Small Towns Near Bozeman, Montana
The best small towns near Bozeman are Livingston, Gardiner and Virginia City. Livingston is a railroad town on the Yellowstone River, and Gardiner sits at Yellowstone’s year-round North Entrance. Virginia City is a gold-rush town that was Montana’s territorial capital.
The 10 towns below run nearest first, from Manhattan and Livingston at about 20 miles to Red Lodge at about 95. Distances are straight-line miles from downtown Bozeman, so mountain drives will be longer. You’ll find Lewis and Clark history, ghost towns, hot springs, trout rivers and two Yellowstone gateways.
| Town | Distance | Best for |
|---|---|---|
| Manhattan, Montana | About 20 miles | farm town, a summer festival |
| Livingston, Montana | About 20 miles | railroad history, fly fishing, hot springs |
| Three Forks, Montana | About 30 miles | Lewis and Clark, rivers, history |
| Big Sky, Montana | About 30 miles | skiing, the Gallatin River |
| Ennis, Montana | About 40 miles | fly fishing, ranch country |
| Gardiner, Montana | About 45 miles | Yellowstone, wildlife, winter visits |
| Virginia City, Montana | About 50 miles | gold rush history, ghost towns |
| West Yellowstone, Montana | About 70 miles | Yellowstone, bears and wolves |
| Dillon, Montana | About 85 miles | ghost town, ranch country |
| Red Lodge, Montana | About 95 miles | Beartooth Highway, skiing, a weekend |
Distances are straight-line miles from downtown Bozeman, as the crow flies.
Manhattan, Montana
About 20 miles as the crow flies · Best for: farm town, a summer festival
Manhattan is a Gallatin County town of 2,086 west of Bozeman. Dutch farmers settled here in the 1800s and grew barley for Bozeman’s brewers, and the name comes from a malting company.
Don’t miss: the Manhattan Potato Festival in mid-August, with a Main Street parade, a firefighters’ breakfast and a car show; 2026 was its 40th year
★ Good to know Manhattan is a quick stop on the way to Three Forks, 10 miles farther west.
Livingston, Montana
About 20 miles as the crow flies · Best for: railroad history, fly fishing, hot springs
The Northern Pacific founded Livingston in 1882 to service locomotives before they climbed Bozeman Pass. It became the first gateway town to Yellowstone, and 17 of its sites are on the National Register.
Don’t miss: the 1902 Livingston Depot, by the architects of Grand Central Station, and Chico Hot Springs in Paradise Valley, open to day visitors year-round
★ Good to know The depot’s museum is open in summer only, roughly late May to early September. Chico has been a resort since 1900.
Three Forks, Montana
About 30 miles as the crow flies · Best for: Lewis and Clark, rivers, history
Three Forks, population 1,989, sits near the spot where the Jefferson, Madison and Gallatin rivers join to form the Missouri. Meriwether Lewis named the three rivers on July 28, 1805.
Don’t miss: Missouri Headwaters State Park, a 532-acre National Historic Landmark open year-round, and the historic Sacajawea Hotel on Main Street
★ Good to know The park’s campground shrinks to three sites after October 1, and its drinking water is shut off for the season.
Big Sky, Montana
About 30 miles as the crow flies · Best for: skiing, the Gallatin River
Big Sky is an unincorporated resort community of 3,591 in the Madison Range. Big Sky Resort and Moonlight Basin merged in 2013 and now cover more than 5,800 acres of ski terrain.
Don’t miss: the Gallatin River, a blue-ribbon trout stream, and Historic Crail Ranch in Meadow Village, a homestead started by Augustus Franklin Crail in 1902
★ Good to know Call the Big Sky Community Organization to check tour times at Crail Ranch.
Ennis, Montana
About 40 miles as the crow flies · Best for: fly fishing, ranch country
Ennis is a Madison County town of 917 on the Madison River, homesteaded by William Ennis after the 1863 Alder Gulch gold strike. Anglers come for its rainbow and brown trout.
Don’t miss: the Madison River and the Ennis National Fish Hatchery, 12 miles southwest, the largest broodstock hatchery in the national program, with a visitor center
★ Good to know The Fourth of July brings a parade and rodeo to town.
Gardiner, Montana
About 45 miles as the crow flies · Best for: Yellowstone, wildlife, winter visits
Gardiner, an unincorporated town of 833 in Park County, has been a main entrance to Yellowstone since the park’s creation in 1872. It sits where the Gardiner River meets the Yellowstone.
Don’t miss: the Roosevelt Arch, a 52-foot basalt arch whose cornerstone Theodore Roosevelt laid in 1903, and the drive into Yellowstone from the North Entrance
★ Good to know The road from Gardiner through the park to Cooke City is the only Yellowstone road generally open to regular cars all year.
Virginia City, Montana
About 50 miles as the crow flies · Best for: gold rush history, ghost towns
Gold was found in Alder Gulch on May 26, 1863, and Virginia City was Montana’s territorial capital from 1865 to 1875. Only 219 people live here, among nearly 300 historic structures.
Don’t miss: Virginia City’s historic district and neighboring Nevada City, linked by the narrow-gauge Alder Gulch Short Line Railroad, plus the Boot Hill Cemetery
★ Good to know Virginia City is open year-round, but Nevada City runs Memorial Day weekend through September, and most shops close after Labor Day.
West Yellowstone, Montana
About 70 miles as the crow flies · Best for: Yellowstone, bears and wolves
West Yellowstone grew up after the railroad arrived in 1908 and sits at the park’s west edge at 6,667 feet. The town of 1,272 holds the lowest recorded temperature for any residential community in the lower 48, minus 66 degrees.
Don’t miss: the Grizzly & Wolf Discovery Center, an accredited nonprofit that cares for bears and wolves that can’t live in the wild, open every day
★ Good to know Most Yellowstone roads close to regular cars from early November to late April, including the West Entrance road.
Dillon, Montana
About 85 miles as the crow flies · Best for: ghost town, ranch country
Dillon began in 1880 as a Utah and Northern Railway town called Terminus and was renamed for Union Pacific president Sidney Dillon. The Beaverhead County seat of 3,880 was once Montana’s largest wool exporter.
Don’t miss: Bannack State Park, site of Montana’s first major gold strike in 1862, with more than 50 historic buildings on Main Street
★ Good to know Bannack is open all year, and Bannack Days fill the town with living history the third weekend of July.
Red Lodge, Montana
About 95 miles as the crow flies · Best for: Beartooth Highway, skiing, a weekend
Red Lodge, a Carbon County town of 2,257, grew on coal mining after rail arrived in 1889. The Beartooth Highway opened here in 1936 and climbs to Yellowstone’s Northeast Entrance.
Don’t miss: the Beartooth Highway, a National Scenic Byway, and Red Lodge Mountain, with 1,635 acres and 2,400 feet of vertical
★ Good to know The Beartooth Highway is typically open from Memorial Day weekend to mid-October. The ski area usually opens the day after Thanksgiving and runs to the second Sunday in April.
What’s the closest small town to Bozeman?
On this list, Manhattan and Livingston, both about 20 miles as the crow flies. Three Forks and Big Sky are next, at about 30 miles.
What’s the best small-town weekend trip from Bozeman?
Gardiner, for Yellowstone’s North Entrance and the Roosevelt Arch, with Chico Hot Springs on the way. Virginia City and Ennis pair well for gold-rush history and fly fishing.
Which small town near Bozeman is best for Yellowstone in winter?
Gardiner. The road from the North Entrance to Cooke City is the only park road generally open to regular cars all year.
Are there ghost towns near Bozeman?
Yes. Nevada City sits next to Virginia City. Bannack State Park near Dillon has more than 50 historic buildings from Montana’s first major gold strike.