Montana Itinerary - Yellowstone, Bozeman, Livingston

I couldn't resist when I saw the news that Avelo Air was going to have $19 flights to it's destinations. I've always wanted to visit Yellowstone and Montana, so we booked a five day trip to Montana. I've had a ton of people ask for my itinerary, so here it is: 

For reference, we went to Montana the first week of May which is technically considered off season. I took my two teens ages 15 & 17.  

Air: 

Avelo was a DREAM! All in $210 for our trip with taxes and fees.  $70 per person for a round trip ticket from LA (Burbank) to Bozeman, MT! We took off and landed on time, maybe even a few minutes early. Yes, it's no frills and you pay for anything extra. We checked two bags $10 each and all three of us had a backpack that we carried on as our personal item. We paid to upgrade our seats for more legroom and sat behind the exit row.   If you are looking to trim the budget, we could have skipped the seat upgrade because it's a short flight. Checking bags was easy and since you are taking off and landing at a small airport, it doesn't add that much time.  You do get a small snack on the flight and every single staff member was so nice.  We took off on the fourth day Avelo had been flying and the excitement of the staff was contagious. I've already booked two more Avelo flights for the summer. I'm a HUGE fan and very excited about this airline.

Car Rental: 

We used Hotwire and since we were meeting my brother and nephews, I opted to rent a Suburban. It was $377 for 6 days, which considering the rental car shortage was a bargain.  When we arrived at Bozeman Airport, we were off the plane and in our rental car in 30 minutes with our checked bags.  They gave us an upgrade to an Infinity QX 80, it was roomy and easy to drive. I'm putting this car on my wishlist.     

Lodging:  

I highly suggest staying in Livingston, it's cute as a button and easy to access everything. There is a Marriott Fairfield Inn or a ton of Air BnB's. I originally booked The Yellowstone Valley Lodge, but my brother ended up joining us so we stayed at a house in Livingston.  Or I would suggest staying at Chico Hot Springs, if you want more of a resort vibe.  

Things to do:  

Day 1:   Landed in Bozeman at noon.  Went to Burger Bob's (get the Huckleberry Shake and the Cowboy Bob Burger, trust me)  and strolled around downtown Bozeman. Drove to Livingston and got settled, cooked dinner and had a campfire. The house we stayed at had a firepit and that was something the kids loved. 

Day 2:   I wasn't feeling great, so we kept it low key.  We went to downtown Livingston in the afternoon and strolled around.  There was a bookstore that was over 100 years old.  The town has amazing Neon signs on Main Street and a rich railroad history.   We got drinks and appetizers at Katabatic Brewing, my kids loved the homebrewed Root Beer. Just be aware that most stores close at 5pm and restuarants close at 8pm.  

Day 3:  Went to Chico Hot Springs Resort.  The drive through the Paradise Valley was unreal and beauty was everywhere. Next time I will do the horseback ride.  Loved lounging in the Hot Springs ($8.50 a person for a day pass) and went to the Poolside Cafe for lunch. I would definitely consider staying here next time. 

Day 4: Yellowstone!  We left Livingston about 8am and drove 40 minutes to the Yellowstone North Gate. Must stop at:  Mammoth Hot Springs, Grand Prismatic Springs, and of course Old Faithful. The Lamar Valley is beautiful and that was where we saw the most wildlife. Unfortunately, we were two weeks too early and a lot of the roads were closed so we didn't get to see all of it. You could spend two days in Yellowstone easily. Hot Tip:  If you see a group of cars pulled over, pull over.. there is probably some wildlife. We got to see a wolf den through people's scopes! We left Yellowstone around 7pm. We brought a picnic lunch and tried to eat dinner in the town of Gardiner just outside the gate, but it was crowded and the food had mediocre reviews.  We drove 40 minutes back to Livingston for dinner and I'm so glad we did that.

Day 5:  Back to Bozeman (30-35 minutes from Livingston), for another walk down Main Street. My kids loved Bozeman so much. We ate lunch and hit the Museum of the Rockies. ($9.50-13.50 a person) The museum was super interesting, they had a planetarium show, and during the summer they have a living museum outside.  The highlight is the giant T-Rex, this is definitely a dinosaur heavy museum. My teens enjoyed it and they are not normally museum people.

On the way back we hit the Montana Grizzly Experience. ($9 per person) I was worried this would be a little bit of a Joe Exotic style zoo with rotten food, but was pleasantly surprised at the cleanliness and well cared for bears.  There is only one bear out a time and it has a bit of a zoo feel, but how often are my city slicker kids going to see a bear up close?  You'll spend 30-40 minutes tops at this stop right off the highway. 

Day 6:  Fly home! Vow to return... Montana's scenery was breathtaking around every corner. 

We could have shaved off a day and or added another day.  My kids loved just lounging around the house with their cousins, we were right on a river.  They rode dirt bikes, chopped wood, built campfires, set up hammocks, and practiced driving on the dirt roads.

Here are some other musts in Livingston, MT:  

Matt's Butcher Shop - A real butcher shop and the best place to get meat.  Definitely get a sandwich on the sourdough bread and order a pizza while you are there. So good!   If you have a grill... get any of the meat, the Bison Steaks were so tender, the Jalapeno Cheddar Sausage is out of this world. We actually stashed frozen meat from his shop in our carry on to take home to LA.

Dairy Queen - When in a small town, this is a great place to check out the local scene. 

Drive through the Paradise Valley, take Old River Road over Carter's Bridge instead of Highway 89. 

Drive down Main Street Livingston at night to see the Neon all lit up.   

River Rafting would be so fun, it was too early in the season and the weather was chilly, but we will do that next time.