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(CNN) There are numerous settlements in the American West that act as entry points to the natural world. Launching stations, as it were, are places that are situated on the edge of the wilderness and provide the notorious three Bs—a bed, a burger, and a beer—to people who are looking for safety.
However, Missoula, Montana, is much more than just a starting point. As one young college student who worked in a coffee shop put it, it’s better to think of it as a basecamp, with lots to see and do before embarking on your next outdoor excursion.
He explained that because Missoula is so far away, people frequently assume that there isn’t any diversity or culture here, and they are unaware of how much is happening until they visit and experience it for themselves.
Missoula, which is home to over 80,000 people and a sizable student body at the University of Montana, has been described by locals as being somewhat alternative, varied, and quirky. There are countless options for outdoor leisure, particularly in relation to river sports like boating and fishing, as well as hiking and mountain biking, since there is world-class nature in every direction.
Black smoke and the hum of saws once filled the atmosphere of Missoula, an industrial lumber town. However, things are different now. With a university heritage that infuses its downtown with vitality, Missoula is a modern city that is outdoor, artistic, and musical.
The confluence of four great rivers
Todd Frank, a local outdoor outfitter, claims that Missoula is situated at the meeting point of four of the best rivers in the Western United States for pleasure and fishing: the Bitterroot, the Blackfoot, the Clark Fork, and Rock Creek.
Fly fishing is a part of the local culture, and if it’s your first time, you may learn the ropes by going on a guided fly-fishing excursion. Hiking, camping, and mountain biking are additional ways to enjoy the tranquility of Montana’s countryside. These activities are common in the area’s wilderness regions, including the Bob Marshall Wilderness, Bitterroot National Forest, Flathead National Forest, Lolo National Forest, and many more. Handy recreation recommendations to hiking trails and other activities in Missoula, including their difficulty and distance from town, can be found online at The Trail Head, Todd Frank’s outdoor goods company.
The fact that you don’t have to travel far to appreciate the outdoors in Missoula is a major draw. Just four miles from downtown is Rattlesnake National Recreation Area and Wilderness, and the Clark Fork River, which flows directly through the center of town, comes alive with activity during the summer. From town, the picturesque M trail leads up to a Missoula overlook.
According to Matt Lautzenheiser, executive director of the Historical Museum at Fort Missoula, a 32-acre park with a variety of displays, you may be on a trail five minutes outside of town and not even realize there is a town there.
Unquestionably, the city’s tourism depends heavily on the rivers, and every visitor will inevitably come into contact with them. In order to observe the fly anglers working in the river below, Frank suggests that visitors have a drink on the deck of Finn Restaurant. Rent a canoe, inflatable kayak, or tube and float a section of the Clark Fork River for some low-key river time. This is a popular local activity that allows you to spend a day on the water near your house.
A massive sawmill that handled the processing and transportation of wood would have been the focal point of Missoula if you had arrived before 1990. Longtime locals recall a time when the river was obscured by wood pulp, the town was shrouded in haze, and the noises of the sawmill could be heard for miles.
When Frank first arrived in Missoula in the early 1980s, he remembered that the air was foul and smokey and that not much was happening. Nobody entered the river when I moved here. In general, every company in Missoula had its back to the river. There was absolutely no fishing to be done.
Natural resource extraction industries were forced out in the 1980s, 1990s, and early 2000s by a number of governmental changes and environmental groups’ initiatives. The closure of the mills had a severe impact on the local economy, but a well-liked Hollywood movie helped usher in Missoula’s new tourism age.
In retrospect, Frank referred to the 1992 Brad Pitt movie A River Runs Through It as a turning point because it introduced Americans to Missoula and Montana fly fishing. The rivers of Missoula took front stage after that.
According to Frank, that film brought Montana fishing to the attention of the world. The amount of people who came to recreate basically exploded at that moment, and we’ve been busy ever since.
A destination for music
Missoula has prospered in other ways as well, but the success story of reviving the rivers usually takes center stage.
The iconic Top Hat Lounge had seen better days when Nick Checota relocated to Missoula over 20 years ago. Not much better off was the Wilma theater nearby, which was dilapidated and lacked the stage equipment and musical infrastructure needed to draw performers on a regular basis.
Checota saw potential where others saw stagnation. As a side project, he later purchased and restored the Top Hat. Later, in 2015, he purchased and refurbished the Wilma. In 2017, he constructed a brand-new outdoor facility on the Blackfoot River called the KettleHouse Amphitheater, which can accommodate 4,000 people. The land was formerly the Bonner Mill, a lumber processing factory.
According to Frank, Nick changed the game in our neighborhood. He has made several contributions to the music scene and community that have significantly altered the landscape of what is accessible to us.
In addition to infrequent stadium performances at the University of Montana, tourists can now enjoy Missoula’s fantastic music culture by bouncing around these locations. Visitors particularly adore the KettleHouse because of its picturesque, sun-drenched riverfront atmosphere. Given Missoula’s remote location, Checota claimed that 67% of summer ticket purchases originate from out-of-state zip codes, which is an impressive accomplishment.
The ability to draw national artists is undoubtedly a factor in the surge of tourists, but Checota also believes that Missoula is growing in popularity among music enthusiasts due to the purposefully affordable tickets. For instance, most events at the KettleHouse have lawn seats for less than $50, often as low as $29.50.
You can visit the KettleHouse Brewing Company taproom next to the amphitheater before a show. Or visit Bayern Brewing, Montana’s oldest microbrewery, which opened in 1987 and serves German brats and pretzels along with traditional Bavarian brews. There are over a dozen craft breweries in Missoula to check out.
Creative culture
You would be excused if your Montana bingo card didn’t feature top-notch pottery. However, Missoula artists produce ceramics of a caliber that is comparable to the best in the United States.
Lisa Simon, a former English literature professor at the University of Montana and co-owner of Radius Gallery, says visitors come and want to pinch themselves. The fact that [these ceramics] are in Missoula rather than New York City astounds them.
The Archie Bray Center, a well-known ceramics center about two hours from town, is responsible for Missoula’s proficiency in this age-old craft.
According to Simon, visitors to The Bray travel from all over the world. Many talented ceramicists relocated to Missoula in order to be near The Bray.
Although there are many ways to experience the ceramic scene in town, you may make the journey to The Bray for a two-hour clay session. For instance, the Zootown Arts Community Center offers a variety of events and programs, and the Clay Studio of Missoula offers adult clay lessons for all skill levels. There are several galleries in the downtown area, such as Radius, that sell professionally crafted ceramics.
There are also two art museums the Missoula Art Museum and the Montana Museum of Art and Culture on the University of Montana campus.
Discover a diverse range of Indigenous art in Missoula, such as ledger art, a distinctive form of expression that dates back to the 1890s and saw a resurgence in the 1970s.
According to Simon, “Ledger art” is based on a historic art form that was done by Plains Indians, who were divided into up to 30 different tribes. They created a kind of flattened picture art that recounted battles, events from that year, marriages, and other occasions.
When Native Americans were compelled to live on reservations in the late 18th and early 19th centuries, the custom was altered. Instead of painting on, say, buffalo hides, the artform was adapted onto discarded ledgers, which were available in abundance from government officials, missionaries and traders. Ledger art is still a significant component of Indigenous storytelling today. Ask around for examples of ledger art at galleries in downtown Missoula.
To discover more of the quirky and hipster side of Missoula, visit Rockin Rudy s department store or Rudy s Attic, where you can shop for Montana-themed gag gifts and nostalgic memorabilia. Or, take the family for a ride on the local carousel, which is one of the few fully hand-carved carousels in the country.
Repurposing the past for the future
In the center of town, where the old sawmill once stood, is the newest neighborhood in Missoula. Created in 2015 and known as the Old Sawmill District, it could be considered a historic district, thanks to the fact that it sits on close to 50 acres of prime riverside real estate that was once occupied by the mill.
A walk through it reveals its modern ways, though, with a variety of brand-new apartments and condos, mixed-use commercial office space, and ground-level retail outlets. It is here that you will find a more modern version of Missoula taking root, perhaps even trendy at times for example, behold the Montana-inspired French cuisine at Boxcar Bistro.
But the area retains a laid-back feel despite its uptick in style. The neighborhood is home to many local ballfields, which are flooded with families on summer nights, and sits adjacent to the Clark Fork River and its riverfront trail, nice for evening strolls or bike rides.
Like many smaller cities, Missoula s population saw a big increase during and after the pandemic. The popular show Yellowstone, which was filmed in the Missoula area, also increased its visibility, as has the recent increase in travel to national parks. (Missoula has long been a stopping point for those road tripping between Yellowstone and Glacier).
It s becoming more than just, I ll stay one night there on my way from Yellowstone to Glacier, Lautzenheiser said.
It s more than just a launching pad, he said. It s a place where people can spend a few days and really experience not only that kind of western culture [typical of Montana], but also that kind of quirky, interesting Missoula culture we ve created.
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