Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
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Emerson Center for the Arts and Culture:
The Emerson is a 1900s school re-
habbed as the city's arts hub, with more than 30 studios, a fab restaurant, and special
events (
click here
).
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Madison Buffalo Jump State Park:
A hike on this park's cliff is both a lesson in
Native American history and an exercise in solitude (
click here
)
.
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Floating the Madison River:
The section of this blue-ribbon trout stream north
of Norris is wide and slow, with plentiful access for floaters. The water is warm and
weaves through beautiful rolling terrain (
click here
).
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Chico Hot Springs Resort:
Chico has all the trappings of a resort—hiking, rid-
ing, pool, day spa, and sumptuous cuisine—with none of the attitude (
click here
).
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Beartooth Scenic Highway and Pass:
This highway offers room for spontaneous
adventures. Bring your bike, hiking boots, binoculars, and even your skis on this
summit-topping stunner (
click here
)
.
Called the “Valley of the Flowers” by the Native Americans—including Shoshone, Nez
Perce, Blackfeet, Flathead, and Sioux—who lived in, passed through, and traded in the area,
the Gallatin Valley around Bozeman was known as a peaceful place; no wars or skirmishes
are known to have occurred in the valley. Instead, the region was lush with plentiful rivers
and game. White trappers may have entered the valley in the late 18th century, most likely
in pursuit of prized beaver pelts. Lewis and Clark camped in the valley in 1805 and 1806.
The discovery of gold at Alder Gulch in 1862 prompted John Bozeman of Georgia to es-
tablish the Bozeman Trail, a spur of the Oregon Trail. On July 7, 1864, Daniel E. Rouse and
William J. Beall proposed the site for the town that would be named for Bozeman on August
9, 1864. Some of Bozeman's earliest residents include mountain man Jim Bridger, who led
the first wagon train through the mountains north of town, now called Bridger Canyon, and
cattle baron Nelson Story, who herded his cattle from Texas to Bozeman, mostly at night so
that he could avoid Native Americans and the U.S. Army, who did not support the trek.
