Take in stellar views from Red Mountain in the Butte Highlands.
Written byDina MishevJune 1, 2010
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Why go: You haven’t seen the real Montana until you’ve been to Butte. The Old West-meets-urban vibe makes it one of the most authentic and interesting stops on your summer road trip (it’s roughly halfway between Yellowstone and Glacier).
The setting: Butte spills down a hillside in southwest Montana, where mellow mountains meet wide valleys.
Local lingo: Downtown is known as Uptown, because it’s on a slope.
The boom years: 1900–1920, when mining riches made Butte the biggest city between Minneapolis and Spokane.
Don’t expect to see: Any wooden façades. After an 1879 fire destroyed nearly all 26 blocks of downtown, new buildings were made of brick or stone. And most of these ornate high-rise jewels are still standing.
Hometown hero: Evel Knievel, who allegedly got his nickname after a night in the old city jail ($10; 117 N. Main St.;buttetours.info).
Join the crowd: Two hundred thousand people show up next month for the National Folk Festival(Jul 9–11; free).
The view from the top: Tourists like to gawk into the Berkeley Pit, an enormous former open-pit mine, but locals know the real views are from Red Mountain in the Butte Highlands in nearby Beaverhead-Deerlodge National Forest.
Pull over along Highland Road for scenic hiking trails. Or drive to 9,000 feet and hike another mile or so to the 10,070-foot summit, looking down on Butte.
Audrey Hall
Start your Butte morning at Blue Luna Coffee & Tea House.
Sip and shop in Uptown: Fuel up with a latte from Blue Luna Coffee & Tea House($; 124 S. Main St.; 406/498-5295) before shopping for throwback treasures.
There’s no shortage of vintage shops, but Old Butte Antiques(123 N. Main St.) is our favorite. In what was once a corset factory, you now might find Serbian musical instruments, painted Austrian china, and Chinese opium pipes. Most everything dates from Butte’s mining heyday.
Go deep into Butte’s history: The World Museum of Mining shows you why Butte is “The Richest Hill on Earth” (we’re talking 16.3 million tons of metals produced since 1880).
A tour takes you 65 feet deep into a retired shaft; a reconstructed mining town transports you to the 1890s; and many of the chatty volunteers worked for years in these mines. From $8.50; 155 Museum Way.
Audrey Hall
Copper King Mansion boasts 34 rooms and a bevy of frescoes.
100 years in 90 minutes: When you’ve got a 26-block area with roughly 6,000 buildings to check out, your feet can use a little help. In 90 minutes, the Butte Trolley($10; 1000 George St.) hits the historic district, the Dumas Brothel Museum (a working brothel until 1982), and the impressively frescoed, 34-room Copper King Mansion (pictured).
Make it a weekend:Toad Hall Manor, a four-room, The Wind in the Willows–inspired B&B on the outskirts of town, wakes you up with hot scones and organic coffee. And the scones are just appetizers—the sit-down breakfast might be vegetable frittata, quiche, or fruit crêpes. From $115.
Hungry? 4 great places to eat in Butte, Montana
Audrey Hall
Kick back a bottle of locally-brewed beer at Butte’s Quarry Brewery.
Quarry Brewery ended the city’s 40-year local-brew drought when it opened in 2007. Try Bavarian-style Headframe Hef or the chocolaty Open Pit Porter. 45 W. Galena St.; 406/723-0245.
Most every Montanan knows what to expect from Uptown Café: one of the best meals in the state, whether it’s the artichoke ravioli, beef Wellington, or scallops Provençal. $$$; 47 E. Broadway St.; 406/723-4735.
John Burklund first sold lightly battered, deep-fried, Montana-raised pork patties from the back of a cart in 1924. In 1932 he opened Pork Chop John’s, with a counter, 10 stools, and a walk-up window. It’s the same today. $; closed Sun; 8 W. Mercury St.; 406/782-0812.
Matt’s Place, the state’s oldest drive-in, draws crowds for local specialty nutburgers—hamburgers topped with mayo mixed with ground peanuts. $; 2339 Placer St.; 406/782-8049.
