The Summer 2026 issue marks the 150th anniversary of the Little Bighorn. Joseph Shelton follows the life and afterlife of Comanche and writes on the sacred act of throwing your life away, and Douglas A. Schmittou gathers the Medals of Honor conferred for gallantry on Montana battlefields during the Plains Indian Wars. Jarrett Van Meter finds hardwood dreams on the high plains, Ednor Therriault tells of the pilot who split the spires, Nick Mitchell visits the boneyard that became the Museum of Montana Flying, and Chris Enss follows a Wild Bunch train robber. Bryan Spellman gets to know Wibaux County.

Ross Peterson uncovers the Italians interned at Fort Missoula, and Joseph Shelton follows Frank Lloyd Wright’s overlooked Montana legacy with illustrations by Robert Rath. Ednor Therriault journeys through history at Montana’s newest state park, Holly Matkin reports on the Montana Vet Program and how it is redefining post-war healing, and Nick Mitchell visits Gil Mangels’s diorama of America. Also inside: the mystery pass of the Northern Rockies, keeping the rails clear with Justin Franz, lichen as a love story, Yellowstone tipis, and Ravalli County.

Chris Enss tells the story of Lucia Darling, the Montana teacher, and Michael J. Ober drives Highway 200, a damn good road. Sally Thompson recounts a long-ago winter in Blackfeet country, Douglas A. Schmittou writes on the smallpox epidemics of 1781-1782 and 1837-1838 on the Upper Missouri, and Ednor Therriault reports from Pablo, where the Three Chiefs Museum and Cultural Center has risen from the ashes. Ross Peterson profiles the author and officer Robert Sims Reid, Lindsay Tran covers the Montana Circle of American Masters, Suzanne Waring finds Black Eagle refusing to fade away, and Bryan Spellman gets to know Lake County.

Colonel John B. Driscoll takes Montana’s 163rd Infantry into the jungle hell of New Guinea at Sanananda, and Russell Rowland tells how The Deer Hunter, filmed in Montana, almost destroyed Hollywood. Douglas A. Schmittou recovers the ice busters, the only sortie American military aircraft flew against a target on American soil in the Second World War, Justin Franz goes full steam ahead, and Joseph Shelton follows the Sage Wall as it goes viral. Hallie Zolynski spends a summer in the Taylor-Hilgard, Nick Mitchell finds miniature magic at the Western Montana Railroad Historical Association, and the 2025 Best of Montana section runs from page 22.

Amy Grisak walks 1,700 miles of the Montana Trail, and Tom Vandel remembers the Red Lodge Fourth of July brouhaha of 1975 with illustrations by Robert Rath. Douglas A. Schmittou visits Rosebud Battlefield State Park, where the girl saved her brother, Ross Peterson introduces the band boys of Butte, and Joseph Shelton asks who the hell Montana Frank was. Susie Wall reports from the Teller Wildlife Refuge in the Bitterroot, Sherman Cahill tours the state in pork chop sandwiches, and James Grady talks with Russell Rowland about Condor.

Michael Ober walks the snowsheds of Glacier National Park, and Joseph Shelton charts early aviation conquering the Divide with illustrations by Robert Rath. Nick Mitchell collects the fossil legends of the Plains tribes, buffalo calling stones and medicine bundles among them, Hallie Zolynski hauls a ski pulk 900 miles through the backcountry, and Douglas A. Schmittou traces the Little Ice Age in Montana. Also inside: the Montana Hope Project, Fairmont Hot Springs, remembering David Lynch, J.K. Ralston’s legacy, Ednor Therriault on Montana rest stops, and Gallatin County.

Ross Peterson reports on Missoula in the stormy sixties, when the hippies were coming, and Nick Mitchell tells the last ride of Long George Francis with illustrations by Robert Rath. Russell Rowland remembers the photographer Evelyn Cameron, Douglas A. Schmittou catalogues the extreme weather behind Montana’s legendary winters, and Sherman Cahill traces identity and reinvention in The Big Trail, starring John Wayne. Lindsay Tran visits the boomtowns of Fort Peck Dam, Ednor Therriault crosses the Snowden Bridge, and Bryan Spellman gets to know Flathead County.

Doug Stevens rides with the Buffalo Soldier Wheelmen of the 25th Infantry Regiment at Fort Missoula, and Michael J. Ober uncovers Lewistown’s forgotten air base. Douglas A. Schmittou makes the case for Tyrannosaurus rex as Montana’s most legendary apex predator, Sherman Cahill checks into the haunted hotels of southwest Montana, Nick Mitchell binds the Freemasons to the vigilantes, and Holly Matkin follows the Irish sport of hurling as it takes root. Joseph Shelton road trips to Dillon, James Grady remembers Richard Hugo, and the 2024 Best of Montana section runs from page 30.

Sherman Cahill follows Charley Pride from the Helena smelter to country-western stardom, and Joseph Shelton checks in at the Grabow and her sisters, Livingston’s historic hotels. Hallie Zolynski photographs bronc riding, Douglas A. Schmittou writes on Woman Chief and Running Eagle, nineteenth-century women warriors of the Apsáalooke and Piikáni, and Nick Mitchell covers the Sheep Wars and what James Lumley found crashed in Cadotte Pass. Also inside: the kidnap and ransom of Froggy Doo, Dorothy Johnson, the Marlboro Ranch, and Fallon County.

Nick Mitchell brings the Devil’s Brigade to Helena, Christopher Muhlenfeld covers Montana’s Serb Fest, and Joseph Shelton follows Buffalo Bill’s last tour of the state and the secret life of Butte’s pigeons. Ednor Therriault tells the story of paving Montana, Brenda Wahler sets Mark Twain against Clark of Montana, and Sherman Cahill makes the case for Anaconda as the prettiest little town in southwest Montana. Also inside: Lee Steen and the Tree People, the Powder River Kid, the American Legion’s highway fatality markers, and Deer Lodge County.

Joseph Shelton remembers Frontier Town, and Robert Rath introduces and illustrates Montana’s bison-lizard. Sherman Cahill tells the day Jack Dempsey cheated Shelby, Nick Mitchell follows the petrified man of Livingston east, and Douglas A. Schmittou marks the bicentennial of Hugh Glass’s odyssey. Lindsay Tran covers the race for the capital, Michael J. Ober dishes up community at Montana’s diners, Doug Stevens credits the Jackson and Moran partnership that saved Yellowstone, and Bryan Spellman gets to know Chouteau County.

Christopher Muhlenfeld tells the story of the Boomtown Saint, and Nick Mitchell recounts how Bobby became a legend and when flying saucers first came to Great Falls. Joseph Shelton hunts the Shunka Warak’in, hyena of the Rockies, Doug Stevens collects trappers’ tales from early Yellowstone, and Sherman Cahill reports on Butte as J. Edgar Hoover’s FBI Siberia and lists seven Montana towns that never existed. Dr. Shane Doyle celebrates the gift of a Blackfoot map, Todd Klassy photographs the Cremer Ranch rodeo dynasty, and the 2023 Best of Montana section runs from page 32.

Sherman Cahill wonders whether some tourists have a deathwish, and Nick Mitchell tells the story of Stuart’s Stranglers. Douglas A. Schmittou writes on Chief Mountain as landmark and sacred site, Doug Stevens visits Fort Benton and follows Calamity Jane’s life in Montana, and Joseph Shelton calls on Charlie Russell at Bull Head Lodge. Frank Vargo meets the Montana marksman Tom Frye, James Lee Burke talks with Russell Rowland about Bud Guthrie, and Hallie Zolynski photographs the Anaconda Pintler Wilderness.

Ednor Therriault asks whether the Flathead Lake Monster is still at large, and Sherman Cahill tells how Hank Williams Jr. survived Ajax Mountain. Douglas A. Schmittou presents the Lakota delegation portraits of 1868-1877 and the advent of steamboat traffic on the Upper Missouri, Todd Klassy photographs the Shonkin Sag, and Lindsay Tran follows the restoration of Mary MacLane’s home in Butte. Also inside: Jim’s Horn House, lightning in the wild, southwest Montana’s hot springs, three snapshots of an underwater Montana, and Blaine County.

Railroads run through the Winter 2022-23 issue. Nick Mitchell tells how a Butte miner hijacked a Northern Pacific train and tried to drive it to Washington, Joseph Shelton covers Kid Curry and the Great Northern train robbery and the knights of the tie and rail, Sherman Cahill rides the mid-century Empire Builder, and Amy Grisak profiles James J. Hill. Doug Stevens follows the Nez Perce flight for freedom, Holly Matkin reports on Big Sky Bravery, and Todd Klassy photographs beautiful Montana roads for all seasons. Bryan Spellman gets to know Big Horn County.

Todd Klassy photographs Lost Montana to open the Fall 2022 issue, and Sherman Cahill investigates the state’s cattle mutilation mystery. Renee Carlson collects Montana’s road ghosts with illustrations by Robert Rath and reports on the final days of the Montana Children’s Center in Twin Bridges, while Ednor Therriault tours the wild and wooly museums. Doug Stevens introduces the real cattle queen of Montana, Holly Matkin celebrates military veterans in bronze, and Amy Grisak tells how Montana fought World War I. The 2022 Best of Montana section runs from page 65.

The Summer 2022 issue follows Lewis and Clark through Montana. Hallie Zolynski travels the route the Corps of Discovery left behind, Sherman Cahill searches with them for the American incognitum, Joseph Shelton stages their meeting with the grizzly bear, and Doug Stevens tells the Salish discovery of the Corps of Discovery. Renee Carlson follows Sacagawea, Pompey and Patrick Gass after history was made, and Lindsay Tran visits Travelers’ Rest. Also inside: the Crazy Mountains, Crow Creek Falls, Anaconda’s Washoe Theater, the county fair, and Wheatland County.

Todd Klassy photographs the tradition of spring branding, and Holly Matkin visits Montana’s magnificent buffalo jumps and drives the Beartooth Highway then and now. Lindsay Tran interviews Michael Punke, author of The Revenant and Last Stand, Amy Grisak celebrates the diversity of Montana’s cowboy culture, and Renee Carlson tells the rowdy history of Miles City’s Bucking Horse Sale. Doug Stevens follows the National Bison Range through vision, tragedy and homecoming, Hallie Zolynski photographs draft horses, and Bryan Spellman gets to know Powder River County.

Winter mystery writers fill the Winter 2021-22 issue, with interviews of James Lee Burke, Gwen Florio, Craig Johnson and C. J. Box, and Sherman Cahill on how Dashiell Hammett invented noir fiction in Butte, America. Renee Carlson asks who killed John Bozeman, Holly Matkin reports on rural policing, and Bryan Spellman photographs Montana’s seven wooden carousels. Doug Stevens covers the mining of Glacier, Seth Anderson skis under the Big Sky, Kay Bjork skates on Swan Lake, and Robert Rath illustrates the Big Die-Up.

The Fall 2021 issue digs into mining across the Treasure State. Patti Albrecht tells the story of Montana’s gold stampede, Robert Rath writes and illustrates the spirit of Butte, and Sherman Cahill follows the Chinese miners who came east to Gold Mountain and recounts three of Montana’s worst mining disasters. Lindsay Dick introduces Mary MacLane, Butte’s prodigal daughter, Joseph Shelton tracks the making of a ghost town at Granite, and Zuzu Feder weighs the complicated legacy of the state’s Superfund sites. Also inside: larch madness, the sapphire road, historic cemeteries and Toole County.

A Norman Maclean special section anchors the Summer 2021 issue: Jim Hepworth interviews John N. Maclean, an excerpt from Home Waters follows, Mike L. Raether gives a brief history of fly fishing, and Bryan Spellman photographs the forests, mountains and water of Maclean’s landscapes. Amy Grisak reports on the Pikuni Bigfoot Project’s search for Sasquatch in Indigenous stories, Seth Anderson climbs to Montana’s fire lookouts, and a My Montana Home section covers log homes, kit homes and tiny houses. Joseph Shelton visits the extraordinary home of Chief Plenty Coups.

Doug Stevens drives park to park, picking out seven attractions between Glacier and Yellowstone, and Cab Tran reports from the set as an extra on Yellowstone. Kari Bowles profiles Montana’s biggest movie stars, Joseph Shelton traces Malmstrom Air Force Base from cowboys to the Cold War, and Sean Jansen fishes the Beartooth Highway. Lindsay Dick writes on personal hygiene in the Old West and on the orphan train riders who came west from New York, and Bryan Spellman visits Lincoln County.

Amy Grisak spends a season alone at Many Glacier with the hotel’s winterkeeper, and Kay Bjork finds Glacier in winter a great escape. Scott Sery tracks the legends and the wild horses of the Pryor Mountains, Hallie Zolynski rides out with Montana’s sheepherders, and Joseph Shelton imagines what happens when Yellowstone erupts. A Healthy, Fit & Well special section covers hot springs, mindfulness and the frontier’s camphor-and-snake-oil panaceas, and Bryan Spellman visits Rosebud County.

Ednor Therriault visits St. Marie, Montana’s newest ghost town, and Scott Sery follows the path of the dinosaurs through Makoshika Park. Teresa Otto photographs the prairie skyscrapers and asks whether 3-7-77 was warning or whimsy, Joseph Shelton tours Montana’s indie bookstores and writes a coward’s guide to the scariest ways to die here, and Ellen Baumler celebrates Native American veterans in the Warrior Spirit project. Also inside: a day in the life of a smokejumper, Montana’s passenger trains, Carol Polich’s owls, the Evelyn Cameron gallery, and Beaverhead County.

Ashley Arcel walks Glacier’s five best day hikes to open the Summer 2020 issue, and Sean Jansen counts up Montana’s nine national parks. Amy Grisak heads into the Little Belts, Ednor Therriault collects the state’s funniest one-star reviews, and Maria Anderson asks whether hitchhiking in Montana is a bygone era. The issue carries a My Montana Home special section on post-COVID real estate, plus the art of Carol Hagan and Barbara Liss and a visit to Dawson County.

Chris Muhlenfeld opens the Spring 2020 issue with Montana’s UFO sightings, illustrated by Robert Rath, alongside Carol Polich on the sandhill crane babies of the Big Sky and Maggie Slepian on the state’s buzzing honey industry. Scott Sery descends into the Bighorn Cavern, Teresa Otto photographs Montana’s endangered vintage neon signs, and Brian D’Ambrosio follows modern roller derby. Also inside: five spring bike rides around Whitefish, geocaching with Bryan Spellman, the Yellowstone Film Ranch, MSU’s solar car, and a visit to Sanders County.