Big Sky Country

Today we journey into one of the most powerful landscapes in American history: Little Bighorn Battlefield National Monument. Here, amid rolling grasslands and windswept ridges, the events of June 1876 unfolded in a clash of cultures that has shaped the national memory for generations.

What distinguishes Little Bighorn today is the balanced interpretation of those events and their legacy. The events of June 25, 1876 are interpreted from multiple perspectives—Lt. Col. George Armstrong Custer and the soldiers of the 7th Cavalry, as well as the Lakota, Northern Cheyenne, and Arapaho warriors defending their homelands and way of life. As we explore the battlefield, monuments and markers trace the movements of the conflict across a landscape that remains hauntingly unchanged.
continued…

We continue to Chief Plenty Coups State Park, the home and sacred resting place of the final traditional chief of the Crow Nation. More than a restored dwelling, the property offers insight on Native leadership, cultural adaptation, and survival during a period of profound transformation across the American West. Returning to Billings this evening, we reflect upon a day that blends military history, Indigenous history, and the enduring complexity of the frontier experience. Overnight: The Northern Hotel, Billings

Departing Billings, we travel westward across Montana’s picturesque landscapes toward the Rocky Mountains and the historic mining communities that helped shape modern America. Our morning is devoted to the celebrated Museum of the Rockies, ranked among the nation’s great natural history museums. Internationally recognized for its dinosaur collections—including some of the world’s most significant Tyrannosaurus Rex discoveries—the museum also presents a richly layered interpretation of the Northern Rockies through exhibits on Indigenous cultures, frontier settlement, transportation, and regional history.

Continuing west, we arrive in historic Butte, “The Richest Hill on Earth,” once among the wealthiest mining towns on the planet. Butte’s immense copper deposits fueled the electrification of America. They transformed the city itself into a center of industrial and political ambition, labor struggle, and immigrant culture.

This afternoon we ascend high above the Continental Divide to Our Lady of the Rockies, a striking ninety-foot statue of the Madonna that overlooks the surrounding mountain ranges and valleys. Reached by guided mountain transport, the experience offers not only panoramic vistas, but a moving tribute to the women and families who shaped Montana’s communities during the mining era. Overnight: The Finlen Hotel in Butte

This morning we explore the World Museum of Mining, situated on the site of the historic Orphan Girl Mine. The museum preserves the industrial landscape that once powered America’s rapid industrialization during the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Massive headframes, original machinery, and recreated mining streets vividly convey the scale and intensity of life in Butte during its copper boom years. Beneath the city stretched miles of underground tunnels where miners labored in dangerous conditions extracting the copper that electrified a growing nation.

Among Montana's most powerful mining barons was William Andrews Clark, a larger-than-life magnate who bribed his way into the United States Senate, which refused to seat him—until he won a 1901 election the old-fashioned way. “I never bought a man who wasn't for sale,” he insisted. His New York City home was the largest private residence in the city. In Butte we’ll visit the appropriately named Copper King Mansion. His youngest child, Huguette, spent the last 20 years of her 104-year life in Manhattan hospitals, surrounded by her priceless doll collection. When she died in 2011, she left behind a $300 million fortune that became the subject of a bitter family dispute. Overnight: The Finlen Hotel in Butte

Today we journey to Helena, Montana’s elegant capital city, whose origins trace back to the gold discoveries of the 1860s. Our morning begins at the Montana State Capitol, an impressive civic landmark whose grand chambers, murals, statuary, and architectural detail reflect the confidence and prosperity of the Treasure State. We next visit the Montana Heritage Center. Through carefully curated exhibits, fine art, photographs, and historic artifacts, the museum provides a richly textured understanding of Montana’s development—from Indigenous civilizations and frontier settlement to mining, transportation, and modern life in the West.

Our final stop in Helena is the magnificent Cathedral of Saint Helena. Inspired by the great Gothic cathedrals of Europe, its soaring twin spires, vaulted interior, and luminous stained-glass windows reveal the sophistication and cultural aspirations that emerged during Montana’s mining-era prosperity. Leaving Helena behind us, we travel north across Montana’s river country en route to Great Falls. Overnight: The Gibson Hotel Great Falls, an Ascend Collection Hotel

Today we follow the route of the Lewis and Clark Expedition through one of the most difficult stretches encountered by the Corps of Discovery. Near present-day Great Falls, Meriwether Lewis and William Clark expected to encounter a single waterfall bisecting the Missouri River. Instead, they discovered a series of massive falls and rapids that forced the expedition into an exhausting eighteen-mile portage—one of the greatest physical challenges of the entire journey to the Pacific. As we explore the river corridor and scenic overlooks surrounding the falls, the immense scale of the landscape helps illuminate both the hardships and achievements of the expedition.

We continue to Giant Springs State Park, where immense volumes of crystal-clear water surge naturally from underground springs that are among the largest freshwater springs in the United States. Nearby, the Giant Springs Fish Hatchery highlights the region’s continuing relationship with the Missouri River ecosystem. Our day concludes at the outstanding Lewis and Clark Interpretive Center, the largest on the entire trail. Immersive exhibits and detailed interpretation bring the Corps of Discovery vividly to life while tying together the landscapes and historic sites explored throughout our journey. Overnight: The Gibson Hotel Great Falls, an Ascend Collection Hotel

This morning we visit the renowned C. M. Russell Museum, dedicated to the celebrated western artist Charles Marion Russell. Through his paintings, sculptures, personal studio, and preserved home, Russell captured the drama, beauty, and complexity of frontier life. A kind of Big Sky Norman Rockwell, his work remains popular among critics and the public alike. We continue to First Peoples Buffalo Jump State Park, one of the largest such sites in North America. For centuries, Indigenous peoples conducted highly coordinated communal hunts here, sustaining entire communities through practices requiring remarkable planning, skill, and cooperation. Standing atop the dramatic cliffs overlooking the plains offers both a powerful visual experience and an important connection to the region’s earliest inhabitants.

From the prehistoric era to the Cold War, we conclude our Montana exploration at the Malmstrom Air Force Base Museum and Air Park. Exhibits trace the state’s important role in America's twentieth-century defense network and the strategic significance of the Northern Plains during the nuclear age. Overnight: The Gibson Hotel Great Falls, an Ascend Collection Hotel

Following breakfast, our remarkable journey through Big Sky Country comes to a close. Guests depart from Great Falls International Airport at their leisure, carrying home memories of sweeping western landscapes, frontier history, Indigenous cultures, and the enduring spirit of the American West.

We are grateful that you chose to experience Big Sky Country with Presidents & Patriots Historical Tours. We hope the stories, places, and experiences we shared will remain among your favorite travel memories—and that we’ll have the pleasure of welcoming you aboard another Presidents & Patriots journey in the years ahead.