Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Information
Visitor information is available from the
Anaconda Chamber of Commerce and Visitors
Center
(306 E. Park Dr., 406/563-2400,
www.anacondamt.org
,
9am-5pm Mon.-Sat. sum-
mer, 9am-5pm Mon.-Fri. fall-spring). The visitors center offers wonderful two-hour antique
bus tours of the city (10am and 2pm daily summer, $8 adults, $4 children under 6) as well
as a 16-minute video of local attractions. A printed guide for walking tours is also available.
Getting There
Anaconda is just a short jog off I-90 on Route 1, the Pintler Scenic Highway. Anaconda is
108 miles southeast of Missoula and 24 miles northwest of Butte.
The Big Hole Valley is high, wide, and handsome, not unlike Montana's larger breadbasket
to the east, but the emphasis here is on high. Most of this massive valley is in fact a relat-
ively high mountain plateau, entirely flat terrain at or above 6,000 feet ringed by mountains
that soar more than 10,000 feet into the sky. It's beautiful in the most sweeping sort of way,
and relatively untouched by the developments of our modern world; technology runs a dis-
tant second to tradition.
The valley was explored by Lewis and Clark in the summer of 1806 on their return from
the Oregon Coast. They grazed their horses on the 125 different varieties of grass (and some
of their animals were stolen while the explorers slept), and they boiled meat in the natural
hot springs. While fur trappers and later cattle ranchers did big business here in the summer,
no one was eager to weather the harsh winters. Two local ranchers invented a unique hay
stacker, known as the beaver slide, in 1910, and it is still widely used in the valley. It creates
large stacks of hay rather than the mechanically bound hay bales we expect to see today.
The oldest town in the valley, Wisdom (pop. 98), was settled in 1898. Located on the Big
Hole River, Melrose (pop. 175) is an angler's paradise, as is Wise River (pop. 306), which
is set at the confluence of the Wise River and the Big Hole. Jackson (pop. 105), known for
its hot springs resort and awesome snowmobile terrain, is a winter haven and only 20 miles
from Idaho. Polaris (pop. 105) is considered a populated mining ghost town with a won-
derful old-school hot springs resort, Elkhorn Hot Springs, and a classic ski hill, Maverick
Mountain.
