afterwards). Indeed Butte was a very important, crowded and rough place in the early part of the 20th century and the stories you will hear on this tour give a good flavor of that time, just know that it's more like watching a movie "based on a true story", than a documentary.

Butte, Montana: "The Richest Hill on Earth" -- walking tours of this wild era from the outside of…read morebuildings to the inside of historic uptown Butte. Gold, silver, and finally copper brought Butte's population to nearly 100,000 in 1917, with more than 150 underground mines running 24 hours a day. Today there are numerous reminders of the opulence, decadence, and wild lifestyles of poor European immigrants, miners, businessmen and of course the wealthy "Copper Kings." Old Butte Historical Adventures guides you through this rough-and-ready history in the nation's largest National Historic Landmark District, with 6,015 contributing resources. The Tours cover every decade from the 1890's through the 1950's. There are (4) different (1.5 HR) walking tours offered: Butte City Underground Tour, Dellinger Tour, West Walking Tour, East Walking Tour.

The museum itself is cute and interesting with all the collectable. I guess it was a brothel at one…read moretime. The staff was nice but not very knowledgeable about any history of the museum itself. We were there for a walking tour. There was no encouragement to explore the museum. I think they have volunteers that create walking tours. Local historians that conduct research and create the tour. The tour host told us stuff that contradicted what the museum had on display in pictures & plaques, and even what the city had on plaques I had noticed walking around earlier. Part of it could be that we have taken walking history tours... Similar themes of the dark history of an area, in Savannah, Boston, London... So we have been on good tours. With great story telling that you didn't even care how true it was. This host was mostly quoting research and offering her judgement & opinions. Little confusing and contradictory at times. I stopped asking questions because I didn't want to steal away any one else experience. And once I lowered my expectation, I enjoyed the totality of the experience... Beautiful quaint town, great to walk around with some preservation starting in earnest. Not sure if the museum pays the tour host or if she was just a volunteer. The museum tend to elevate the women in their slim options the for a livelihood, the tour guide seems to cast judgement on the poor women of Bozeman, not the industrialists that made them sex slaves to the growing town, and the necessity to survive in a new city at the start of the industrial age. The cost of the tour was a good value, and was worth every opinion though because would know none of it otherwise. And of all the tours available, this was the best selection I wish that Bozeman historical created a plaque or other marker for what once stood on the ground there

This organization offers walking tours of the downtown area, as well as a nearby historic cemetery…read moreand other local historical highlights. I recently took one of their walking tours which covered the local park area and one of the historic residential districts. Beth was our guide and she did a wonderful job - it was a great way to spend 2 hours on a lovely late afternoon! I've also been on their architectural walking tour of downtown buildings/businesses and learned so much. Again, a tour well worth taking!!! Definitely add it to your "to do " list while visiting Bozeman!

Mike was very informative through the whole planning process. He worked with us on our points of…read moreinterest through both days. He knew great places to stop for wildlife viewing and Yellowstone sweet spots. He even brought a great lunch and we stopped both days for a rustic picnic. He provided videos and pictures that we took along the way. I would highly recommend him for any Yellowstone tour needs. We look forward to booking him again.

We went on a private tour today in Yellowstone with a guide by the name of Mike Lagodny,…read moreOwner/Operator of Montana Yellowstone Tours. Mike was spectacular. We started off with our first stop after less than 10 minutes in a very nice and immaculate Suburban, where Mike showed us a momma owl and her baby. His equipment is such that one can see as if the wildlife are five to ten feet away. I have poor eyesight, but I was able to see everything today with unbelievable clarity -- thanks to Mike's equipment. Within 15 minutes of being inside the park, we next saw an adult grizzly bear up close from the vehicle as we parked on the side of the road (up close, but actually 100 feet away). And it was not 5-10 minutes later that we saw 6-8 adult bison and 5-7 baby bison. We stayed and watched these for over 30 minutes as Mike felt like they would come closer to us. He was spot on as they got within 50 feet of our Suburban. Mike had hot chocolate, coffee, pastries, banana nut bread -- he was the host of all hosts. His uncanny ability to provide exactly what we wanted was second to none. Our most favorite stop was an area with a wolf den, and Mike quickly spotted the mother wolf along with a bear and a bald eagle nearby. After watching the mother wolf lay down for over 40 minutes, Mike suggested we stay patient as he thought there was a great chance the momma wolf might bring her new born pups out ... Sure enough, after being extra patient, and with a bear and elk walking near the mother wolf, she stood up and pulled her small babies out of the den. We saw at least two babies -- possibly three. We were over one mile away, but again, with Mikes high powered equipment it looked as if they were inside of 50 yards from us. We can't express enough just how good of a guide Mike is. He had sandwiches and drinks for us as well. He is a very safe driver and was very gentle with my wife Dana, who had been sick the past three days. Dana and I highly recommend Mike to all who want to explore Yellowstone and see wildlife and sights that must not be missed ... We plan on bringing our grandchildren next time to introduce them to the wonders of Yellowstone. Thanks for everything, Mike! Sincerely, Jim and Dana S.

Had an amazing experience using Yellowstone luxury tours. We visited Yellowstone on Tuesday & Jesse…read morewas great! He took us to many amazing spots throughout the day. He was accommodating for drop off/pick up time. The pricing was relative to other tours but I was excited It included lunch/snacks & a sprinter van. Would definitely use again.

My family of 9 went on a day long tour with Jordan and she was so knowledgeable, patient, and…read morelovely. She took us all over the park and was flexible to the detours we wanted to take. I would recommend anyone looking for a tour of the park to use Jordan!

Great place to see the history of mining and also you got to go down into the mine.Also Ken is a…read morereally nice person to do the tour with.

We stopped in to Butte on our cross country drive and visited the mining museum after lunch in…read moretown. They offer military and other discounts on their entrance fee The gift shop area includes information on local, current mining operations as well as merch. This is an outdoor museum so dress for the weather. If you want to take the under ground tour be sure you are wearing closed toed shoes. (Crocs not included, I don't know why) They also have above ground tours. Part of the property is set up like a western town. Something that would grow up around a mine. Post office, apothecary, carpenter, blacksmith, etc, etc. All these buildings are set up with window displays but most are not open to the public. You just peer thru the windows. There is a memorial garden to miners. A mine yard with pieces of heavy equipment. The motorized lift, miners locker room, light room, information and equipment used in dry and wet boring, 3D representations of mines and more with information posted on the displays. You can walk up into the mine head if you are so inclined to see how the ore chutes operated. We spent about two hours here without realizing it. Very interesting museum. Staff are very personable, answered questions and suggested reading material for more on the subject. Very good, family friendly stop.

This charming historical bus tour of Livingston, Montana is a hidden gem. We had seen the vintage…read moreYellowstone bus around town and wondered how we could get a ride on it. We found that you could take a short tour (about an hour) of LIvingston on this bus! The tour was so fun, and the driver and docent were fine representatives of open, friendly Livingstonians. The tour is casual and no reservations are needed. Just show up at the Livingston Depot Center at 6:30 pm on a Friday and Saturday night during the summer (this is the current schedule as of Summer 2018: the Main Street light pole signs have the old schedule posted). You get a wonderful sense of Livingston history, from the railroad's building of the town, it's close relationship to Yellowstone National Park, and the early leaders. Not to be missed!

This museum is really cool because they have actual working instruments inside, most of them are…read more100+ years old, and it's crazy to think of the technology that it took at the time to make a piano, or a band play "electronically" Cost about a dollar to play multiple different instruments and player pianos, it gets quite noisy in there, out back are some of the old town homes and buildings. They do have some museum workers, who are very informative and will teach visitors the history of the buildings end of the city. It's a great place to take families.

While vacationing in Montana, Fall 2020, we traveled the "Ghost Town" route as described in the MT…read morestate tour guide. If you must travel to Virginia City MT area; DON'T STOPP, KEEP GOING. DON'T LOOK BACK, KEEP GOING. If you think that you want to be ripped off just through your money out of your window as you pass Julie and her Gems and KEEP GOING. She will be happy to take it! Wave at the shady looking characters literally hanging out the door at the local saloon across the street from Julie's Gems because they will be staring at you as you drive by. Take my advice; the whole state of MT especially this area is not for tourist. You are not safe or welcome. Just stay on the interstate and KEEP GOING. We made the mistake of stopping into Julie's Gems in Virginia City. Bought a Yogo Sapphire ring for $550, a strand of turquoise beads for $12, and Julie insisted we take a free book which we didn't want. Julie overcharged us for the beads and then lied about it when confronted after we got home. I took the ring to my jeweler to be sized and the jeweler looked at it (Microscope) and handed it back to me stating the sapphire had a chip. I confronted Julie and she said sure send it back. I sent it back to her and she gave the runaround on what was happening with it. I requested a refund. Then all of a sudden she stated that it had been repaired and she mailed it back to me. WHAT? Just how did you repair or replace the stone? With what? This is just wrong! I had no say in what was done with the ring. It is my money! I never received the ring so I started to find ways to recover my money. She actually committed fraud with my bank. Every time anybody talked to her about this she presented more lies, was misleading, was misrepresenting, performed scamming and theft. It went from I tried to pry out the stone and damaged the ring to my jewelry damaged it when sizing it. Again the Jeweler never had it in their possession. Also after the purchase while trying to get my funds returned, she stated to me no guarantee on Yogo sapphires, and then suddenly came up with an enormous restocking fee, to overcharging for the beads, to paying for the free book. She even hired an attorney to avoid paying $620 that is rightfully my money. Beware! I have been to the District Attorney and Attorney General in an attempt to resolve this matter and the local Sherriff. They all said Julie broke no laws. YES this is apparently legal in MT.  I keep getting told this is legal and it's a civil issue go to small claims. Well guess what? MT does not make it easy for an out of state tourist to file small claims. You have to travel to MT to file the claim then travel again for court. Civil court you need an attorney which would cost more than $620! We never felt comfortable while in this area and with this ordeal it is apparent to me that if you are not part of the "Good Old Boy's Club" stay away. The law is not there to protect you. You are on your own.  This is especially if you are a person of color or one of those protected groups. I'm sure if Julie sees this review she will come back with even more lies!