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This event is no longer held.
The Montana Bale Trail ("What the Hay") was last held in 2024, when organizers announced they were stepping away. The information below is kept for historical interest.
This truly unique event features “am-hayzingly” creative and (most often) quite amusing sculptures made of hay and straw.
Beginning in 1990, “What the Hay” has grown from a friendly, tongue-in-cheek, competition between two neighboring ranchers into a full-blown, major tourist attraction. In 2003, it was named Montana’s Tourism Event of the Year, and last year, the twentieth anniversary edition, saw over 50 beautifully sculpted entries. Although local farmers and ranchers construct the majority of the creations, there have been entrants from all parts of Montana as well as California, Arizona, and as far away as New York.
Where to Find It
The fantastic and imaginative bale sculptures are displayed in fields along the “Bale Trail,” a 21 mile loop just south of U.S. Highway 87. The “Bale Trail” runs along state highways 239 and 541 with the eastern end being in Hobson, the western end at Windham, and Utica (home of the famous Oxen Yoke Inn) being the halfway point.