Gateway to Yellowstone

Outdoor Decisions Near Livingston, Montana

Livingston, our home away from home during our month long make believe in Big Sky Country. We decided on Livingston in large part for its proximity to Yellowstone, but fell in love for so many more reasons. Our stay was an intoxicating mix of a past life in the west, some dank dining, and some knock-your-socks-off outdoor adventure.

Let’s begin with the latter, but we’re not going to talk Yellowstone just yet. We’ll stick to the activities decided on right in Livingston’s backdrop. Set in Paradise Valley with all its glorious glory, finding things to do out in the fresh air was simple.

1. Custer Gallatin National Forest

Vast and wild, just like my back hair. Whether you want to go for a hike, fish, boat, get mauled this is one of the most beautiful places to do it. We did all of those mentioned activities except one, guess!

2. Yellowstone River

The mighty Yellowstone. What you do is get 5 grown adults to squeeze into a medium sized raft with the squeakiest Styrofoam cooler you can find. Then you add a solo tube to trail the raft and have someone fly fish from the main raft so that the solo tuber has a fun game of being alone and dodging fishing hooks. In all seriousness, floating down that American icon was one of the highlights of our trip.

3. Big Sky

It’s true, the sky is big here. We drove for hours just gazing out of the window listening to a brutal crime podcast, pulling off at various pull-outs along the Gallatin River. We’d take a deep breath of fresh air through the nose and then continuing on to our next resting spot. It’s a pristine landscape with billions of miles of trail to hike through, just bring that bear spray.

4. Towns

Not technically outdoors-y I guess, but still something to get out and do while in Livingston. While you don’t ever need to leave Livingston, there are some other towns that could be worth checking out I guess. Here they are:

• Bozeman Not a small town vibe, but a hoot and a holler none the less. With some great restaurants and bars, don’t overthink it and give it a visit.
• Big Timber Another tiny little weird town east of Livingston with a few bars and restaurants like the Timber Bar and Grill to give a shot.
• Red Lodge Yet another small town. Tucked into the eastern border of Custer Gallatin, this is a very pretty little town with a very pretty backdrop. Try out Piccola Cucina Ox Pasture for some friggin' Italian.

5 Tasty Decisions in Livingston, Montana

If you’re like me, food doesn’t necessarily come to mind when hearing the name Montana. However, if Anthony Bourdain liked the food scene, so do I. I’m a follower, a sheep, no mind of my own when it comes to him. But actually, there were some great spots to eat and drink and I don’t think it’s because I’ve been influenced. Here are our favs:

1. Campione

Every place we’ve stayed, there’s been a restaurant that stands out from the rest. For our month in Livingston, Campione stood 1,000 feet tall. What a cozy, decadent, tasteful time we had the several times we went. I miss it, and I hope to see it again.

2. Faye’s Cafe

Another dime. What’s fun is that you order based on the ingredients you want, and Faye will handle the rest. You can basically go in and say “spicy” and Faye mess you up. I had an eggs benny that I’ll remember for the rest of my days.

3. The Mint

A classic. Sitting on those beautiful star printed bar stools and enjoying a perfect Manhattan was a dream at the end of a long day bear seeking. Go enjoy a cocktail with the neon woman inside.

4. The Murray Block

Joined at the hip, you can enjoy an excellent drink at the legendary Murray and a wood fire pizza from Gil’s. It’s a combination you won’t soon regret. Another Anthony Bourdain favorite!

5. Pine Creek Lodge

On the outskirts of town in an idyllic forest setting under the stars, lit up with a canopy of lights, with the aroma of various delicious cuisines, lies the Pine Creek Lodge. Visitors of the area must make time to see a show here. Dance the night away to bluegrass, possibly barefoot and definitely with craft beer in hand. You’ll forget your desk job and your family and begin foraging for your food and making your own craft beer at home. It’ll be sick you’ll say, it’ll be sick.

A Definitely Unique List of Yellowstone Attractions That We For Sure Discovered During Our Visit and Noone Else Has Been There Probably

There’s nothing we did more during our stay in Montana than visit Yellowstone. A cute little park in northwest Wyoming bordering Montana. If you’ve read any of our other blog posts, you might know that we go a little crazy for cool animal sightings. This place, is a great place for that. Why am I talking about Yellowstone like everyone reading this isn’t familiar with it? You get it - bears, wolves, elk, tourist, geysers, waterfalls, and surreal landscapes. It is all of those things and it might be my favorite place in the world. I don’t care about the touristy reputation, everyone should go.

There are ways to avoid the crowds! Go early or late in the day and go during the off-season. We went in August, NOT the off-season, but still find opportunities to feel alone in the park. Let’s get to our favorite sections:

1. Lamar Valley

As I mentioned, we get absolutely high on seeing wildlife. This is one of the best places in the country to do that. Bison, wolves, bear, foxes, any many more adorable friends can be found here. Even if you don’t get to know an animal you’ve never seen before, the landscape is incredible. Having a picnic here and watching the Bison roam was one of my favorite Yellowstone activities.

2. Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone

This is where got most of our hike on. We hiked along the North Rim trail oohing and aahing at the gigantic waterfalls and life was good. What is it about waterfalls? Why are they so entrancing? Whatever the answer, this section of YNP should be atop your list while visiting.

3. Grand Prismatic Springs:

Like a paragraph from Fear and Loathing, this section of the park is mind-melting. How is this magnificent coloration unintentional? Bacteria just came up from depths of whatever is beneath our insignificant toes and said BOOM - Picasso.

4. Yellowstone Grand Loop Road

If you don’t feel like getting out of the car and holding your own body weight up, I don’t blame you it’s overrated. Luckily, just driving the Yellowstone Grand Loop is a thing to do in my opinion. Don’t get me wrong, getting out of your vehicle and exploring away from the road is the best way to get to know the place. But if you have time, you’re feeling a little lazy, but you want to feel like you did something, pack some snacks and drive around the park. Take photos from the window, point at things and mumble, live your truth.

5. Yellowstone Horseback Rides

This was more for Ashley than it was for me. We booked a 4 hour (what was I thinking) horseback ride through the park for Ashley’s birthday through the wonderful Horsetrack Outfitters. Unfortunately, I only made it 30 minutes into that 4 hours.

What felt like the largest horse known to man was splitting me in two and I couldn’t bear it. I decided it was better for me to simply walk behind the horses the rest of the way like some sort of outlaw prisoner being dragged back to jail. However, Ashley, a person with normal flexibility, enjoyed the ride immensely. And while I don’t enjoy being on top of a horse who didn’t ask for it, I did enjoy the hike. Being out there in the wild made me feel at least 16x more adventurous than I do right now behind this computer.