Montana's Missouri River Country is located in the northeast corner of Big Sky Country. We invite you to visit us to experience unique events, unmatched hunting and fishing opportunities, and a sense of history in a land untouched by traffic and stress! Below are highlights of upcoming events and travel opportunities in our region. Please visit our website for more details on planning your next trip.

Klind Pottery
Holiday Clay Fest in November - Thanksgiving weekend

Gloria Klind strives to create surfaces that depict the prairies of Montana. Since 1976, clay has been a traditional part of her life. In 2010, she studied in Italy at a Tuscan workshop at the La Meridiana school of International Ceramics. While in Italy, two cooking classes were available and because of her cooking passion, she also designs utilitarian vessels for serving.

Humble beginnings started in an old homestead shack with no running water and very little heat. Here she worked in clay for 18 years until moving into a new studio along Hwy 2 in Hinsdale, Montana. You can’t miss the big OPEN sign right along the highway. This is a working studio and drop-ins are welcome anytime. The studio has an incredible selection of hand thrown pottery for all your gift giving needs. 

Thanksgiving weekend is the annual Holiday Clay Fest open house with refreshments and door prizes. Please come celebrate!

Klind Pottery:
Box 426  |  Hinsdale, Montana 59241 
406.364.2263  klindpottery@nemont.net

Sweet Memories
Hinsdale, Montana

Leona and Lonnie Knutson were drawn to eastern Montana by the birth of a grandson. Soon thereafter, her dream of opening an ice cream shop became a reality in the small town of Hinsdale. They built Sweet Memories from the ground up, finishing the project just in time for Milk River Days, the town’s well-known 4th of July celebration, which coincided with an All-School Reunion. The first three days they were open was a crash course in the business of serving ice cream and coffee.

The Hinsdale community welcomed the availability of sweet treats and specialty coffees, making Sweet Memories a daily stop for many locals. Upon request, Leona expanded the menu to include breakfast and lunch. Baking from scratch to prepare her wholesome meals and delectable desserts, Leona prepares her own meats, salads and mixes with a nice selection of toppings and dressings. There is a featured breakfast each morning, in addition to fresh, homemade baked goods, including muffins, scones and pie. Breakfast is served from 7 to 10 a.m. and lunch is served from 11:30 a.m. until gone. Whatever the season, customers can always find something among her options that delights the taste buds and satisfies your hunger.

Leona uses Montana products with pride whenever possible, serving Wilcoxson’s ice cream and City Brew coffee, both from Billings. She also does special order baking and accommodates small groups for gatherings and lunches.

Sweet Memories is open April through mid-December, Tuesday through Saturday. When traveling the hi-line, stop for a hearty, home-cooked meal or a sweet treat at Sweet Memories.

Get your camera, elk bugling season is here

A spray of vivid orange dances across leaves rustling in a crisp breeze, it’s autumn in Missouri River Country! The changing foliage against the unique prairie landscape provides photographers with an exquisite backdrop to take in plentiful wildlife. This fall, the foliage is especially vibrant due to the wet spring and summer that Eastern Montana experienced. Pictures of hillsides on fire with fall colors and ceremonious bull elk bugling and clashing antlers are just a click away in Missouri River County.

In mid-September, elk began to perform their rut, gathering and competing against other bulls for control of their harem. A can’t-miss spectacle, the rut also makes for exciting photos. During the rut season, bugling can be heard constantly as bulls circle and clash in cottonwood-ringed meadows. At the Slippery Ann Wildlife Viewing Area in the Charles M. Russell Wildlife Refuge, hundreds of elk can be photographed battling in this mating ritual against a luminescent backdrop of local fall foliage. The best opportunities are at dawn and dusk when the elk are most active and the light is just right for that perfect shot.

On your way to Slippery Ann, make sure to stop by the Bowdoin National Wildlife Refuge for a spectacle of a different style. This refuge is home to a series of wetlands and lakes that provide habitat for over 230 different species of birds. Fall is the best time to visit when up to 100,000 migrating water and shore birds rest at Bowdoin on their way south. These include geese, ducks, cormorants, gulls, ibis, heron and many more. However, Bowdoin is best known for its nesting colonies of white pelicans. The stark white of these birds presents a wonderful contrast to the vibrant wetlands. The birds are most active in the morning and early evening. At these times, the skyline paints a beautiful background for any shot.

Any subject you choose to shoot in Missouri River Country will pop with the rich colors of the prairie in fall. This year is the time to visit for fall splendor, since the rain has revived the prairie and made the native foliage burst with colorful hues. The numerous wildlife refuge inhabitant’s activities provide a focus for photos with tension and beauty. Fall is the perfect season to grab your camera and explore the interesting landscapes and native wildlife Missouri River Country has to offer.

Fall is here and Christmas is around the corner. Join us in Montana’s Missouri River Country for some fun activities!

Circle, MT
Oct 31 - Chocolate Walk
Nov 1 - Arts, Crafts & Home Demonstrations Show
Dec 6 - Santa Day
Dec 12 (t) - Christmas Open House Day

Scobey, MT
Nov 29 - Parade of Lights and Photos with Santa
Dec 13 - Christmas Matinee and Santa Visit

Plentywood, MT
Nov 28 - Sparkles
Nov 28 & 29 - Christmas Stroll
Dec 13 - Christmas at The Orpheum
Dec 18 - Tree of Lights Ceremony

Fairview, MT
Nov 15 - Lighting the Bridge and Silver Bells

Wolf Point, MT
Nov 7 - Auction and Wine Tasting
Dec 5 - Parade of Lights
Dec 6 - Optimist Bazaar

Sidney, MT
Nov 8 - Wine and Food Festival
Nov 28 - Christmas Stroll and Parade of Lights
Dec 6 & 7 - MonDak Christmas

Glasgow, MT
Nov 1 - United Methodist Women’s Bazaar
Nov 7 - Valley View Home Harvest Festival
Nov 7 & 9 - Wild Bunch Art Show
Nov 8 - Turkey Trot
Nov 8 - Christmas in the Rec Center Bazaar
Nov 22 - AAUW Bazaar and Festival of Trees
Nov 29 - Christmas Stroll and Parade of Lights
Dec 5 & 6 - Class C Showcase Basketball Tournament

Malta, MT
Dec 4 - Christmas Festivities

Medicine Lake, MT
Nov 21 & 22 - Craft and Home Open Houses

Antelope, MT
Nov 21 & 23 - Dinner Theatre