About Western Montana
Western Montana is a vast, mountainous stretch of land that runs from Glacier Park in the north 255 miles to Yellowstone Park in the south.
On the western edge, we share a border with Idaho. The eastern boundary of the region is roughly at the Rocky Mountain Front some 200 miles east from the Idaho border. Missoula is the largest town in Western Montana, with a population of about ~75,000 people. Drive about 120 miles north from there and you’ll find yourself in Kalispell, a bustling town that’s home to ~26,000 people.
These two towns are the hubs of the FMRWM program, though there are a number of small and medium-sized towns all over Western Montana to explore: Butte and Bozeman in the southwest, the state capital of Helena on the eastern edge of the region, and Polson, Whitefish, and Bigfork in the north around scenic Flathead Lake.
Nearly 30% of Montana - more than 27 million acres – is protected state and federal public land, with roughly 24 million of those acres in the western part of the state. In short, Western Montana is big. And that’s great news for people who love rivers, mountains, national forests and parks, verdant valleys, and plenty of places to get lost.