Michelle

Montana has some real gems when it comes to state parks. National parks sometimes get all the accolades, especially when you've got Glacier and Yellowstone out your backdoor. But Montana's state parks are some of the best in the country. If it's been a while since you've discovered a new one, might we suggest one of these...

You don't have to be an Instagram master to love taking cool pictures with a historic twist. Montana has no shortage of really interesting locations that don't disappoint on the character or funk and we've picked some of Montana's oldest buildings that are often looked over for this list.

Have you ever wanted to own a cool business in a stunning part of Montana? How about buying a lodge/bar/restaurant/event venue that's 'on the way' to everything cool? There's a popular roadside lodge for sale that is surrounding by the Lewis and Clark National Forest - and it's awesome.

Montana has some of the best small town bars in America. Our rural bar/restaurants make national 'best of' lists all the time. Montana locals have their own favorites and one is particular is about as authentic as you can get, but has great menu items at very decent prices.

We all know skiing has become a very expensive sport. Lift ticket prices have increased dramatically across the country, and ski hills are more crowded than ever. However, Montana still has a couple of excellent ski hills who have landed on a 'Most Affordable in the U.S.' list.

"Cows are fed - Time to shred" is on their t-shirts. It's been around since 1936 in the Montana county that out-of-staters regularly mispronounce. As the oldest ski area in the state, this stunning piece of 640 skiable acres has perfected the art of gathering local love. It's a fascinating rabbit hole to go down when reading reviews, comments, and messages about the ski area that started out so many years ago as "King's Hill Ski Area".

It would be genuinely difficult to find a Montana State alum who hasn't spent some celebratory time in this historic Bozeman home. Many a keg has passed through it's doors and it might actually be the most common denominator among generations of Bobcats.

Moving to Montana sounds like such a good idea, but it's a very challenging new home for most people. Locals are exhausted from breakneck growth, and it's not the same place that is portrayed on TV. 'Fitting in' in Montana takes patience and situational awareness.

Every state has chores to do before winter, but in Montana - some of those tasks are so important that they could save your life. Preparing yourself, your home, your pets, and your vehicle can add up to a long list.

Although the Yellowstone National Park area is very seismically active and thought of as "that super volcano", Montana itself is only the 9th most seismically active state in America. In the last week, there have been 15 quakes - 1 of which was above magnitude of 3.0 and it was near Belgrade.