Explore 15 Montana mountain ranges.

Montana USA, Big Sky Country, is surrounded by stunning mountain ranges, including the Northern Rocky Mountains. With at least 100 mountain ranges and sub-ranges, Montana's splendor is often awe-inspiring. The word Montana comes from Latin, meaning "mountainous," and its peaks change colors with the seasons.

Montana boasts 15 mountain ranges renowned for their splendor and soul-stirring beauty. Pack your bags, reserve flights to Montana, and spend the weekend with your loved ones.

1. The Beartooth Mountains

The Beartooth Mountains, situated in Montana and Wyoming, form the Absaroka-Beartooth Wilderness, with Granite Peak as its highest point in the Treasure State. The Beartooth Highway, a breathtaking mountain drive in the United States, offers stunning views of the Shoshone National Forest and breathtaking landscapes.

2. The Rocky Mountains

The Rocky Mountains, also known as The Rockies, span 4,800 km from western Canada to New Mexico in the United States. The easternmost component of North America's Cordillera, the Rockies have over 100 peaks, including Colorado, Wyoming, New Mexico, Montana, and Utah.

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3. Crazy Mountains

The Crazy Mountains, also known as the Crazies or Crazy Lady Mountains, span 40 kilometers between the Musselshell and Yellowstone Rivers. With 30 summits, Crazy Peak stands at 11,000 feet. The Crazies, created by water erosion, ice, and wind, are home to nearly 40 shimmering lakes and the Grasshopper Glacier, the only surviving ice age remnant.

4. Bitterroot Mountains

The Bitterroot Range, a sub-range of the Rockies, is located in Idaho and western Montana. With 24,223 square miles and peaks averaging 9,000 feet, it is home to the 1.6 million-acre Bitterroot National Forest, which hosts whitetail deer, bighorn sheep, and mule deer. The range is ideal for visitors in spring, summer, and autumn.

5. Mission Mountains

The Mission Mountains, a sub-range of the Rockies, are located in northeastern Montana. They boast snowy peaks, alpine lakes, meadows, glaciers, and talus slopes. McDonald Peak, the highest point, stands at 9,820 feet. The Mission Mountains, primarily composed of Belt Rock, are the entrance to the Mission Mountain Wilderness Area, covering 73,877 acres.

6. Big Belt Mountains

The Big Belt Mountains, located in Helena National Forest, are part of the Central Montana Rocky Mountains sub-range. The range, named after the limestone belt surrounding the mountains, runs through the Gates of the Mountains Wilderness and the Dry Range, including the charming towns of York and Nelson. The overall range spans 75 miles.

7. The Tobacco Root Mountains

The Tobacco Root Mountains, situated between Madison Rivers in the northern Rockies, is a diverse geological range with 43 peaks, including the tallest, Hollowtop. The range spans from Butte to Bozeman and offers towering summits, wooded slopes, snowy valleys, and clean lakes.

8. The Gallatin Range

The Gallatin Range, located in Montana and Wyoming, is part of the Rocky Mountains, with Electric Peak at 10,969 feet. The range connects Bozeman to Yellowstone National Park, reaching 75 miles and 20 miles wide.

9. The Madison Range

The Madison Range, named in honor of James Madison in 1805, spans 80 miles from West Yellowstone to Bozeman, Montana, with its highest peak at 11,316 feet. Open year-round, the range offers an exceptional trail system for camping, hiking, and riding, with significant portions in Beaverhead-Deerlodge and Gallatin National Forests.

10. The Bighorn Mountains

The Bighorns, located in north-central Wyoming, offer stunning vistas and activities like camping, fishing, and trekking. The Bighorn Mountain Range, which began 70 million years ago, features Cloud Peak and Black Tooth Mountain as its highest summits.

11. The Livingston Range

The Livingston Range, located in Montana, began developing around 1.6 billion years ago and has 15 summits exceeding 9,000 feet. Kintla Peak, the highest-named mountain, is a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1932. The range has been inhabited for thousands of years.

12. The Cabinet Mountains

Montana's Cabinet Mountains, a 35-mile long-range portion of the Rocky Mountains, are known for being one of the "wild mountains left in the United States." The highest summits are Snowshoe Peak (8,738 feet), Elephant Peak (7,938 feet), and Bockman Peak (8,174 feet). Missoula, a college town with 66,000 inhabitants, is situated southeast of the Cabinet Mountains.

13. The Lewis Range

The Lewis Range, spanning from Montana to Alberta, Canada, features 496 named mountains. Mount Cleveland, the highest peak in Glacier National Park, stands at 10,466 feet. Mounts Claremont, Mount Jackson, and Mount Oberlin are the most prominent, formed around 170 million years ago.

14. Highwood Mountains

The Highwood Mountains, an island range in the Rockies, span 1,799 square miles and include Highwood Baldy, the highest peak at 7,670 feet. Known as a forest reserve since 1903, the volcanic mountain range is primarily bordered by plains.

15. Flint Creek Range

Mount Powell dominates the Flint Creek Range, a mountain range with an elevation of 10,168 feet northeast of Philipsburg, Montana. Approximately 60,000 acres remain undeveloped, with "The Crater" a high cliff resembling a dinosaur backbone. Book flights to Montana if you want to learn more about the city.