Get to Know Your Neighbors, Red Lodge, Montana

Tucked up at the base of the Beartooth Mountains, Red Lodge is a quintessential mountain town. Skiing, hiking, mountain biking and fishing are all plentiful, but the shops, restaurants, and entertainment are equally inviting. You'll be surprised at the quality of dining options, specialty boutiques and community festivals that draw people into the fold.

The warm season brings several outdoor races, but winter brings Shop Small Saturday, the Festival of Lights, a two-day Christmas Stroll and Blade Parade, and the opening day of ski season, Nov. 29.

While Red Lodge is full of fun, family-oriented events, this little town is one of our favorite getaways any time of year. This colorful, old-west town was originally a gathering place for the Crow Indians, who came each summer to worship, rest and hunt. In 1897, the Rocky Fork Coal Co. began mining operations, which drew hundreds of immigrants to work in the mines.

With the advent of strip mining in the 1920s, citizens of Red Lodge got creative and began bootlegging locally produced bottles of liquor — or "cough syrup" to replace their income. Historic places like The Pollard Hotel hosted characters like Buffalo Bill Cody, Calamity Jane and Frederic Remington. In 1897, some of The Pollard guests even witnessed Red Lodge Bank's robbery by The Sundance Kid!

Today, tourism, recreation and agriculture are the town's primary sources of income. Stop by, and you'll likely still find charismatic locals eager to swap stories and welcome you to their neck of the woods.