5 Great Things About Growing Up In Montana

Small town Montana.

I have lived in Montana off and on since 1996. It has had ups and downs, and every person’s journey is different, but there are a few things that I can think of that made growing up here a positive experience.

Montana outdoor activities.

A big draw for a lot of people in our state would be the hunting and fishing. Some of us never had the patience for either of those activities. Instead, we pursued other interests.

One of the greatest things about growing up in Montana is the access to snowboarding (or skiing if you’re into a bigger yard sale when you fall). Admittedly, the “touristy” resorts like Big Sky and Whitefish are less accessible due to cost… Plus, being surrounded by that many people isn’t nearly as fun as cruising down Bridger or Red Lodge. Locals know the best places to go…and we’re unlikely to share that information.

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Snowboarding is great in the winter, but what about the summer?

That’s where hiking comes in, of course. Growing up near the Beartooths, my stepdad often brought me hiking to Sioux Charley Lake and Mystic Lake. We would let Buster, the dog, scout the trail ahead of us and scare away all the bears while we marveled at the beauty surrounding us.

Even the biggest town in Montana is not a big place.

The benefits of growing up in a small Montana town go beyond that of physical or outdoor activities, many people enjoy the community surrounding them. I recently chatted with some friends about the differences between growing up in a Montana town and growing up in an East or West Coast city. Those who graduated with close to 1,000 other students said they felt invisible within their communities. There is a much lower chance of “falling through the cracks” in a small town.

Safety and trust are prevalent.

It may have been a sign of the times, I know parents were generally less protective in the 90s and early 00s, but growing up in a small Montana town felt free and safe. We would run around town, completely unsupervised, with water guns in an epic battle of good vs. evil. Nobody called the cops or screamed at us to get off their lawn. We simply existed in a bubble of pure enjoyment.

Surrounded by beauty.

Everything in our town was within walking distance. Friends, baseball fields, the grocery store, first jobs, nothing was too far for a stroll. Walking down Main Street in many Montana towns gives one a view of some impossibly gorgeous mountain range spread out in front of them. Bilbo Baggins just wanted to see mountains, we are lucky enough to see them every day.