Explore Montana's Regions and Towns

Things you didn't know you could do in and around Miles City.

There can be no better place to utter the words “cowboy up” in Montana than Miles City, one of eastern Montana’s lively communities. The town might best be noted for its annual Miles City Bucking Horse Sale, 3rd weekend in May. Since 1951, rodeo stock contractors come to bid and buy rough stock during the three days of rodeo action. Add to this a parade, trade show, wild horse races, quick draw art auction, barbecues and street dances on Friday and Saturday nights and you’ve got the makings for a wild and woolly weekend. www.buckinghorsesale.com If you’re planning to attend and lodging isn’t available in town, try the nearby community of Forsyth.

If you don’t have cowboys boots or at the very least, a cowboy hat, you’re likely to feel a bit out of place at the Bucking Horse Sale. Get yourself duded out at the Miles City Saddlery on Main Street. Upstairs in the store is a saddle museum www.milescitysaddlery.com. Take home a custom fitted hat from the Kickin’ Ass Hat Company – Ken is your man there. www.kickinasshats.com. After all the shopping, wet your whistle among the steer heads adorning the walls at the historic Montana Bar on Main Street.

For breakfast, it’s the 600 Club on Main Street – food is more than filling, but the real treat is the colorful locals in cowboy hats ordering biscuits drowning in gravy, complete with crispy bacon on the side (406-234-3860). If you’re addicted to bakery goods and want to wash them down with an expresso, latte or another fruh—fruh coffee drink, stop in at Main Street Grind. Outside seating is delightful (406- 234-4664).

For dinner, try Montana’s Rib and Chop www.ribandchophouse.com; their cedar plank salmon with a Jamaican brown sugar glaze is killer! Club 519 on Miles City’s Main Street www.club519.com is the place to go for prime rib. Hankering for Mexican? Mexico Lindo on South Haynes Avenue has been touted as the “best Mexican in Montana” (406-234-3485). Also highly recommended is New Hunan Restaurant on South Haynes (406-234-3338). If you’ve got many mouths to feed, try The Boardwalk – family style food, great prices - yet another stop on South Haynes thoroughfare of tourist services (406-234-0195).

Looking for something other than a chain hotel to hang your hat on for the night? Try the Yellowstone Bluffs Bed and Breakfast, an exquisite property perched high above the Yellowstone River. www.yellowstonebluffsbandb.com Support the locals by stopping in at the newly opened Tongue River Vineyard & Winery, committed to using only fruit grown or picked in the state. Owners are Bob and Marilyn Thaden. As detailed on their website, “Bob spent 30 years as a United Church of Christ pastor in the upper west, and after achieving burnout, chose to pursue a different 'spirit' to uplift people's souls.” www.tongueriverwinery.com

Talk about a good re-use of space – check out the Custer County Art and Heritage Center. Housed in the concrete basins of the 1910 Water Works that produced Mile City's drinking water for over 60 years, the Center fills nearly 10,000 square feet of exhibit and work space. The Center features changing exhibits of both regional and national stature. www.ccac.milescity.org For the western history buff, a stop at Range Riders Museum complex is a must. It’s floor to ceiling with western memorabilia in the 13 buildings that make up the complex. The local volunteers that work the museum will happily dispense enough history for you to fill a journal. If you happen to visit during the Bucking Horse Sale, take in the Cowboy Breakfast at the museum, held on Sundays of this busy weekend. www.rangeridersmuseum.org

Day trip over to Terry (1/2 hr. drive from Miles City), first to explore the incredible work of Lady Evelyn Cameron, pioneer photographer, in the museum dedicated to her work. Ask the locals for directions and take a drive out on the Calypso Trail; pack your lunch and stretch your legs with a walk through the Terry badlands. Stop in at the iconic Kempton Hotel for a tour of the oldest continually operating hotel in Montana. www.visitterrymontana.com

Fishermen take note: The Yellowstone River has 45 fish species in this lower stretch by Miles City, including walleye, smallmouth bass and sturgeon. Montana’s paddlefishing season starts May 1. The “hot spot” is Intake, roughly 1.5 hrs NE of Miles City on the Yellowstone River at Intake. This prehistoric senior citizen of the Yellowstone can grow up to 7 feet and weigh over 200 pounds; method of catching is by snagging. For info on area fishing, contact the Miles City regional office of Fish, Wildlife and Parks (406-234-0900) www.fwp.mt.gov/parks