Montana
Butte is the Richest Hill on Earth, a high-mountain mining city where steel headframes still stand over old shafts, brick blocks climb a steep Uptown hillside and a vast flooded pit marks the edge of town.
The Old Number 1 trolley tour is the best way to begin, a two-hour narrated loop through copper-king history, and around it you can build a trip from mansions, a reconstructed 1890s mining camp, the Mai Wah museum and the Pekin Noodle Parlor, Cornish pasties, a statue on the Continental Divide and day trips to Anaconda, Lewis and Clark Caverns, Fairmont Hot Springs and Helena. This guide covers the sights worth your time and matches you to the right hotel, from boutique character to interstate chains and a hot springs resort.
Butte Trolley Tour (Old Number 1)
The classic two-hour narrated trolley loop through Butte, run by the Butte-Silver Bow Chamber of Commerce. It is the quickest way to understand the Richest Hill on Earth: headframes, mansions, the Berkeley Pit and the old copper-king neighborhoods in one seated ride.
Berkeley Pit Viewing Stand
A platform over the vast flooded open-pit copper mine at the edge of Uptown. One of the most striking, sobering and quickly visited sights in Montana.
World Museum of Mining and Hell Roarin Gulch
An open-air mining camp reconstruction, an honor wall for lost miners and an underground mine tour, on a hillside beside Montana Tech. The best hands-on introduction to Butte's mining life.
Uptown Butte National Historic Landmark District
A hillside of brick blocks, steel headframes, mansions and murals, one of the largest historic districts in the American West and the best free thing to do in Butte.
Hand-picked: every experience here has strong traveler reviews and a verified booking link.
The classic two-hour narrated trolley loop through Butte, run by the Butte-Silver Bow Chamber of Commerce. It is the quickest way to understand the Richest Hill on Earth: headframes, mansions, the Berkeley Pit and the old copper-king neighborhoods in one seated ride.
A platform over the vast flooded open-pit copper mine at the edge of Uptown. One of the most striking, sobering and quickly visited sights in Montana.
An open-air mining camp reconstruction, an honor wall for lost miners and an underground mine tour, on a hillside beside Montana Tech. The best hands-on introduction to Butte's mining life.
A 34-room Victorian built in the 1880s for copper baron William A. Clark, still furnished as a museum and open for guided tours and overnight stays.
A four-floor, 26-room mansion built in 1898 for the son of a copper king, now a community arts and history space in the middle of Uptown.
A 90-foot statue on the Continental Divide above Butte, visited only by guided bus tour. Big views, a chapel and a memorial wall.
A hillside memorial above Uptown for the 168 men who died in the 1917 Speculator Mine fire, the deadliest hard-rock mining disaster in American history.
A free-to-enter museum on the Montana Tech campus with thousands of specimens, from Montana sapphires to a gold nugget and the glittering copper ores behind Butte's boom.
A three-level brothel built in 1890 and operated until 1982, now a museum telling the story of Butte's Red Light District and the women who worked in it.
A museum in two restored buildings that tells the story of Butte's Chinese and Asian communities, with an intact early twentieth-century store.
Guided Uptown walks of about ninety minutes, plus an Underground City tour through speakeasy rooms and an 1890 cellar jail, led by local historians.
A hillside of brick blocks, steel headframes, mansions and murals, one of the largest historic districts in the American West and the best free thing to do in Butte.
Hotels we would book ourselves, from splurges to good-value bases.
Butte
A small boutique hotel with mining-town character, a good fit for travelers who want a stay with some personality instead of a highway chain.
Check rates →Butte (interstate side)
A dependable Hilton-brand hotel with a free breakfast and easy highway access, a practical base for families and road trippers exploring Butte.
Check rates →Butte (interstate side)
A full-featured highway hotel with a pool, on-site dining and a large footprint, popular with families, tour groups and travelers passing through.
Check rates →Butte (interstate side)
A newer Marriott-brand hotel with suites, a free breakfast and modern rooms, a comfortable choice for families and business travelers.
Check rates →Butte (interstate side)
An IHG-brand hotel with a free breakfast, comfortable rooms and easy highway access, a solid mid-priced option for most visitors.
Check rates →Harrison Avenue
A budget motel on Harrison Avenue with simple rooms and low rates, a sensible choice for travelers who spend their days out sightseeing.
Check rates →Butte
A low-cost roadside inn for travelers watching their budget. Simple, practical and close to the highway.
Check rates →Fairmont (west of Butte)
A hot springs resort with mineral pools, a golf course and lodging about thirteen miles west of Uptown, the best choice for a relaxing, outdoorsy stay.
Check rates →A practical first-visit guide to Butte, Montana: the Uptown historic district, the Berkeley Pit, the mining museum, the trolley tour and what to book ahead.
A three-day Butte itinerary covering the trolley tour, Uptown, the mining museums, the Berkeley Pit and a day trip to Anaconda, the caverns or Helena.
How to choose a hotel in Butte, Montana: the interstate chains, boutique and budget options and the hot springs resort west of town.
What to eat in Butte, Montana: Cornish pasties, a historic Chinese noodle parlor, steakhouses, Irish pubs and the stories behind the food.
When to visit Butte, Montana: summer tours and festivals, shoulder-season quiet, winter limits and what is open in each season.
A guide to Butte's copper-mining history for visitors: the copper kings, the Berkeley Pit, the 1917 fire, immigrant communities and the sites that tell the story.
