I took the dream road trip exploring the US states of North Dakota and Montana. If you haven’t done this before, there’s so many sights and incredible experiences along the way, after reading this, I know you’ll want to go and do it too!…
*this trip was in collaboration with the US tourism board AD*
Hey my friends,
It’s been so great this year to have been travelling more again, and the trip I’ve just been on, I’m so excited to tell you all about! It was something really different for me, as it was a road trip! I’ve always loved the idea of a road trip so this was seriously a bucket list tick.
Here’s a rundown of what I did, ate and saw!
Day 1:
We flew into Bismark, connecting in Denver, and this is where we began our trip from. As you might have guessed, yes, I travelled with my friend, Em as part of the group, so we’re able to enjoy this trip together! We landed pretty late at night, so from here we drove over to the hotel, I stayed at Courtyard Bismarck North, which was great if you need somewhere simple and easy to stay for a night or two during your travels!
Day 2:
After grabbing some breakfast, we arrived at the North Dakota Heritage Centre & State Museum first, this was super interesting to learn more about the state and area itself: It had four museum galleries tracing the state’s rich history from its earliest geologic formation 600 million years ago to today. So as you can imagine – there was so much to see and learn! It’s amazing how there can be so much history in just one state alone! From there we headed to lunch at Lucky’s 13, i’d highly recommend Lucky’s there were so many healthy options, all of which were so good!
After lunch we drove to Knife River Indian Villages National Historic site, which is an area that preserves the historic and archaeological remnants of bands of Hidatsa, Northern Plains Indians, in North Dakota. It was a great experience to chat to a local who was so passionate about the sate and it’s past and take a walk down to the river.
We headed to Target on the way back to the hotel, if you want to see that here’s the YouTube video.
Day 3:
On the agenda today, was a visit to the Enchanted Highway and Theodore Roosevelt National Park!
We got to the Enchanted Highway around 10:30am, it begins at exit 72 on the I-94 near Gladstone and carries on for 32 miles, terminating in the small town of Regent. Along the highway, there’s metal sculptures of ‘Geese in Flight’, ‘World’s Largest Tin Family’, ‘Teddy Rides Again’, ‘Pheasants on the Prairie’, ‘Grasshoppers in the Field’, ‘Deer Crossing’ and ‘Fisherman’s Dream’.
The sculptures along the way really did give an enchanted and magical view as you’re driving along! I think it would be amazing if we had more artwork like this along our endless long roads and motorways in the UK!
We then headed over to Theodore Roosevelt National Park, which is $30.00 per vehicle. We started out on the 36-mile scenic loop drive, which is a must if you’re doing a road trip in the area! It takes around 90 minutes, and you have INCREDIBLE views of the badlands, prairie dog towns and there’s loads of places for wildlife watching. We spent the afternoon here afterwards and did a bit of exploring and taking some photos, there was just so much to see!
We then headed over to our hotel for the evening, we stayed at the La Quinta Inn & Suites by Wyndham Glendive which again was a perfect stopover if you’re in the area and doing a road trip like us. It’s super close to Frontier Gateway Museum and the Glendive Dinosaur and Fossil Museum, if that’s your thing.
Day 4:
We only stayed at this hotel for one night as we continued on our road trip – today’s itinerary was heading to the nearby Makoshika state park, it was only around half an hour away so it made for the perfect morning hike before the long section of our road trip. Entry to the park was $8.00 per car.
The views were incredible, I’d totally recommend taking either the Bluebird or Gunners Ridge trail if you do visit! Gunners Ridge is the longest hike, which then links you onto the Hungry Joe Overlook, or if you turn south, it’s just over two miles to reach Eyefull Vista! The Bluebird trail begins just near the visitor centre and this is quite a bit shorter, but allows you to still enjoy incredible views!
In the afternoon we headed on one of our longer drives of the trip, as we left Makoshika State Park and headed for Bozeman. It took around 5 hours to get there, and we checked into the Residence Inn by Marriot. This was my favourite hotel and destination of the trip!
Nestled in the heart of Montana’s Rocky Mountains, this hotel is 90 miles from Yellowstone National Park, 45 miles from Big Sky Ski Resort, 16 miles from Bridger Bowl Ski Resort and 6 miles from Montana State University, so it’s perfect for the local area’s attractions. I have to add that the views of the surrounding mountains were AMAZING. So, it was a thumbs up from all of us to enjoy these sights, after a long day travelling!
We did head into Downtown Bozeman in the evening and explored the town a little, we had some dinner at Blackbird, it was INCREDIBLE. If you get the chance to visit i’d highly recommend the Kale salad and any of the pasta or pizza dishes!
Day 5:
We had an early breakfast and then drove over to Yellowstone West Entrance, which took around 3 hours from where we were. Entry to the park was $35.00 per vehicle. We grabbed a map and headed down the road from the entrance for about 14 miles, along the way, you get the most stunning views of the Madison River, where we were told to watch out for bison and elk! If the cars slow down in front, then you know there’s something worth seeing! We saw bison within a few minutes of entering the park!
There’s plenty of spots to hop out of the car and walk around, i’d highly making sure you do this. It’s quite a surreal place, something you absolutely have to add to your bucket list if it’s not already on there.
About 3pm we headed out of the park and stopped off at West Yellowstone to check out the gift shops, we needed merch ok!! Then it was back to the hotel and again spent the evening exploring Bozeman. There was a music festival on this night which meant it was super busy, Bozeman seems to be a real hub of activity!
Day 6:
This was the final full day of the trip and after breakfast, we headed over to the Gates of the Mountain for a boat tour! The tour was $16.00 per person and well worth it, if you can work it into your trip. We met up with @kurtisminster, a local passionate photographer who knew ALL the best sites and views we just had to see.
We took a quick stop at the nature reserve by Holter Lake, nearby the town of Wolf Creek, which was so beautiful. Kurtis was saying it’s all about the outdoor, spending days swimming in the lake kind of life in the summers in Montana. Think s’mores and fires by the lake.. You know that scene in the Parent Trap where Lindsay Lohan pushes her Dad’s fiancée out onto the lake on an airbed, it’s exactly like that!! ..but with no evil step mothers.
Before dinner we headed to the Kimpton Armory hotel to check out the rooftop and i’m so glad that we did. Everyone we’d met in Bozeman told us that it was THE spot. We arrived to live music and just generally immaculate vibes, I’d love to stay at the Armory next time i’m in Bozeman!
I’m embarrassed to say that dinner was a repeat, we just HAD to take the rest of our group to Blackbird. It was incredible, yet again.
Day 7:
Finally, we had some real time to explore Bozeman! It’s the most unassuming place but we were so charmed and I will absolutely be going back. We started off the day with a walk to breakfast at the Farmer’s Daughters Cafe. This is at the newly renovated RSVP Motel, a boutique motel style hotel. Think Australian cafe meet’s motel! The food was fabulous and the coffee was great too.
We had just enough time to mooch around the shops before heading back to collect our bags to go to the airport. There’s lots of merch shops, although they’re much more of a high end feel than those near Yellowstone. Along with Lululemon, coffee shops and so much more!
After that, we headed back to the hotel and then on to the airport to drop our car off. Enjoying the sights a road trip brings is something I’d totally recommend and is an incredible way to take in your surroundings and really SEE where you’re visiting! Bozeman will absolutely be somewhere i’ll visit again, flights from Los Angeles to Bozeman are just 2hrs 40, so it’s the perfect weekend break.
Has my trip inspired you to go and explore America’s less obvious attractions? I think you should definitely add this one to your bucket list!
Until next time,
Emily.
