What the Hay!

The amusing and amazing “What the Hay” (Montana Bale Trail) sculptures are created for a one day event on September 13th (no longer held) but you can see the bales later in the month too.

Begun in 1990 as a friendly competition between two neighboring ranchers, it’s grown into a full-blown attraction. By its 20th anniversary in 2003 over 50 entries were created. People vote on the best in two categories: those bales created by children under 13 and those of adults. There is no entry fee, and sculptors have ranged from age 3 to 83.

The bales are displayed along a 21-mile loop south of US Hwy 87 along highways 239 and 541, between Windham and Hobson. In Utica, the half-way point, you might want to stop at the Oxen Yoke Inn. In Hobson you could get into the spirit of the place at the Gumbo Flats Farm Bed & Breakfast, an operating farm that grows wheat and barley, with open spaces to view wildlife and go for long relaxing walks.

This story originally appeared in the Fall 2015 issue of Distinctly Montana.