Spending the Holidays in Montana's Yellowstone Country
Red Lodge Christmas Stroll, photo by Mervin Coleman
We had our first big snowfall this week, a widespread storm that dropped a foot of snow in some areas of our region. While we weren’t quite ready to shovel this week, it seems like a great time to talk about visiting Montana’s Yellowstone Country for the holidays!
ICYMI, Bozeman Yellowstone International Airport has nonstop flights to 20 destinations, coast to coast. For perspective, you can leave NYC at 9:30 a.m. and arrive in Bozeman by 1 pm. You can find the full winter flight schedule here.
Festivities kick off on Sat. Nov. 7, when The People’s Tree makes a Whistlestop in Gardiner on its way to Washington, D.C. Stop by the fairgrounds for this once-in-a-lifetime community celebration.
Light up Livingston, photo by Haylee Harshbarger
Thanksgiving Weekend
Thanksgiving weekend is big around here. Big Sky Resort opens for the winter season on Wed., Nov. 25, the day before Thanksgiving. In Red Lodge, the newly modeled Rock Creek Resort will be serving Thanksgiving dinner at the beloved Old Piney Dell. Red Lodge Mountain opens Nov. 27, and after a day on the slopes, relax your muscles in one of Rock Creek’s saunas, beautifully set along the water’s edge.
Thanksgiving dinners are also taking place at Gallatin River Lodge and Ted’s Montana Grill in Bozeman, and Sage Lodge in Paradise Valley.
Nordic skiers from across the world come to West Yellowstone for the annual Yellowstone Ski Festival, where they participate in daily clinics, biathlon and ski races throughout Thanksgiving week. Speaking of West Yellowstone, Parade Rest Guest Ranch is now booking for their winter sleigh rides, and other local outfitters are booking snowmobile and snowcoach tours into Yellowstone National Park.
Right on the heels of Turkey Day, Light Up Livingston takes place in conjunction with Small Business Saturday on Nov. 28. The holiday celebration kicks off with 100,000 lights brightening Depot Park at a tree lighting ceremony, followed by kids’ activities, crafts, a candy cane hunt, hayrides and the chance to support local shops and restaurants throughout the evening.
Belgrade Christmas Truck Convoy
Holiday Markets, Strolls and Celebrations
Other holiday markets include Homestead Holiday at Museum of the Rockies, where you can create a Victorian-inspired holiday card or ornament. The Montage Big Sky Festive Market, reminiscent of European Christmas markets; the Livingston Holiday Market and Community Christmas Craft Fair in Livingston; and, in Columbus, the Stillwater County Swap and Shop, a holiday procrastinator’s vendor and craft fair.
You can find a holiday stroll in almost every community throughout December, and if you haven't experienced one yet, I highly recommend it. Food, vendors, and holiday cheer fill the streets, and in Red Lodge, the Christmas Stroll Blade Parade kicks off the celebrations with snowplows and other snow removal equipment decked with holiday lights. In Belgrade, the annual Christmas Convoy is a local favorite, with nearly 100 trucks decked in holiday lights parading through town.
If you’re in Yellowstone for Christmas, Mammoth Chapel hosts two Christmas Eve Candlelight Services, and Old Faithful Inn Snow Lodge offers a holiday dinner. Big Sky Resort will host a celebratory Christmas feast, along with visits with Santa and a fireworks show. And on Dec. 30, Bridger Bowl hosts a spaghetti feed with live music and a torchlight parade down the mountain.
It’s going to be a bustling holiday season, and we hope you’re here to experience it!