13 Wild Stops, 1 Giant Loop, and More “Pull Over!” Moments Than We Planned For
Every summer road trip starts with a good idea.
This one started at Intrigue Ink.
The plan was simple: leave Bozeman, point the car toward the weirdest corners of Montana, and see what happened. Somewhere between giant statues, ghost towns, roadside museums, and one very emotional dog memorial, we ended up driving a giant loop around the state and collecting enough stories to fill a glovebox.
So if you’re looking for the ultimate Montana road trip itinerary this summer, here’s exactly where we’d stop. (and for those long stretches, we may try to throw a few side stops in the mix)
Start at Intrigue Ink
📍 Downtown Bozeman
12 E Main St, Bozeman, MT 59715
Every road trip needs a starting line.
Ours starts after a fresh tank of gas, an iced coffee from Rockford next door, and one last bathroom break before somebody inevitably says they have to stop again twenty minutes later.
Need a road trip uniform? We know a place. Right here.
Check out our New Arrivals, Best Sellers, and Summer 2026 Collection. You know you are going to wish you had the tee or tank you saw in the store somewhere down the road.
Stop 1: The Bleu Horses
📍 Three Forks, Montana
10493 US-287, Three Forks, MT 59752
Thirty minutes into the trip and we’re already pulling over.
That is if we haven’t already. There is a cool place for a little dip in some hot springs if you choose to take a very small detour when you get to Four Corners.
But our main objective is the giant blue horses outside Three Forks. They have become something of a Montana landmark. Every local knows exactly what you’re talking about.
Every visitor asks the same question:
“What are all those horses doing there?” and “Why are they blue?”
No one ever seems to have a clear answer.
And somehow that’s part of the charm.
Created by Montana artist Jim Dolan, the towering blue horse sculptures have watched over travelers along I-90 for decades. Their bright color stands out against the rolling hills of the Gallatin Valley, making them one of the most recognizable roadside landmarks.
Stop 2: Bannack Ghost Town
📍 Bannack State Park, Montana
721 Bannack Rd, Dillon, MT 59725
The farther south you drive, the quieter things get.
Then suddenly you’re walking down a dirt street that hasn’t changed much since the 1800s.
Montana’s first territorial capital feels frozen in time. Old storefronts lean into the wind. The schoolhouse still stands. The hotel looks like it could start telling stories if you sat quietly long enough.
This was our first “wow, Montana is really cool” stop of the trip.
Bannack was born during Montana's gold rush and quickly grew into a bustling mining town before slowly fading into a ghost town. These days, it's famous for two things: being one of the best-preserved ghost towns in the West and being one of the most haunted places in Montana, depending on who you ask.
As someone who has camped here a time or two... I would have to say it definitely got a little spooky after sundown.
Stop 3: Our Lady of the Rockies
📍 Butte, Montana
1707 Continental Dr c, Butte, MT 59701
You can see her before you even reach town.
Standing high above Butte, Our Lady of the Rockies watches over the mountains and mining history below.
Driving into Butte always feels dramatic.
This statue somehow makes it feel even more so.
Our Lady of the Rockies has been watching over Butte since 1985, standing nearly 90 feet tall above one of Montana's most storied mining towns. The first glimpse of her from the highway feels a little unexpected, a little mysterious, and exactly the kind of thing that makes you pull over for a photo.
Don’t forget to visit the gift shop nearby! You know you at least need a sticker for the junk journal!
Stop 4: Berkeley Pit
📍 Butte, Montana
350 Shields Ave, Butte, MT 59701
Since you’re already in Butte, you might as well stare into a giant toxic lake.
The Berkeley Pit feels almost impossible to describe until you’re standing there looking at it.
The water glows shades of orange and red that don’t look real.
The Berkeley Pit started as one of the largest open-pit copper mines in the world, helping earn Butte the nickname "The Richest Hill on Earth." When mining stopped in 1982, groundwater began filling the pit, creating the bright red-orange lake visitors see today.
It’s fascinating. It’s unsettling. It’s one of the weirdest places in Montana.
Stop 5: Garden of One Thousand Buddhas
📍 Arlee, Montana
34574 White Coyote Rd, Arlee, MT 59821
After miles of winding Montana highway, the Garden of One Thousand Buddhas feels like a complete change of pace. Built by the local Tibetan Buddhist community, rows of white Buddha statues sit quietly beneath the Mission Mountains, creating one of the most unexpected sights in Montana.
We arrived expecting a quick roadside stop and ended up staying much longer than planned. The gardens are peaceful, the mountain views are incredible, and somewhere between wandering the pathways and reading the prayer flags, the road trip suddenly slowed down for a minute. It felt less like a roadside attraction and more like stumbling upon one of Montana's best-kept secrets.
Stop 6: Paul Bunyan’s Fry Pan
📍 Libby, Montana
34067 U.S. Hwy 2 W, Libby, MT 59923
Built for Libby’s annual Logger Days celebration in the 1970s, Paul Bunyan’s Fry Pan is exactly what it sounds like: an enormous cast iron frying pan built on a scale that would make Paul Bunyan proud. Part roadside attraction, part small-town legend, it’s a reminder that Montana communities have never been afraid to embrace a little roadside weirdness.
I actually love it here because after the peaceful stop at the Buddhas, your road trip suddenly takes a hard left into “why is there a giant frying pan?” territory, which feels very Montana.
Stop 7: Miracle of America Museum
📍 Polson, Montana
36094 Memory Ln, Polson, MT 59860
Some museums have collections.
This museum has EVERYTHING.
Vintage cars.
Arcade games.
Military artifacts.
Old signs.
Antiques.
Objects you didn’t know existed.
Every room led to another room.
Every building led to another building.
At least six times somebody in our group said:
“Wait, come look at this.”
Stop 8: The Giant Purple Spoon
📍 East Glacier, Montana
1012 MT-49, East Glacier Park, MT 59434
By this point we'd already stopped for ghost towns, giant statues, fry pans, museums, and toxic lakes.
So naturally, we stopped to see a giant purple spoon.
The Spoon feels like exactly the kind of roadside attraction that road trips were invented for.
It's weird. It's unnecessary. It's perfect.
The giant utensil proudly claims the title of the "World's Largest Purple Spoon," though locals were quick to tell us it might actually be the world's second largest. Legend has it the original giant spoon disappeared sometime within the last decade, leaving this one to carry on the legacy.
Either way, if you're driving through East Glacier, it's worth pulling over for a photo. Because if a giant purple spoon doesn't make it into your road trip camera roll, did you even road trip through Montana?
Stop 9: World’s Largest Penguin
📍 Cut Bank, Montana
1130 E. Main St. Cut Bank, MT 59427
Nothing prepares you for seeing a giant penguin in Montana.
Especially when you’ve been driving through open prairie for hours.
One minute it’s grassland.
The next there’s a 27-foot penguin standing beside the highway.
Road trips don’t get much better than that.
Welcome to Cut Bank Montana, "The Coldest Spot In The Nation".
And don't forget to send yourself a postcard while you're here. I always mail myself little memories from road trips, and there's something special about coming home a few days later, opening the mailbox, and getting to relive part of the adventure all over again. Consider it a souvenir that costs less than a fridge magnet.
Stop 10: Rainboffalo
📍 Great Falls, Montana
Milwaukee Station
1 River Dr
At first glance, the Rainboffalo looks like exactly what its name suggests: a buffalo disguised as a rainbow trout.
Part of Great Falls' Great Buffalo Hunt, the sculpture is one of more than two dozen artist-designed buffalo statues hidden throughout the city. Created by artist Chris Miller and covered in nearly 1,600 aluminum scales, it's become one of the most photographed stops on the trail and one of the weirdest things we saw on the entire road trip.
Fair warning: once you spot one buffalo, you'll start looking for the rest. What starts as a quick photo stop can quickly turn into a city-wide scavenger hunt. Which, if we're being honest, sounds like a pretty good afternoon to me.
Stop 11: The Shep Memorial
📍 Fort Benton, Montana
Front St, Fort Benton, Montana
This stop hit harder than expected.
The memorial tells the story of Shep, a dog who continued waiting at the train station after his owner never returned home.
Nobody was prepared for how emotional this one would be.
There may have been a few suspiciously quiet moments afterward.
We’ll leave it at that.
Stop 12: The Giant Triceratops
📍 Glendive, Montana
Eastern Montana is dinosaur country.
And nowhere embraces that more enthusiastically than Glendive.
The giant triceratops rises above the prairie like a reminder that long before Montana had highways, ranches, and roadside attractions, dinosaurs were running the show.
One of the most fun stops on the entire loop, this larger-than-life dino is impossible to miss and makes for the perfect road trip photo op. While you're here, make time for the Glendive Dinosaur and Fossil Museum, where you can see real fossils, dinosaur exhibits, and learn more about the prehistoric creatures that once called eastern Montana home.
Somewhere between the giant triceratops, the badlands, and the fossil displays, you'll start to understand why Glendive proudly leans into its dinosaur reputation. And honestly, if you've already driven across half the state to see giant roadside attractions, what's one more dinosaur?
Stop 13: Little Bighorn Battlefield
📍 Crow Agency, Montana
Battlefield Tour Rd, Crow Agency, MT 59022
Not every stop on this road trip is weird.
Some are important.
Little Bighorn Battlefield National Monument preserves the site of the 1876 Battle of the Little Bighorn, where Lakota, Northern Cheyenne, and Arapaho warriors defeated Lt. Col. George Custer and the 7th Cavalry in one of the most significant battles of the American West.
The landscape is beautiful, but it's the history that stays with you. Walking the battlefield and reading the memorials has a way of slowing you down and reminding you that long before Montana was a road trip destination, these hills witnessed events that shaped the history of the entire region.
After days spent chasing giant spoons, penguins, and roadside oddities, this felt like the right place to pause, reflect, and appreciate the stories that came before us. A powerful final stop before turning west and heading home.
Final Stop: Intrigue Ink
📍 Downtown Bozeman
Eventually every road trip comes full circle.
The snacks are gone.
The playlist has repeated itself three times.
The car is somehow full of receipts, postcards, and random souvenirs.
And you’re back where you started.
A little sunburned.
A little tired.
Already planning the next adventure.
Road Trip Totals
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States Visited: 1
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Miles Driven: A lot
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Giant Statues: More than expected
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Times Someone Said “Pull Over”: 37
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Road Trip Tees Packed: Not enough
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Memories Made: Countless
See you out there, Montana.
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