These Towns in Montana Come Alive In Spring

Montana is a mighty state marked by mountains and other massive monuments. Plenty of people wait till summer to experience Montana's majesty, but spring colors the state naturally and culturally. In addition to ornate wildflowers, pink cherry blossoms, and light-blue sapphires, spring in Montana brings a whitewater festival, a vibrant flea market, a bodacious brewfest, a flamboyant rodeo, and a radiant renaissance festival. See where to mine these springtime gems in The Treasure State.

Bigfork

Bigfork is an appropriate name for the biggest cherry-growing region in Montana. This 5,000ish-person community sits on the banks of Flathead Lake along with thousands of cherry trees. They reach full bloom around mid-May, producing heavenly pink blossoms that seem out of place in the fourth-coldest state. By July, the cherries ripen and are harvested by the tons. You can stick a fork in them at the Flathead Cherry Festival in nearby Polson during the last weekend of July.

But before seeing the blossoms and chewing the cherries, you can binge beer at Bigfork Brewfest in March and taste food and wine at Taste Of Bigfork in April. If you are the adventurous type, dive into the Bigfork Whitewater Festival on Memorial Day Weekend.

St. Regis

On Friday, May 24, one of the world's most amazing bike trails is set to open for the season along the Montana-Idaho border. With a name that matches its elevation, the Route of the Hiawatha spans 15 miles of abandoned railroad, including seven trestles and ten tunnels, the tallest of which is over 4,000 feet above sea level. You can get to the entrance from St. Regis, a supreme spring destination in its own right, thanks to the St. Regis Flea Market. As "Montana's Largest Flea Market," it has been held in the community on Memorial Day Weekend for almost 40 years. Come for the trail, stay for the market, and cap it off with wildflower viewing at the nearby Lolo National Forest.

West Yellowstone

The western gateway to Yellowstone National Park, West Yellowstone is a small town that balloons in summer but deflates in spring - unless you know what to look for. Sure, spring makes things a little colder and wetter, but also a little prettier via blooming wildflowers. Species such as marsh marigold, pasqueflower, glacier lily, shooting star, wild strawberry, clematis, yellow monkeyflower, bitterroot, and fringed gentian color the already vibrant park beginning in May. If snow lasts longer than usual, stay in town for shows at The Playmill Theatre and feedings at the Grizzly & Wolf Discovery Center.

Arlee

Arlee is a census-designated place on the Flathead Reservation in western Montana. This sleepy farming community awakens for a powwow and rodeo in summer, but before then, it is a scenic retreat courtesy of the CSKT Bison Range, which is a near-19,000-acre preserve of bison that also houses bears, cougars, elk, bighorn sheep, and fabulous wildflowers. But said serenity sanctuary pales in comparison to the Garden of One Thousand Buddhas, an unlikely Buddhist shrine on a Montana Indian reservation. Situated between Arlee and the bison range, the garden contains 1,000 hand-cast Buddha statues surrounding the 24-foot figure of Yum Chenmo (AKA The Great Mother), plus native trees, flowers, and a koi pond on 10 acres of land. It is open year-round, but guided tours begin in April. Visitors can book their scenic spring tour of Arlee with a coffee at Black Bear Espresso and a burger at Big Sky Sasquatch.

Red Lodge

A second gateway to Yellowstone but on the northeastern side, Red Lodge needs no help attracting tourists in warmer months. During spring, however, the compact community hosts several vibrant events meant to draw eclectic guests, starting with an Easter egg hunt at Lions Club Park in late March. After that, the Red Lodge Rodeo Association is set to host the Denim and Diamonds dinner in early April, followed by the downtown Red Lodge Art Walk in May, then the Montana Renaissance Festival at the Red Lodge Rodeo Grounds from June 1 to 2.

In between dinners and fairs, you can peep the Yellowstone Wildlife Sanctuary, which offers private tours from January to March but opens to the public in April.

Philipsburg

Some might call Philipsburg a hidden gem, which is an apt description for a historic mining town whose top attraction is the Gem Mountain Sapphire Mine. Typically starting in May, visitors can strike for their own striking sapphires at this remote mountainside mine. If you do not want to pay to do exhaustive mining work, you can buy finished gemstones at the mine's downtown store before copping some treats at The Sweet Palace and treating some coppers at the Montana Law Enforcement Museum. On Saturday, April 20, sapphire miners and first responders will come together for Gem Mountain's Spring Brewfest and Chili Cookoff at the Philipsburg Volunteer Fire Department.

Hot Springs

What is a better spring destination than hot springs in a town called Hot Springs? Another Flathead Reservation community, HS boasts several steamy spring-powered hotels such as Alameda's Hot Springs, Wild Horse Hot Springs (overnight stays suspended), and Symes Hot Springs Hotel and Mineral Baths. The last of those hosts musical acts throughout spring and a blues festival in July. Before the blues fest, you can attend Homesteader's Days, a three-day fair featuring vendors, parades, live music, family games, a car show, and a rodeo. It is set to run from June 7 to 9.

Glendive

A community with just under 5,000 residents in eastern Montana, Glendive is far from the standard Montana tourist haunts, yet it has myriad spring attractions. These include Spring Fling, a home and garden show scheduled for April 5 and 6 at the Eastern Plains Event Center, and the Spring into Summer Gift Show, which is set for Saturday, May 11, at the same venue. Although it cannot claim Yellowstone National Park or Glacier National Park, Glendive contains Makoshika State Park, which spans over 11,000 acres of badlands adorned with wildlife, wildflowers, and fossils. Makoshika has its own collection of spring events like Full Moon Hike, Trivia in the Park, 3-D Archery Shoot, Kids to Park Day, Night Sky Program, and the 34th Annual Buzzard Day.

Montana is even more colorful in spring. From the pink shooting star flowers of West Yellowstone to the blue Easter eggs of Red Lodge, the state's small communities come to life in the months that tourists tend to neglect. Do not make the same mistake. For your next Montana vacation, come a little earlier and travel a little broader to see what others do not get to see: a rural oasis glistening with floral, geological, and cultural gems.