Huckleberry; The unofficial flavor of Montana's Yellowstone Country

It’s huckleberry season here in Montana’s Yellowstone Country, when picking involves trying not to eat more than you save, people speaking cryptically about their secret patches, and all kinds of gastronomic delights created from these little berries.

Be Bear Aware When Picking Huckleberries

We'll get our PSA out of the way right off the bat. Given the circumstances, be extra careful about bear precautions. As they enter hyperphagia, the time when they actively seek out additional calories to prepare for winter, they may become more aggressive about finding food near town, and more protective of any berry patches in the wild. If you are hiking, backpacking or camping, be sure to secure your food, carry bear spray, move in groups and make noise, and don’t travel at night, dawn or dusk, when they are most active. If you’re staying somewhere with a yard (or if you live here), secure garbage, bird feeders and fallen fruit from trees.

Now, on to the fun stuff. Huckleberries are a delight. If you have yet to taste them, they are generally more tart than blueberries, and aside from enjoying them fresh, they flavor a variety of foods and body products: pancake mix, licorice, chipotle sauce, jam, syrup, sour gummy bears, lip balm and hand lotion.

Where to Find Huckleberry Products

Montana Gift Corral in Bozeman and Chalet Market in Belgrade both have entire sections of huckleberry products. (Chalet Market even has Buffalo Huckleberry Snack Stix.) Bozeman Spirits distills a Montana Cold Spring Huckleberry Vodka. You can enjoy a huckleberry mule or lemonade in their tasting room, or you can order online and make your own cocktails! Mountains Walking Brewery has a line of hard seltzer and hop waters called Bozeman Bubble, and you guessed it, you can get them in huckleberry flavor!

Ice cream lovers can get huckleberry ice cream and shakes at Sweet Peaks, or Genuine Ice Cream, also in Bozeman. In Red Lodge, the Montana Candy Emporium carries a variety of huckleberry originals (along with all of your nostalgic favorites).



Lulu’s Montana Market in Livingston carries a variety of products, but the Huckleberry Harvest Chicken Sandwich has piqued my curiosity! Becky’s Berries, made in Absarokee, offer jams, syrups and other handcrafted preserves. You can order online, but they are also found in an impressive array of stores across the country!

In Big Timber, Tumblewood Teas features “I’m Your Huckleberry” black tea, which can be ordered online or in local stores across Montana. Yellowstone General Stores in West Yellowstone has an entire Huckleberry Shop, and it includes more than just food items; you can also get huckleberry apparel and housewares (they even carry huckleberry boxers!).

Of course, seeking these little treats out is a popular pastime, but unfortunately, if we gave you any hints as to where to pick, we would be in deep trouble. We will tell you this, though: you’ll need to get up to the higher elevations…

And with that, happy huck hunting!