Deer Lodge offers everything I need on a trip across Montana on I-90. Restaurants are great and my kids can get out of the car and run around. Deer Lodge has a couple of museums, and a few parks and the scenery is gorgeous! If you want to spend a little time exploring nature, Montana’s Deer Lodge is a great place to start.
Deer Lodge, Montana
Deer Lodge is a city of about 3,100 located between Missoula, Helena, and Butte Montana. It’s a quaint little town that provides travelers easy access to amenities and services. Plus, it offers some great recreation, including mountain hiking, golf, and a skate park. Other destinations of choice include museums with prison and automobile themes.
Amazingly enough, this little gem of a town is the second oldest in Montana.
Easiest Stop Between Missoula & Butte
This is why I know the city well. It’s a great stopping point if you’re traveling on I-90. A frequent journey for me. It’s not busy and it’s convenient to get a lot done.
If kids need to get out of the car there are a couple of fast food restaurants and some small stores.
If you need to be outdoors moving around, there are safe, fun parks throughout Deer Lodge and interesting museums.
Deer Lodge even installed a skate park in 2022. There are plenty of options to stretch your legs, move around, and enjoy the beautiful Montana scenery before you continue on your trip.
One of my favorite ways to make the drive when I’ve got a little bit of slack in my timing is to go to Subway, grab sandwiches for everyone, then picnic in the park. The kids play on the jungle gyms, I walk around, and we all burn off some energy. Then we get into the care completely refreshed and continue on our way.
Deer Lodge is such a beautiful destination and the break from driving is time well spent.
Deer Lodge Museums
Deer lodge has a surprising number of museums that visitors rave about in different reviews. You could spend the whole day visiting all of them or take in 1 for a good break.
The two most popular are the prison museum and the auto museum.
But there are 3 other museums that patrons walk away from feeling like they learned a lot and experienced a bit of nostalgia
- Frontier Montana: Museum that is everything Cowboy! Focuses on frontier life from a bygone area. A collection of handguns spurs, chaps, and the Western Frontier.
- Yesterday’s Play Things: Museum that deep dives into 60+ years of toys. You walk away missing some treasures from your youth.
- Powell County Museum
These museums are run by The Powell County Museum and Arts Foundation. Deer Lodge has other historical sites such as the Grant-Kohrs Ranch.
In addition to a former cellblock building, the museum complex includes a theater, antique and automobile museums, and a former Milwaukee Road “Little Joe ” electric locomotive.
Deer Lodge Prison Museum
This is history everyone in the family will want to learn!
You can see the old Montana State Prison – the old foundation, the old walls, where the cells were. It’s not quite Alcatraz, but you can feel what this site’s purpose was.
The former prison pops out at you as you drive through the main street in town. On a warm summer day, many people are exploring the museum. Well worth the stop, and gives you plenty to think about if you’ve got the time.
The old prison and its museum are in Deer Lodge. The new Montana State Prison is a few miles away and no longer a large presence in the Deer Lodge community.
Deer Lodge Auto Museum
Car enthusiasts comment on how they’ve never seen so many cars (over 200) and are shocked there are brands they’ve never heard of.
It’s hard not to become a car enthusiast after visiting.
Grant-Kohrs Ranch
This is a national historic site, with guided tours available, but they can fill up any given day. The self-guided tours are a good substitute.
The ranch was founded around the time of the Oregon trail after Johnny Grant figured out cattle thrived here during the cold winters.
There are many experiences here to be had such as sitting in a covered wagon, seeing how the cooking operation woodwork, and what cowboy life was like out on the open range.
It’s fascinating to see how bouncy and comfortable the seat on a covered wagon was. The seats were not as rigid as they appear.
Deer Lodge Scenery & Outdoors
Montana offers a plethora of wildlife and it’s all available in the Deer Lodge area. It’s possible to see herds of elk, mule & whitetail deer, black bears, moose, bighorn sheep, mountain goats, and antelope. Elk and deer are the animals you’re most likely to see.
There are nearby mountain ranges for hiking, and it’s possible to take close-up pictures of animals.
Fishing in the area is wonderful, especially with the Clark Fork River nearby. Hunting is also available in Deer Lodge.
Keep these places in mind as well:
- Warm Springs Wildlife Management Area
- Spotted Dog Wildlife Management Area
- Lost Creek State Park
- Fairmont Hot Springs
Deer Lodge Parks
- Jaycee Park: Park with older play equipment. Great place to spend an hour with some beautiful scenery
- Little Joe: Named after the Little Joe Locomotive in the local museum.
- Central Park Center: this is a pool and fitness Center
- Cottonwood City Park
- Skate Park: John and Dorothy Wilson Memorial Skate Park on Higgins Avenue. Jeff Ament of Pearl Jam fame helped fund this park.
Rivers
Clark Fork river & Blackfoot River confluence is near Deer Lodge.
Deer Lodge Golf Course (aka Deer Park Golf Course)
This is a small golf course for the community. If you’re trying to check off all the golf courses in Montana or just want to spend the day golfing, it provides beautiful mountain scenery.
Otherwise, there are nicer golf courses that are a closer drive.
Restaurants in Deer Lodge
- Prison Pizza: homemade pizza sauce from scratch? What’s not to love about this prize of a pizza parlor in Deer Lodge? This one’s a great stop you’re not gonna find better pizza at the two big cities on either tip of your drive.
- Corner Bar: great little bar with live music some evenings and outdoor seating during the summer months
- Kaffeination Station: stop for coffee and a quick meal. Surprisingly great reviews on their Philly Cheesesteak.
- Broken Arrow Steakhouse: steak houses and small cities can be pretty hit-and-miss. I found Broken Arrow steakhouse to be pretty good and cooked correctly. Some reviews show not everyone feels this way, but I recommend trying it.
Deer Lodge Dates to be Aware Of
The Deer Lodge Prison & Auto Museums are currently closed for maintenance, reopening March 3, 2023. Fun starts the next day at the museum with a children’s play on March 4.
Traveling to Deer Lodge
Deer Lodge is an easy destination to travel to. I assume that’s one of the reasons this thriving community exists.
If you’re traveling from Butte or Missoula, it will just be a long I-90. Same for Helena Montana but you will take Highway 12 first to get to I-90.
Stop Lights Flash
One of my favorite things about small towns like Deer Lodge is when it’s not peak driving hours there’s no need for stoplights.
Instead of waiting for stoplight timers on streets that aren’t currently busy, the stoplights flash and let the driver know whether they need to yield at the light.
I like it because it’s more efficient and it is refreshing to be a little less beholden to technology.
I’ve seen this in a few cities over the years and I’ve also seen the cities grow and eliminate this stoplight behavior. I miss the simplicity.
History
I was quite surprised when I found out Deer Lodge is the second oldest town in Montana.
Amongst the prison, museums, and the Grant-Kohrs ranch, you can learn a lot about the history of Deer Lodge.
The Powell County Website has a great page that covers the history of Deer Lodge and provides insite into how this part of the West was settled.
FAQ
What should I do in Deer Lodge?
If you have a lot of time, absolutely visit one of the museums. If not have a picnic in the park, move around, enjoy the scenery, and then be on your way.
What’s the best place to stop in Deer Lodge?
In my opinion, a short visit to Prison Pizza. If you have a long time, then check out the grant Grant-Kohrs Ranch- I don’t think there’s a better way to experience Montana’s history.
Summary & other places of interest
Deer Lodge is a small town that offers a lot of amenities whether you are passing through or in town for a couple of days.
The outdoor recreation is phenomenal as are the chances to connect the history on display.
With close proximity to three major cities in Montana, Deer Lodge may be worth spending a little time in if you are already in Missoula, Helena, or Butte. Spending a day hiking in the Deer Lodge and then getting back to the Kettlehouse Amphitheater for a concert would be an incredible day.