Fall Foliage

DISCOVER OUR MOST COLORFUL SEASON

The abundance of a Montana autumn.

There’s no doubt that fall is one of the loveliest times to explore Western Montana’s Glacier Country. In addition to vibrant colors, visitation tends to quiet down a bit. The valleys and mountains say goodbye to the green shades of summer and hello to the brilliant and rich yellows and golds, as aspen, cottonwood and tamarack trees show off their perfectly coordinated hues.

While Glacier Country is surrounded by the changing colors of fall, there are a few viewing destinations that top the list. One of the best places: Glacier National Park. With a stunning juxtaposition of snowcapped mountain peaks, high alpine valleys and vibrant shades of red and yellow, the diversity of the park’s terrain gives many different perspectives of the Crown of the Continent’s color palette. If you’re planning to visit the park in autumn, be sure to check out these specific locations in and around the park: North Fork Road (between Columbia Falls and Polebridge), Bowman Lake, U.S. Highway 2 near Essex (currently under construction), the Going-to-the-Sun Road and Chief Mountain Highway.

Another hot spot for fall colors is the Seeley-Swan Valley on U.S. Highway 83. This 90-mile-long corridor winds along the valley floor between the Swan Mountains, Bob Marshall Wilderness and Mission Mountains, providing extraordinary views and a quiet corridor.

Additional fall foliage viewing destinations include Missoula—aptly nicknamed the Garden City—the Daly Mansion Museum and Margaret Daly Memorial Arboretum in Hamilton, and the Lake Koocanusa Scenic Byway near Libby. Many of the region’s byways and backroads put you up close with quieter, more undiscovered leaf-peeping paradises.

See more tips on fall travel and scenic byways at glaciermt.com/things-to-do-in-the-fall and glaciermt.com/fall-road-trips.