Lewistown and Great Falls Area Questions

I posed this on another forum but will try here as well.

Guys we are headed to the Lewistown / Great falls area next week for interviews and to spend some time checking out the area. This could very possibly turn into a major move and lifestyle change for us and I would like to get different opinions as I know alot of you guys are from Montana and may have knowledge of this area. So here goes: Is there anything that is a must see/do while there? Opinions of the area? Good place to raise a family etc.?
How are the hunting and fishing/outdoor access opportunities in this part of the state? I prefer to have lots of opportunity close to home and travel to the trophy/limited entry areas. Would that be the case here?

The last thing I want is to move my family across the country to a place where I have to drive even further to access hunting and fishing opportunities and or is full of drug addicts.

Thanks

We have deep roots in Lewistown. It's a great place, but it's changing like everywhere else. Deep pockets from out of state are buying some huge pieces of land, and it gets harder and harder every year to get access to private lands. Areas close to town get pretty well hammered - it's a destination for out-of-area hunters. There are a lot of public land opportunities within an hour or two to hunt just about everything Montana has to offer. Not sure what your idea of "close to home" is, but generally in Montana that qualifies when you consider you could drive for 10 hours to get across the state. We spend a lot of time driving! ☺ Homes in town are reasonable prices, but the place has been discovered so land isn't cheap like it used to be. It has its problems....it's unrealistic to think you won't find drugs in small town Montana these days. Great Falls is ok...not quite the charm of some other Montana towns, but it has all the conveniences.

Let me be the first to tell you that Montana is full! Or if there is an opening, it's probably around Great Falls.

Here's some thoughts for you in general about Great Falls:
1. Malmstrom Air Force Base in the area. There's also about a million missile silos in the area too, I suggest not playing in those areas.
2. The wind is norotrious. I mean serious. The good is that the chinook winds can come down and melt all your snow in about 30 seconds. The bad is that if you get caught in it, you might land up on the other side of the street, literally.
3. Being centrally located (Lewistown is the the geographical center of MT), you can hit the badlands and breaks of eastern MT and then come east for the mountains of western MT. That's nice. There are times that I wish that I could be there for that reason, but I will "languish" in the Bitterroot...
4. I wouldn't want to slander GF, but I have never been impressed with the city. Fine people, I have friends that live there. I don't know what you are moving from, but I can't imagine it's better than here.

Go see:
1. Lewis and Clark Museum: this is a good introduction to the area and history. Worth a stop.
2. CM Russell Musesum: This guy is a huge part of our culture, his paintings are in the capitol building. He was a multi-medium artist who captured the west at and during its prime.
3.

Hunting:
1. Big Game: Antelope are everywhere, as are whitetails and mulies. There are plenty of places around for elk, but access will be tough. An hour drive will put you into fine elk country. Griz is becoming much more of an issue in the area. The Rocky Mountain Front is just an hour west of GF and there was a griz in GF about 2 years ago. Look for them to become more populated until we get that griz sesason put in place (hopefully next fall).
2. Upland Birds: Pheasants, sage grouse, huns, sharptails. And about 60& (my calcuation) of all the uplalnd gamebird projects are done in the GF area. There is a lot of oppurutunity there.
3. Watefowl: No ducks here. Move on to North Dakota. Just kidding. Freezeout Lake is an hour away and considered a destination spot by waterfolwers all around the country. Also, great place to shoot a swan, and one of a handful of states that you can get a tag for one.
4. Coyotes. My last count was 1.4 Billion.

Fishing:
IDK, I'm a fly guy and don't go that way to fish. I hear there are some there, though.

Why not play around the missile launch facilities? I know at least one BM area where you park next to a LF and walk in. If you don't act like an idiot and shoot at them or try to climb the fence, you're good to go.

@Rancho, I was just being facetious.

Welcome to the forum.

duckhunt said:

Welcome to the forum.

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Thanks Ive been reading this forum for about a year but just now posted. Really enjoy it

If I listed the towns in Montana I'd want to live in, Lewistown would be at the very top, and Great Falls would be at the absolute bottom. Huge difference between the two.

Great Falls is kind of the ugly step-sister of Montana. It doesn't have the eye candy appeal of Missoula, Bozeman, Helena, or Kalispell.

As a town to raise a family, it's not bad. Real estate prices aren't as expensive, and you have most of what you would want for shopping. Some of the schools leave a bit to be desired, take this into consideration when you are choosing where to live.

The weather isn't bad. The wind takes getting used to. Snow doesn't typically stay around too long. One year I remember about two feet on the ground by the first of December. It was all gone by Christmas. It can get really hot and really cold.

If you can't keep busy hunting and fishing around Great Falls you aren't trying very hard. It isn't too bad to drive out to the Missouri Breaks. Plenty of public land and some good block management areas not too far from town.

Let me know if you want more specifics.

" Great Falls is kind of the ugly step-sister of Montana"
WHAT????
Next to Lewistown there is NO better place to raise a family !!!!!

Yes not in the mountains as is 2/3's of MT.
Yes No Smog like most the city's on the west side of the big pile of rocks.
Yes the crime is 1/2 o f what it in In Billings.
Yes it's in the center of the state and in regen 4 , that has a 5 month elk season.
Yes there is a lot of wind , but can it be that Missoula blows and Minot sucks HUM????
Being central it is only hours from any place in the state.
Just saying ...:hump:

JLS said:

Great Falls is kind of the ugly step-sister of Montana.

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Which still makes her hotter than the other "sisters" scattered across the country. It's all relative.

I used to be that kid in SW MT who made fun of places like Laurel, Butte or Billings. Then I moved to Dallas, TX and then Philadelphia, PA. Let's just say I see Laurel in a whole new light.

There is no reason a person and his family couldn't flourish in either city/town. I live between Great Falls and Lewistown and enjoy hunting and fishing near both places. For trout fishing Great Falls is closer to trophy fisheries. For scenery Lewistown is much easier on the eyes in my opinion. For hunting, both places have good opportunities within an hours drive. The wind and weather are similar in both places. Lewistown might get a little less wind but not by much. It basically boils down to whether your family needs the conveniences of a larger city or can get by with less conveniences and small town charm.

How is the local economy in that area? Ive heard that its very steady no big booms and busts? Also I have my ATV and boat a (center console tunnel hull with pods to run skinny water) would it be a waste there? I was thinking about selling both so that I didn't have to move them if there was going to be limited opportunity for use. We are moving from a place with 0 snow and I think that we had less than 5 days below freezing this year so the weather will take getting used to, but we are excited to experience something new as well.

I have also heard from another forum that people are in this area, Lewistown in particular are not accepting of "outsiders" doesn't bother me very much but I have others to think of. What say you?

Are elk/deer tags fairly easy to get?

Also I really appreciate all of the responses. We are really stepping out of our element to try something different, and are trying to make the most informed decision possible.

rmyoung1 said:

Which still makes her hotter than the other "sisters" scattered across the country. It's all relative.

I used to be that kid in SW MT who made fun of places like Laurel, Butte or Billings. Then I moved to Dallas, TX and then Philadelphia, PA. Let's just say I see Laurel in a whole new light.

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LOL, very true. When we moved to Great Falls I was lukewarm about it at best. When we left, I REALLY missed it.

It's all about perspective.

Elk and deer tags are stupidly easy to get, and much cheaper than they should be.

Yep. Elk and deer tags are easy to get. You just buy em at the store. I like Great Falls. But, I was born in Shelby, so that country has a special place for me. Weather can be tough but not unbearble. Lots of places for an atv and a boat. By the way, the missile sites are either de-commissioned or in the process. mtmuley

You will want to keep the boat and ATV especially if you move to GF. I mean the Missouri River runs right through the middle of town! The Missouri is an hour or so north of Lewistown. There are tons of small ponds and little lakes north of Lewistown that small boats are perfect for. The hunting and access is the entire state of Montana seems to be decreasing every year as it pertains to private land, but there is still plenty of public ground. What is amazing is the fishing. Montana has some of the best private land fishing access laws in the entire USA. Hopefully Montanans's will continue to fight to maintain those laws. One major plus GF has over just about anywhere in the state is that the Missouri River changes from a blue ribbon trout fishery to a very good warm water fishery pert near right in Great Falls. If one feels like catching catfish, walleye, sauger, northern pike, and small mouth bass point your rig east for 30 minutes. If big rainbow and brown trout are what you are in the mood for go southwest for 30 minutes. It's pretty dang handy having the Moghty MO so accessible and nearby.

SWAMP NINJA said:

How is the local economy in that area? Ive heard that its very steady no big booms and busts? Also I have my ATV and boat a (center console tunnel hull with pods to run skinny water) would it be a waste there? I was thinking about selling both so that I didn't have to move them if there was going to be limited opportunity for use. We are moving from a place with 0 snow and I think that we had less than 5 days below freezing this year so the weather will take getting used to, but we are excited to experience something new as well.

I have also heard from another forum that people are in this area, Lewistown in particular are not accepting of "outsiders" doesn't bother me very much but I have others to think of. What say you?

Are elk/deer tags fairly easy to get?

Also I really appreciate all of the responses. We are really stepping out of our element to try something different, and are trying to make the most informed decision possible.

Click to expand...

People in Lewistown are some of the nicest people on the planet. That said, they do get irritated with people coming from "outside" and trying to change the place. You'll find that sentiment pretty much anywhere in Montana though, and I wouldn't say Lewistown is any worse in that regard than other towns.

Economy in Lewistown is fairly sluggish. Downtown seems to just barely hang on, and you'll probably find yourself either shopping online or heading to GF or Billings for any special healthcare needs or major shopping. I will say one thing that has always struck me as somewhat unusual about Lewistown are the number of people who work two and sometimes three jobs. Not sure why that seems to be extra common there. I would think the job market would be much better in Great Falls.

Lewistown gets a lot of snow, and road maintenance is interesting to say the least. You will definitely want something 4 wheel drive. You'll also want to take up ice fishing, snow shoeing, and/or x-country skiing! You are surrounded by great ice fishing there.

I'd tell you that outside of big cities there is a paradox. On one side we don't want the Montana we know to change, and outsiders bring a lot of change. I'm not talking about going from outhouses to indoor plumbing. But, there is a culture here in Montana and there is a part of who we are that is very intrinsic to this lace. One the other side of the paradox, I would say that we are a friendly and engaging people. There are jerks wherever you go, but for the most part we get along fine. Don't make a big deal about where you're from, and we won't either. I personally don't like it when someone can't stop telling me about the glory days of where they are from. I just think if you liked it so much there, then why are you here.

As for economy, I would tell you that things are probably better in GF just because of the base and its size. That pumps a lot into the local economy. Outside of that, you better have a job before you move here. The jobs are tough. Then again, I don't live here because I have a great job, I live here because this is where I am part of something. The scenery tax is high here. I tell the wife, I don't care if I have to work at McDonalds, I'm not leaving MT. I was gone for several years for school and the military and after living in TN, NC, MS, and NY, I have no desire to ever leave again.

Thanks guys. Your summary of the people and economy sounds about like what I thought and what I would expect in any smaller town. I couldn't imagine a better economy than where we currently reside. We are not rich nor even considered wealthy but we both have the ability to make a good living, her more so than me, and we have no debt. Needless to say we are not looking to move for more money, hell if I made the same amount as I do now I would be ecstatic.
We wish to raise our kids like we were, in a smaller town with the outdoors in the backyard.. 4H, FFA, Cows, Chickens, gardens, teaching kids how to fix things, how to work, think outside the box and generally how not to be a useless human like other kids that I see. Its all about quality of life. I grew up near 20000 acres of public land and one of the largest rivers in the Southeast. I had a boat, 4wheeler and 22 rifle way before most people would think suitable. I want my kids to have similar opportunities. I feel that Mt can provide the classroom, Its up to me to do the rest.

Sorry for the rant. I just wanted you to know our reasons for moving.