If you’ve ever desired to know about the different things to do in Butte, MT, this article is for you. Butte County is open and prepared to receive visitors from around the world to check out everything it offers.
Whatever you are searching for, you are always welcome to explore the city’s unique attractions. Whether on a long or short vacation from work or weekends, you can stop by Butte County to witness its wonders.
Butte’s stunning waterfalls are an eye-catching view; you can decide to go on a scenic bike riding adventure or hiking. Have you heard of its hidden swimming holes or several miles of trail? You can visit its unique local shops to get a perfect gift for your family or lover.
Whether taking a walk via quiet vineyards to taste farm-fresh, locally made goods, you won’t lack any fun activities to do in Butte, Montana!
Where is Butte, Montana?
Butte County is a beautiful city situated in Southwestern Montana’s center. The town features a rich mining history and is renowned for having initially been the heartbeat of Western America.
The city is considered the wealthiest hill in the world because of its many copper deposits. It was also regarded as the largest town west of Mississippi during the late 1900s.
Presently, Butte is the county dwelling of Silver Bow County, and according to the latest 2020 population census, it records approximately 34,494 populates. The city features one of the Biggest National Historic Landmark Districts.
Its districts have many incredibly preserved Victorian buildings, historical structures, stately mansions, outstanding galleries, and museums.
It features many recreational adventures like hiking, boating, Trolley tours, mountain biking, horseback riding and fishing, downhill skiing, etc. Let us quickly highlight some of the best things to do in Butte County, Montana.
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Fun Things to Do In Butte, MT
1. World Museum of Mining
In 1963, the World Museum of Mining was dedicated to the history of Butte’s mining to preserve the city’s rich past and heritage.
The structure features many displays and exhibits that show Butte’s mining activities, the different tools used, and the people who died from the cause of mining accidents.
You can take a walk that brings you into the deeper parts of the Orphan Girl Mine.
The World Museum of Mining also hosts many educational programs, summer camping events for kids, and field journeys featuring interesting tours like treasure hunts and lots more.
The museum has space for a gift shop, where you can buy books, souvenirs, and toys.
Address: 155 Museum Way, Butte, MT 59701
2. Mai Wah Museum
Among the best things to do in Butte, MT is to spend valuable time learning about Butte’s cultural history at Mai Wah Museum. The museum is situated along West Mercury Street, at the Wah Chong Tai Building and Mai Wah Noodle Parlor Establishment.
It deals mainly with research, documentation, and public learning acquisition on the past, cultural, and present situations that the Asian Rocky Mountain dwellers experience.
Montana’s growth today is thanks partly to the influence of the Chinese communities and their great industry.
The museum is designed to document, research, and teach people about the city’s rich culture and past. Additionally, the Mai Wah Museum offers exhibitions of their experience while residing on the Rocky Mountain West in the late 19th century.
It features different works and artifact collections that reveal the past lives of these Asian occupants, with newspapers and relics that date as far back as 1897.
You can also explore the Wai Chong Tai Mercantile and the beautiful noodle inn featuring about 2,500 artifacts dating back to 1905.
Address: Mai Wah Parlor Building and Tai Building, 17 West Mercury Street, Butte, MT
3. Granite Mountain Memorial Overlook
You can be a part of the visit to Butte County to pay tribute to the famous Granite Mountain Memorial Overlook.
It is a historic site and viewpoint over Butte. It features stunning panoramic vistas of the 10,000-foot Highland Mountains, the leftovers of the former prosperous mining industry, the Continental Divide very far off, and Summit Valley.
The Mountain was a crucial aspect of the development of the mining industry city in the 1900s. Sadly, it was also the center where the tragic fire that blew the area occurred in 1917, claiming approximately 168 lives.
Presently, visitors troupe in their numbers to learn more about the town’s history via interpretive plaques and can also purchase a brick to promote its memorial.
If you are an outdoor enthusiast, the Butte trailhead is open for hiking and curves along the south and west of the Granite Mountain Memorial site.
It serves as a link between the renovated historic mine site of Mountain Con Park and the top of the World trail.
Address: 1000 George Street, Butte, MT 59701
4. Lewis & Clark Caverns
Another place you might only have seen in movies but not witnessed in real life is the Lewis & Clark’s Caverns, which you can find situated around 45 minutes east of Butte on interstate 90. It is undoubtedly among the top state parks in the whole of Montana.
This park features many natural resources that draw visitors far and near, including over 30 miles of multi-use trails.
However, the most significant bone to Lewis & Clark Caverns is the colossal underground world for exciting exploring adventures. The caverns are accessible on a guided tour from the end of May to September.
Here, you can choose the two free cave tours: the two-hour Classic Tour (around 2 miles) and the less complicated Paradise Tour (around a half-life trek).
You won’t find any dark spots when directed towards the cave along a walkway with lighting.
However, the Classic Tour allows visitors to glide up and down some stairs. The state park also features about 40 campsites and allows RVs and tents for guests that wish to spend the night. It is all fun in the Lewis and Clark Caverns.
Address: 25 Lewis & Clark Caverns Road, Whitehall, Montana
5. Copper King Mansion
Don’t miss out on the opportunity to be among those that tell the story of the charms at Copper King Mansion. It was established by William Andrews Clark in 1884 and is a privately-owned mansion owned and managed by the Cote family.
Popularly called the W.A. Clark Mansion, the Copper King Mansion was structured in the Romanesque Revival Victorian design by one of Montana’s three famous Copper Kings, Clark. He was instrumental in the development of Butte town.
The towering building has 34 rooms featuring incredibly preserved detailing, like hand-crafted woodwork, frescoed ceilings, antique furnishings, and stained glass windows.
It also houses a grand ballroom, a billiard room, a quaint chapel, a wholly stocked library, etc.
You are free to join in the guided tours of the mansion or sleepovers in the bed-and-breakfast area of the house museum. You will enjoy your moments at the Copper King Mansion.
Address: 219 W Granite Street, Butte, MT 59701
6. Anaconda
Anaconda is situated on the southeast end of the Pintler Veteran’s Memorial Scenic Highway, just around a half-hour drive away.
Like Butte, the town features various sites on the National Register of Historic Places. The top famous historical artifact in Anaconda is Anaconda Smelter Stack.
The building stands approximately 600 feet tall, lies over the city, and can be seen in virtually every vantage position.
If you want to know more about the copper smelting leftover, then it would be best not to miss out on the Smelter Stack State Park.
The smelting past of Anaconda is seen all over the city. You can find areas such as the Old Works Golf Club and the ancient Washoe Theatre managed by deep bunkers filled with black slag.
Visiting the Anaconda will undoubtedly give you a memorable experience and a story to tell.
Address: Southeast End of the Pintler Veteran’s Memorial Scenic Highway, Butte, MT
7. Headframe Spirits
Situated in the center of uptown Butte, Headframe Spirits is locally owned and managed by a micro-distillery, which manufactures the highest quality spirits and produces distillation materials for other distilleries.
It was founded in 2010 and is housed in the ancient Schumacher Building.
The distillery has won several awards owing to the manufacture of its small-batched, micro-distilled spirits like gin, vodka, and whiskey.
Be a part of the tour groups to explore the Headframe Spirits on guided tours. Additionally, some spirits would be manufactured during tasting sessions throughout the week.
Address: 21 S Montana Street, Butte, MT 59701
8. Historical Walking or Trolley Tour
Are you looking for a fun thing to do on your visit to Butte, Montana? You can join other visitors for a historical walk or trolley tour through Old Butte Historical Adventures.
There are periods of the year when the Old Butte Historical Adventures provides three variety of two-hour walking tours of uptown Butte.
These tours are family-friendly tours that sometimes feature dramatic narration and cover the decades from the 1980s to the 1950s.
Here, visitors are offered an overwhelming view into the historical periods, with stops at locations such as the Old City Jail and Hotel Finlen, featuring several rooms in a tower built in 1924.
Then, there is the Roaring 20s Rockwood Speakeasy resort, founded in 1912, featuring hardwood sculptures and stained glass skylights. The trolley tour is worth the visit.
Address: 117 N Main Street #9331, Butte, MT 59701
9. MBMG Mineral Museum
You don’t need to search for something to do in Butte, as you can explore the mineral collections at the MBMG Mineral Museum.
The museum is located on the campus of Montana Tech as an educational institution commissioned to the geology and minerals of the Butte and Montana community and the region’s mining past.
The structure features over 1,350 specimens of gems, minerals, and rocks. It comprised a 27.49-ounce gold nugget and a 400-pound smoky quartz crystal with the gold nugget discovered in the Highland Mountains in 1989.
The museum features popular attractions such as the Earthquake Studies Laboratory and the Fluorescent Room.
The Fluorescent room is a place where minerals radiate vibrant stripes of pink, orange, and blue whenever it is put underneath ultraviolet rays.
The MBMG Mineral Museum often holds different field tours and educational workshops, including classes. It is accessible to people of every age bracket.
Address: 1300 W Park Street, Butte, MT 59701
10. Butte’s Fairs & Festivals
The City of Butte organizes different fun-filled special events throughout the year, most of which celebrate the town’s historic Irish heritage.
In March, there’s always the St. Patrick’s Day Parade for you to witness, and you will have an encounter with kilt-wearing bagpipers.
Butte also hosts the Montana Folk Festival, organized every July, and a family-favorite event outdoors.
There is also the An Ri Ra Irish Festival scheduled for August. It is also free and celebrates all Irish with music, dancing, a 5k run, and other events.
You can start planning your trip to Montana in preparation for the Covellite International Film Festival, which is scheduled for September of every year.
Over 100 films worldwide are displayed, including all feature-length documentaries and short movies.
Address: 66 W Park Street, Butte, MT 59701, USA
11. Our Lady of the Rockies
Among the fun things to do in Butte is the Our Lady of the Rockies statue. It is a 90-foot statue that sits on top of the Continental Divide and is dedicated to women worldwide.
Constructed by Bob O’Bill in 1979, the statue signifies love after making a promise to Virgin Mary that he would build a statue in her image if she could deliver his wife from cancer.
And to be true to his word, he built the statue, which stands at 3,500 feet over the town with light underneath it at night.
It is considered the third-largest statue in Montana and USA as a whole and pays homage to the efforts of every woman throughout the world.
Address: 5970 Montana 2, Butte, MT 59701
12. The Great Outdoors
The Great Outdoors in Butte is situated in the Rocky Mountains on the Continental Divide and comprises a whopping four million acres of state and federal lands.
This place offers people of all ages the opportunity to enjoy biking and hiking trails, amongst other outdoor activities such as fishing, hunting, and camping.
Meanwhile, it doesn’t end there, as there is another great attraction to explore while in Butte, otherwise known as the Ringing Rocks. It is a strange natural formation, which knells while tapping softly using a hammer.
You can find it around 29 kilometers (18 miles) east of Butte.
Address: Ringing Rocks, Montana 59759, USA
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13. Berkeley Pit
If you are looking for wonders to get fascinated by, you can try the Berkeley Pit in Butte. It was initially an open-pit copper mine measuring a mile in length and half a mile in width, standing above 1,700 feet in depth.
This open pit features 900 feet of highly acidic water, which can cause heavy metals and chemicals such as zinc and arsenic to transude into the rocks around it.
During the 1980s, more than 290 million tons of copper ore were milked out of the pit.
Butte got its nickname from the wealth of minerals discovered in the Berkeley Pit.
Address: Butte, MT 59701, USA
14. M&M Bar & Café
Initially established in 1890, the M&M Bar & Café has existed in Butte for a long time. It is open every 24 hours and serves miners coming off their shift with a nice breakfast at any time of the day or night.
In the prohibition period, the café was changed into a cigar store featuring a discreet tavern in a room behind and sold drinks.
It was brought back to its initial establishment during the 1940s featuring vintage décor, Art Dec elements, and an attractive neon sign.
Currently, the M&M Bar & Café is on the National Register of Historic Places list and has gone on to offer tasty, all-day fare and fresh coffee.
Address: 9 N Main Street, Butte, MT 59701
15. Dumas Brothel Museum
Find time to visit Montana and stop by Butte County to unravel the stories of Dumas Brothel Museum. Founded in 1890 by French Canadian brothers Joseph and Arthur Nadeau, the museum is designed to unravel the story of the Dumas Brothel.
The museum is currently the only remaining three-story Victorian brothel in the United States.
The Dumas Brothel Museum was named after Joseph’s wife’s maiden name, Delia Dumas. And ever since, it has become famous among the men working in Butte’s copper mines.
It maintained service until 1982, when harlotry was banned. The brothel’s rooms have remained accessible for guests to explore on guided tours.
Address: 45 E Mercury Street, Butte, MT 59701
16. Casagranda’s Steakhouse
The Casagranda’s Steakhouse and Guido’s Bar are located alongside Bertoglio Warehouse. It is a world-class restaurant and complete service bar offering highly endorsed cuisine and great wines in a stylized environment.
It features traditional steakhouse décor comprising nicely dressed tables, leather accents, dark wood, and soft lighting.
All these exciting features alone will give you a great feel of the place with the hope of having a good meal.
The restaurant serves world-class prime sticks, chicken dishes and fresh seafood, homemade soups, freshly baked bread, and crisp home salads using homemade dressings.
As we earlier mentioned, Casagranda’s Steakhouse and Guido’s Bar is a complete option service bar that also features numerous great wines from all over the world.
You can take them either by glass or bottle, hand-made cocktails, and craft beers on tap or by the bottle.
It also serves dinner alone and opens all nights of the week.
Address: 801 Utah Avenue, Butte, MT 59701
17. Historic Clark Chateau Museum & Gallery
Established in 1898, the Historic Clark Chateau Museum & Gallery is an exceptionally preserved edifice.
It was built for a local copper magnate, Charles Clark, the first son of the famous Copper King W.A. Clark. The structure is located on Broadway Street and lasted 10 years, from 1898 to 1899.
Meanwhile, the Clarks constructed two structures: one is the Clark, as mentioned earlier, Chateau Museum & Gallery, and the other is situated on Granite Street.
The 26-room edifice is now used as a museum and arts center, featuring a fantastic selection of art, artifacts, and literature revealing the life and periods of Charles Clark and his famous household.
Address: 321 W Broadway Street, Butte, MT 59701
18. The Piccadilly Museum
Car lovers will enjoy this one. In other words, if you are a car enthusiast, you should ensure the Piccadilly Museum is on the top of your list of things to do in Butte.
The museum celebrates all that has to do with transportation, such as art, license plates, street signs, and classic cars.
The museum is designated for Roy Alan Carson, a famous transportation collector. Many people built the collection while journeying around the world for 25 years.
Even though Piccadilly is free, you still have to donate $3 if you have fun. You can schedule a reservation in the off-season for an adventure as the museum only allows appointments then.
Address: 20 W Broadway Street, Butte, MT 59701, United States
19. Covellite Theater
Some show lovers will have this on their list, as they will be sure of catching a show as long as the Covellite theatre is concerned.
Established as the first Presbyterian Church in 1896, this theater serves as a community arena that organizes different events and programs throughout the year.
The structure is built with nicely designed sandstone, granite stonework, stunning Gothic architecture, tall timber trusses, and high vaulted ceilings.
These include the large arena making the Covellite Theater a perfect option for every function. The building can contain approximately 300 individuals.
The museum also features a courtly lounge arena with a complete service bar and a spacious indoor and outdoor area for graduation events, weddings, corporate events, and lots more.
Please witness the fun that this theater provides.
Address: 215 W Broadway Street, Butte, MT 59701
20. Butte-Silver Bow Public Library
There is a saying that “Readers are Leaders.” We have many readers who would snatch at any chance to visit this library. It is worth the excitement, though, as the Butte-Silver Bow Public Library is an education-focused institution offering various services.
Situated on Broadway Street, the institution features an incredible collection of reading and research material, including well-written fiction and non-fiction stories, large-print books, audiobooks, audio-visual titles, and eBooks.
It also houses a library for kids featuring various materials for children of every age, including books, videos, DVDs, and audiotapes. It also organizes story-times and other extraordinary events for younger library visitors.
The library is open to the public daily and provides services such as internet access, printing, word-processing, and research.
Address: Address: 26 W Broadway Street, Butte, MT 59701
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21. Mother Lode Theater
After a hectic week at the office, you deserve a vacation full of entertainment. You can trust Mother Lode Theater to offer you just that.
It is a courtly and completely equipped performing arts theater with a great calendar of activities throughout the year, including conferences and conventions.
Established in 1923, the structure was initially a Temple Theatre before being changed to the Fox Theater during the Great Depression.
Its name was changed to The Mother Lode in dedication to Butte’s mining heritage as the “Richest Hill on Earth.”
Currently, the theater accommodates the Western States Opera Company, the Butte Symphony, Missoula Children’s Theater, the Community Concert Association, the San Diego Ballet Company, and the DR Chorale.
You can come with your kids to explore the Orphan Girl Theater children’s theater, a 106-seat auditorium that was added in 1997.
Address: 316 W Park Street, Butte, MT 59701