Get a taste of Montana life and scenery, see the Continental Divide, herds of cattle, and beautiful mountain ranges.
If you were touring the great state of Montana, using the national parks back in the days before interstates, and when U.S. highways served as the main arterial cross-country routes, the main route between Glacier National Park and Yellowstone National Park would have been U.S. 89.
Today, although U.S. 89 is still perhaps the most straight path, most tourists will Read more . . .
Situated within the confines of Glacier National Park is Going-to-the-Sun Highway, one of the most beautiful of all the national parks, and a 50-mile length of zigzagging, incredibly scenic roadway. A very narrow, 2-lane road, Going-to-the-Sun Highway changes scenery, beginning with prairie grasslands in the east to dense mountain vistas and forests in the west. This is the only road across the park’s one million acres, and much, if not all of it, is closed by late September because of heavy snowfall. Coming and going out of West Glacier, you’ll have to endure the ever-present budget motels, gift shops, and the rush of tourists in peak season. 
This is a gorgeous route, encompassing deserts, river valleys, and mountains. It also touches on historical themes like Indian conflicts, mining, exploration, trapping, and settlement. The5-hour, 196-mile cruise, accessible spring through fall, starts at Stanley, on the floor of the Stanley Basin, with spectacular scenes of Idaho’s largest peaks, the Sawtooth Ridge. The Stanley Museum, situated in a historic ranger station on Route 75, provides a comprehensive overview of the area’s past.
This 101-mile, 2-hour drive is only accessible spring through fall, and bends through forested mountains in Idaho’s panhandle, skirting the shoreline of Lake Coeur d’Alene and over the hills to Potlatch. East of Coeur d’Alene, get off I-90 at the Route 97 Exit and go south. The path hugs Wolf Lodge Bay, an arm of Lake Coeur d’Alene. Here, fall salmon runs draw about 60 Bald Eagles to the Bay daily.
Anyone who’s journeyed to our westernmost state will tell you that this is a trip that’s not to be missed. The 100-mile, round-trip excursion clocks in at 6 hours, and provides 54 bridges and more than 600 curves sure to please the adventurous driver. The twisting “highway” is well-paved but narrow, so caution is advised.