Ravalli County

Corvallis•Darby•Florence•Hamilton•Stevensville•Victor

The Bitterroot Valley

Spend a day or a week in the beautiful Bitterroot Valley, a place where the stunning peaks of the Bitterroot and Sapphire Mountains meet the gorgeous, fertile, tree filled Bitterroot Valley. As the Bitterroot River flows north towards Missoula, it passes wide plains with charming historic towns.

The Bitterroot Valley is Geo-Tourism at its best. Throughout the valley you will encounter spectacular beauty and world-class recreation that any true outdoor enthusiast would love to experience. In the summer, you will find a multitude of scenic hiking trails and public fishing access sites and great hunting. Here the outdoor enthusiast can indulge his or her passion for outdoor sports and recreation of every kind.

In the winter, you can enjoy a superb skiing and snowboarding experience at Lost Trail Powder Mountain, where the annual average is 300 inches of pristine powder. Great snowmobiling and cross-country skiing trails also await you.

The exceptional beauty of the valley entices artists of many genres to make their home here. The Bitterroot is filled with skilled artisans creating beautiful, unique and often functional works, from ornate pottery to luxurious textiles to paintings that reflect the beauty of our surroundings. The cultural appetite of the Bitterroot is also fed by two excellent amateur theatre groups, a superb performing artists series, an outdoor venue presenting musical talent, an excellent choral group, and a great many smaller musical groups and dance studios who entertain us frequently.
For more information, please contact:
Bitterroot Valley Chamber of Commerce
105 East Main
Hamilton, MT 59840
(406) 363-2400
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www.bitterrootvalleychamber.com

Darby

Darby was established in the early 1800’s. It has changed over the years from a sleepy little town, to a thriving little community. Its unique shops and friendly people make this town one of the valley’s best places to visit. Darby is located in Ravalli County, 59 miles south of Missoula. The community had a population of 710 with 316 housing units at the time of the 2000 census.

Florence

Florence is located in Ravalli County, 16 miles south of Missoula. Florence Park is one of the nicest in the valley, with lots of room for baseball, softball, soccer, and tennis. A new addition to the park is Hideout Mountain, a playground with lots of surprises. Florence also hosts a Renaissance Fair every other summer and has a Harvest Festival in the fall. Both events are locally sponsored and help develop a sense of community.

If you like walking, biking or riding; Florence has great trails. Along Highway 93 you can go north to Lolo onto Chief Looking Glass campground (on the Bitterroot River) or you can go south to Stevensville Bass Creek campground or Poker Joe river access. The Doug Vulcan trail runs from Florence to the Bitterroot River where the FWP maintains a river access. You can follow the Lewis and Clark trail where Clark and his men returned from Oregon in 1806 on the west side of the Bitterroot River.

Hamilton

In the middle of the Bitterroot Valley, in Ravalli County, is the county’s seat of Hamilton. Hamilton is home to over 4,000 people, and the immediate area around the town has somewhere over 12,000 people. Downtown Hamilton has several historic buildings with many unique shops and restaurants. Looking west on Main Street is a beautiful view of the mountains. Just finished in the spring of 2004, there is a newly revitalized downtown. New streetscape, trees, and street lamps make way to enjoy the unique downtown shops. Highway 93, which goes all the way through town, also boasts unique shops, grocery stores, and gas stations.

For more information, visit www.bitterrootvalleychamber.com

Stevensville

Montana’s first permanent settlement is thriving as a great little community overflowing with small town charm. The Stevensville Main Street Association, working with all of the community businesses, is always striving to ensure the community grows and prospers. The First Friday of every month residents and visitors enjoy “First Friday” when the Main Street Businesses stay open late and show you their “Stevi” hospitality. In the summer there are many community events, including Western Heritage Days, and the Creamery Picnic. Fall and winter activities include the North West Honey Fest, Scarecrow Festival and Christmas Gift Fair – “A Montana Country Christmas.”

Stevensville has picturesque views, antique shops, gift shops, historic hotel, microbrewery and a variety store with an old fashioned soda fountain. There are amenities to meet all of your needs with great medical services, pharmacy and medical supplies. Stevensville also has a beautiful retirement home, nursing home and assisted living services. Stevensville is home to the Lee Metcalf National Wildlife Refuge, Historic St. Mary’s Mission (Est. 1841), Fort Owen State Park, the Stevensville Historical Museum and the Stevensville Playhouse community theatre. Montana’s first permanent settlement is a culturally rich and historic town. The Selway-Bitterroot Wilderness Area, the largest in the lower 48 states, is located in the mountains directly to the West of Stevensville and is accessible through numerous trailheads on the Bitterroot National Forest.

Stevensville is located in Ravalli County, 25 miles south of Missoula. Stevensville’s present estimated population is approximately 1,914. The population in the Stevensville 59870 Zip Code area is 8,600. The elevation is 3370 feet. Stevensville has a land area of 0.52 square miles.
For more information call: (406) 777-3773
Or email: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
www.mainstreetstevensville.com

Victor

Victor is on the west side of the Bitterroot River and is near the site of the Curlew Mine. The mine was a very lucrative silver producer. In the mid 1860’s, A. Sterne Blake and his Shoshone wife came to the valley and were among the original founders of Victor. Victor is located in Ravalli County, 32 miles south of Missoula.

The above community information was provided by: www.travelmt.com/mt-cities-victor.html