Well, in little more than a month, I am going to be going to be starting my college life at Montana State U. The only problem is that I have been there only twice before, know nobody (which is a good thing) and really just have no idea what I am going to do my first weekend.
So, if there is anyone out there that has some experience with this quaint little mountain town, such as trails nearby, great restaurants hidden away, and so on, it would be appreciated. Thanks.
HI! I got my B.S. in Earth Science at Bozeman. It’s a great town (at least it was then, finished in '92). Very much an outdoorsy type of place, with lots of good downhill and cross country skiing, a bunch of handy trails (Hyalite lake area was a favorite, as was Sacagawea pass and Fairy Lake). Not sure which restaurants are still operations, but they have a number of the “chain” places etc. It’s grown a lot since I left, and traffic is a lot worse than it used to be…it grew too fast for the infrastructure in my opinion.
However, there are worse places certainly. I couldn’t live there anymore–got too big for me! Southwestern and SouthCentral Montana have a lot of potential for outdoors activity. Bozeman is very near to Yellowstone National Park, a number of state parks (Lewis and Clark Caverns comes readily to mind) and they have a great Museum (Museum of the Rockies) that has some phenomenal dinosaur displays. Glacier national park is in the northern part of the state, is probably 4-6 hours away by car and has some of the best scenery that I’ve ever seen.
Can you tell that I’m partial to my state? :o
Current physics grad student at MSU, here. I’m not the best person to ask about specific trails, but there are tons of them. You can literally drive any direction at all out of town and find a variety of outdoors opportunities. The nearest ski slopes are only 15 miles out of town, and most students ski. Fly fishing is also very popular (there are actually courses available in both skiing and fly fishing). There are even a fair number of trails, parks, etc. in the city itself (the Linear-Galligator Trail comes to mind, as does Peet’s Hill). And anywhere you go, the scenery is amazing. From your location field, I’m guessing that you’re in either West Virginia or Puerto Rico right now; if you’ve never been to the Rockies before, they’re probably unlike anything you’ve seen before (not at all like the Appalacians).
On the restaraunt front, I really hope you like beef: The beef here, at any non-fast food place, is far superior to what I’ve had anywhere else. My favorite restaurants are the Oasis Club, a steakhouse in nearby Manhatten (be sure to bring an appetite; most of their steaks are over a pound); I-ho’s, a Korean place just southwest of campus (I just ate lunch there today); the Pickle Barrel, a sandwich shop just north of campus; the Naked Noodle, a multiethnic pasta shop downtown; and La Parilla, a multiethnic burrito place somewhat northwest of campus.
I spent a whole week in Bozeman with Chronos, one day back in 2004.
Perhaps the OP also wants suggestions on where to steal stuff, as evinced here:
http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?p=7727248
Make a day trip and go see the Berkely Pit
When my wife was a student, from 96-2001, she frequented a small bar called the Molly Brown. She speaks highly of it.
I visited the American Computer Museum when I passed through in Bozeman. That was fun.
Bozeman is about 30 minutes away from Three Forks of the Missouri
You compressed a week into a day? No better person to help you with that than Chronos.
Oooh! The Molly Brown! I like the Haufbrau…and the Scoop. The three bars are otherwise known as the Barmuda Triangle!
And you have to hit the Museum of the Rockies too! As someone else mentioned, the Oasis in Manhattan is outstanding, but go with a big appetite and plan on bringing leftovers home. GOOD food!