American Rockies Holidays & Accommodation
USA, North America
The Mountain States embrace the American Rockies which extend from New Mexico in the south, to Montana in the north; then across the border to the Canadian Rockies. This region is great for walking and mountaineering as well as skiing in the winter. Between the two is Colorado, perhaps the most famous state in this region, home to the mile high city of Denver as well as the spectacular Grand Canyon, also accessble from arid Arizona. Yellowstone, the world's first national park can be accessed from Montana and Idaho. Some of the country's most spectacular wilderness lies in the charming state of Wyoming, If you want to visit historical sites, you may want to visit the area of Custer's last stand at Little Bighorn, near Crow Agency, Montana. You may want to visit the more unexpected landmarks like the Idaho Anne Frank Human Rights Memorial in Boise Idaho.
American Rockies Holidays
Near the northern border of Montana is Glacier National Park, which; conjoined with Waterton Lakes National Park in neighbouring Canada, forms the world's first international peace park. In this park you are likely to share the road with mountain goats on the Going to the Sun Road, a fifty mile scenic drive that stretches through the park alongside the Rockies. There are over 700 miles of trails in the park along with historic chalets, beautiful forests, alpine lakes, and mountain meadows.
Yellowstone Park is accessible from both Montana and Idaho, with an all season vehicle entrance in Montana, near Gardiner. This park is built on the largest supervolcano in North America, the Yellowstone caldera, bestowing the park with many spectacular geothermal features from hot springs to Old Faithful. There is a lot of wildlife throughout the park, including free-ranging herds of elk and bison, and America's Serengeti, the Lamar Valley.
In Idaho, you can visit the resort town of Couer d'Alene in the north, 2, 150 feet above sea level. There is a lake, and a sandy beach where you can kayak or rent a jet ski. At the neighbouring Coeur d'Alene Resort you can stroll the boardwalk or golf their unique golf course with its unusual floating fourteenth green that is only accessible by boat. You can also ride up the world's longest gondola at Silver Mountain with your mountain bike and bike down the mountain.
The southern section of the Rocky Mountains are best viewed in the stunning landscapes of Colorado. To the west is the dry state of Utah, famous for Mormons and gthe dramtic desert landscapes of Zion and Arches National Parks. New Mexico and Arizona are both desert states rich in archaelogical sites of the ancient Pueblo people and aslo home to native American reservations.
For historic sites in Montana, you may want to visit some heritage towns connected with its mining past. Butte-Anaconda Historic District is an old copper mining boomtown with a history of saloons and a red light district. Or maybe you might want to visit Virginia City's Historic District with over 200 historic buildings connected with its past as the territorial capital in the 1860's.
You might want to visit Idaho Falls at the base of the Blackfoot Mountains; it has a symphony orchestra, live theatre, baseball, and horse racing. It is also close to Yellowstone. Otherwise, you may want to visit Boise, with its numerous green spaces, including a large city park in the heart of downtown. It also boasts a symphony orchestra as well as a ballet and opera company. With the Idaho State University campus being located there, it means there are plenty of clubs and bars and great nightlife in the area. There is also the largest community of Basques to be found outside Europe in Boise, and you can visit their cultural heart in the Basque Block where a Basque Museum and Cultural Centre is located. For something unusual, you may want to visit the Old Idaho Penitentiary where since 1872, many of the Wild West's notorious criminals were housed.
Montana and Idaho are both known for their mining reserves, Montana for the mineral wealth such as gold and silver from its history in the late 19th century, while Idaho's nickname is the Gem State due to the fact that practically every known gem stone has been discovered then, most notably the star garnet, only otherwise found in the Himalayas.