The Nation's Playground 



With Two Great National Parks, and Unrivalled Scenic Attrac- 

 tions, Montana Offers Inviting Retreat to Those 

 Seeking Rest and Recreation. 



ATURE was in her most generous mood when 

 Montana was in the making; nowhere else was 

 there lavished in such profusion such a wealth of 

 scenic attractions, and while Montana is calling for 

 the homebuilder and the settler, it nevertheless 

 welcomes the casual visitor. 



"Sst Americj Firsi, and Begin with Montana," 

 is a good rule to follow, and those who have followed 

 this rule unhesitatingly pronounce the Treasure 

 State the playground of the nation. Certainly the 

 state can live up to this appellation, for in no other 

 commonwealth may be found so many and so varied 

 works of Nature which appeal irresistibly to those 

 upon vacation bent. With its wealth of natural 

 scenery, its countless lakes and majestic peaks, its 

 glaciers, its geysers and its wonder-colored canyons, 

 its unlimited supply of fish and game, .its great 

 altitudes with their accompanying ideal summer 

 temperatures, and, last but not least, its superb mountain highways, which bring the 

 great outdoors within easy and comfortable reach of the tourist, Montana indeed 

 offers inviting retreat to those who would, for a day, a week or a month, break away 

 from the commonplace. 



It can be truthfully said that a vacation in Montana can be arranged to suit any 

 taste and any purse. Camping parties can spend months in the mountains and 

 on the lakes at a cost which is so small as to be almost negligible. Boon companions 

 may wander for days through primeval forests at the mere expense of coffee and 

 bacon and bread, while the sparkling trout streams serve to make their table a ban- 

 quet board. On the other hand, those who would retain all the luxuries of civilization 

 while upon their outings may here find magnificent hotels dedicated to their comfort 

 and convenience. 



While the lakes and mountains and forests of Montana would of themselves put 

 Montana at the head of the list of recreation places, it is to the two greatest and 

 largest national parks that Montana owes its best known summer attractions. These 

 two great national playgrounds — the Yellowstone and Glacier National Parks — are 

 primarily Montana institutions. Even before the nation was awakened to the im- 

 portance of reserving these great natural wonders for the benefit and enjoyment of all 

 the people, these parks were vacation and sight-seeing places for the people of 

 Montana. Glacier National Park, containing more than 1,500 square miles and nest- 

 ling upon the very apex of the continent, is wholly within Montana, while Yellowstone 

 National Park, the oldest and best known of all the national reservations, is reached 

 through this state. The official entrance to this park, an imposing rock arch, dedi- 

 cated by President Roosevelt, is at Gardiner, Montana, five miles from Mammoth Hot 

 Springs, the administrative headquarters of the great reserve, which contains more 



