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| Sarah Bummer and Cody Hunter get a closer look at Silken Skein Falls in Hyalite Canyon. |
Bozeman Montana was established in 1863, in Gallatin County which is 2,517 square miles in size. To put this in perspective, Gallatin County is larger than the states of Rhode Island or Delaware. Much of surrounding countryside is fertile farm fields, and over 40% is managed by the U.S. Forest Service which provides excellent recreational opportunities for residents and visitors. Agriculture continues to be the number one industry of the area, and wheat, and barley fields and picturesque old barns dot the landscape.
The great active lifestyle magazine, Outside Magazine, has rated Bozeman on of the 15 best “sport cities” in the country. Bozeman received this recognition because of outstanding opportunities for ice climbing, fly-fishing, downhill skiing, hunting, hiking, camping, climbing, canoeing, and kayaking. Bozeman is an angler's paradise with several outstanding streams and rivers within an hour's drive.
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| Arch Falls in Hyalite Canyon |
The surrounding forests offer an escape from "city life," and with a short drive, you will find yourself in a whole new world. Camping, hiking, fishing, and biking are common weekend activities, just like Outside Magazine stated. In the spring and summer, wildflowers accentuate the beautiful landscape along numerous trails, and these same areas offer miles of cross-country skiing in the winter.
Bozeman is home to talented artists, professors, ranchers, and the craftsmen that make Gibson Guitars. Excellent galleries and eateries representing an array of styles and flavors line our city streets. You will also find opera, symphony, ballet, and rodeo, as well as The Sweet Pea Festival, Christmas Stroll and the Gallatin County Fair and Home of Montana State University,
Bozeman prides itself in offering small town ambiance with big city amenities. Nestled in the Gallatin Valley a high mountain valley at an elevation of 4,795 feet and is surrounded on three sides by the Bridger, Gallatin and Tobacco Root mountains.
World-renowned rivers such as the Madison, Gallatin and Yellowstone are all within 30 miles of town. But there’s also plenty of fish to be caught in the area’s numerous lakes and smaller streams including some right in town. From scenic pleasure floats in a raft or canoe to whitewater rafting and kayaking there are plenty of opportunities for all ages and skill levels to enjoy the rivers outside Bozeman.
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| Many Trout like the German brown can be cought in the rivers around Bozeman |
There is ample opportunity for touring and mountain biking Bozeman’s city streets and abundant single track trails throughout the nearby foothills and mountains.
Skiers and snowboarders have the run of three world-class destination resorts, all within an hour’s drive, including community-owned Bridger Bowl. Located 16 miles north of Bozeman, Bridger is renowned for powder so dry and wispy; locals dub it “the cold smoke.” Big Sky Resort and Moonlight Basin, an hour south of Bozeman, are ideal for those seeking a road trip in their pursuit of powder. For the cross-country skier Bohart Ranch, near Bridger Bowl, offers 25 km of groomed cross county trails or head out on your own on numerous back country options some of which begin in the middle of town.
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| Campers enjoy the view of Hyalite Reservior |
Hiking trails range from easy to difficult are numerous in all elevations from 4,500 to over 10,000 feet. You can even hike on our “Main Street to the Mountains” trail system which starts at various points throughout town.
In the spring and summer, wildflowers accentuate the beautiful landscape along numerous trails, and these same areas offer miles of cross-country skiing in the winter.
For thousands of years, Native Americans tribes including the Shoshone, Nez Perce, Blackfeet, Flathead and Sioux made the area their home, though the Gallatin Valley was not permanently held by any particular tribe.
William Clark visited the area in July 1806 as he traveled east from Three Forks along the Gallatin River. The party camped 3 miles (4.8 km) east of what is now Bozeman, at the mouth of Kelly Canyon. The journal entries from Clark's party briefly describe the future city's location in a place the local natives called the "Valley of the Flowers"
In 1863, John Bozeman, along with a partner named John Jacobs, opened the Bozeman Trail, an offshoot from the Oregon Trail leading to the mining town of Virginia City through the Gallatin Valley and the future location of Bozeman.
John Bozeman, with Daniel Rouse and William Bealle platted the town in 1864 stating "standing right in the gate of the mountains ready to swallow up all tenderfeet that would reach the territory from the east, with
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| The Gallatin Range makes a nicereflection in Hyalite Reservior. Hyalite Reservior is a half hour out of Bozeman |
their golden fleeces to be taken care of. The Indian Wars closed the Bozeman Trail in 1868, but the town's fertile land attracted permanent settlers. In 1866 Nelson Story arrived with 3,000 head of longhorn cattle sneaking past angry Native Americans and the U.S. Army who tried to turn Story back for safety reasons. These first herd of longhorns formed the first cow herd establishing Montana's cattle industry.
Fort Ellis was established in 1867 by Captain R. S. LaMotte and two companies of the 2nd Cavalry, after the mysterious death of John Bozeman near Yellowstone and considerable political disturbance in the area led local settlers and miners to feel a need for added protection. The fort, named for Gettysburg casualty Colonel Augustus Van Horne Ellis, was decommissioned in 1886 and very few remains are left at the actual site, now occupied by the Fort Ellis Experimental Station of Montana State University In addition to Fort Ellis, a short-lived fort, Fort Elizabeth Meahger (also simply known as Fort Meagher), was established in 1867 by volunteer militiamen. This fort was located eight miles east of town on Rock Creek.
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| Whitewater Raftaing is great fun on the Gallatin River 30 miles south of Bozeman |
Northern Pacific Railway tracks finally reached the small town in 1883. By 1900, Bozeman's population reached 3,500.
Bozeman - An ideal place to recreate! Clean air, national forest access less than 10 miles away and a moderate climate makes this a perfect place for outdoor recreation. For those who like to stay a little closer to home enjoy shopping, parks, world-class museums, and arts, and cultural opportunities. Residents of Bozeman receive the benefits of a wonderful standard of living with year-round recreational and cultural events. Bozeman is the place to be for that small town feel with big city amenities. Bozeman is the perfect place to do everything or nothing at all.
Located in the heart of the Rocky Mountains, Bozeman is truly a remarkable community. The area at large encompasses over 50,000 people with backgrounds and cultures as diverse as the Montana landscape. From cattle ranchers to high tech engineers, the area is home to a breed of people who have come to appreciate an unmatched quality of life. While retaining a small town feel, Bozeman prides itself on offering community activities and programs typically available only in larger, metropolitan areas. Combine the wide array of resources with an abundance of outdoor recreational opportunities and it's easy to understand why Bozeman ranks as one of the nation's most liveable cities.
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The barns of Bozeman reflect are reminders of its farming heritage before it became a hip place for outdoor enthusiasts to migrate to. |
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Bozeman
Trail before John Bozeman: A busy land • by
Robert Utley,
The Great Father sends us presents and wants us to sell
him the road, but White Chief goes with soldiers to steal
the road before the Indians say Yes or No."So Red
Cloud is supposed to have exploded angrily when Colonel
Henry
B. Carrington's infantry interrupted the Fort Laramie
peace council of 1866. Off he stormed with his Oglala
warriors, and the war for the Bozeman Trail was on.
Fly
Fishing Opportunities near Bozeman, Montana • By Brant Oswald
The fly fishing opportunities found near
Bozeman, Montana are well known to most folks in the FFF community.
Rather
than repeat the same information that is available from a
multitude of other sources, here are a few tips from a local
on the area’s best fishing
In
the Bozone • by Peter Fish
After just one day in Bozeman, Montana, I was compiling
a list of all the reasons my family and I had to move here
right away:
MSU
acquires records of legendary fly fishing publisher • By Tracy Ellig
Bozeman - In the past 30 years, any reader of fly fishing
books has likely turned the pages of something published by
Nick Lyons. Lyons, who sought the best writing on angling
and put it into print, is regarded as one of the most important
forces in the publication of fly fishing books in
America.
Empty
slopes in Montana
There wasn't really a story at all until the former US
television news "anchor" Chet
Huntley embarked on creating a ski resort on the eastern face of the mountain,
which is about 60 miles south of Bozeman in Montana.
Hemingway Adventure, Bozeman, Montana
On November 1930, when Archie MacLeish flew out to Montana
to see his friend Ernest hospitalised in Billings after
a serious car crash, it took him two days to get there and
he called it ‘the most hair raising flight of my life’.
Mountain
Meadows Guest Ranch, Bozeman Montana • By Kimberly
Lisagor
I'd Just plunged my fork into a
yolky eggs Benedict when Alex, my seven-year-old breakfast
companion,
posed
a question: "Have
you ever seen deer guts? They smell baaaad." In any
other setting, this might seem strange. Not so in Mountain
Meadows Guest Ranch's corner of Montana, 52 miles south
of Bozeman, where elk far outnumber humans and a curious
young traveler can collect a lifetime's worth of gross-out
facts in a single day.
Great
ski resorts you've never heard of
If you're serious about ditching the crowds, try one of
these powder-heavy, laid-back, easy-on-your-wallet alternatives
to the usual Rocky Mountain mayhem. Located about 16 miles
north of Bozeman, Montana, on Highway 86, Bridger Bowl Ski
Area has 2,000 feet of vertical, great intermediate glade
skiing, and some of the gnarliest rock-strewn couloirs in
the West. With 25 percent beginner terrain, 35 percent intermediate,
30 percent advanced, and 10 percent hike-in extreme skiing,
Bridger has plenty to offer skiiers of all levels. Despite
the fact that ultra-funky Bozeman is only a 20-minute drive
away, Bridger is blissfully crowd-free--thanks to a new
quad that's increased lift capacity by 43 percent. For slopeside
accommodations, rent a privately owned condo or opt for
the low-key bed and breakfast. Be aware that they only have
75 beds on the mountain, so most people stay down the road
in Bozeman (the airport is just 10 minutes outside of town).
Peak Named for Alex Lowe
September 22, 2005 Alex Lowe spent a lifetime inscribing
his legacy on mountains all over the world; now one of
them will bear the late climber’s name. The U.S.
Board on Geographic Names has approved Alex Lowe Peak
as the new name of a Montana mountain, in honor of the
climber considered one of the finest of his generation. Alex Lowe Peak, formerly known only as Unnamed Peak 10,031 — a
number corresponding to its elevation—is southwest
of Mount Blackmore in Gallatin National Forest, near Lowe’s
hometown of Bozeman.
Thanksgiving
Buck - The mule deer of a lifetime
Montana isn’t known as the place to go for trophy
mulies, rightfully so, but that doesn’t mean there
aren’t any good bucks in Big Sky Country. I’m
not going to say exactly where I found this guy, but I think
a little background on my development as a hunter and the
steps that led me to him will be revealing. I have always
had the hunting bug, but my father didn’t hunt big
game and the relatives who occasionally took me were pretty
much road hunters. I managed to kill a few deer and antelope
in my teen years, but never really got the opportunity to
hunt much until my college days in Bozeman. I can still
clearly remember the first time I was lurking down a ridge
in the Bridgers and got what I call the "predator feeling",
that right-brain thing where you stop thinking in words
and are just "there" with all senses turned up
to ten. I haven’t been the same since.
The
Face Of Bozeman • By Ann Marie Gardner
No longer a cow town, Bozeman -- in Big Sky Country, Montana
-- has been nicknamed Boz Angeles because of an influx
of Californians and celebrities. This has resulted in
ranchers cashing out and Wal-Mart moving in, although
downtown Bozeman still has plenty of charm, along with
mountain views. And while it has been known to snow in
August, on most weekends you'll find the whole town --
and its many dogs -- floating down the Madison and Yellowstone
Rivers on inner tubes.
MusicVilla.com •
Music Villa is located in beautiful downtown Bozeman, Montana.
Home of the Gibson Acoustics Premier Showroom, we are
a full line dealer selling quality musical products for
everyone from beginner to expert and hobbyist to collector.
Our web site shows just a sample of our large inventory,
so
if you are interested in a product that you dont see
here, please feel free to call us at 406-587-4761, Email
us or just stop by if you are in the neighborhood! .................I
did and the owner let me in to see the Gibsons even though
he
was
closed and knowing that I was a looker and not a buyer.
He is so proud of his product he personally showed me his
pride and joys that wen't on the showroom floor. If I can
ever afford a musical piece of art, I am buying it in Bozeman
at Music Villa. - Publisher - Greater Yellowstone Resource Guide.
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