55 Best Shopping in Montana, USA

Al’s Bootery corrals your toes into no-nonsense work boots, moccasins, and fancy cowboy boots with prices to suit the ranch hand's wallet as well as the millionaire ranch owner's.

Since 1951, many of the nation's best ceramic artists have come to work in residency at the Archie Bray Foundation. Wander near the five antiquated, 8-foot-high, dome-shape brick kilns on a self-guided walking tour and visit the gift shop, which sells work produced by foundation artists. Call first in case it's by appointment only that day; the gallery is closed on weekends.

Top-of-the-line ski and snowboard equipment and outerwear are sold at Big Sky Sports.

In downtown Great Falls, this outdoors specialty store carries everything from camping-stove fuel and freeze-dried food to ice-climbing equipment and kayaks. The store also rents canoes, kayaks, stand-up paddleboards, cross-country skis, skate skis, and snowshoes.

Take a break while touring downtown Missoula and have a cappuccino or chai shake at Butterfly Herbs, or try the Butterfly Ice Cream Coffee Soda—a cold drink with multiple layers of sweetness. The shop sells herbs and spices in bulk, candies, soaps, candles, china, and other odds and ends.

Located in an 1889 train depot, the Carbon County Arts Guild & Depot Gallery showcases paintings and sculptures by Western artists.

The Coleman Gallery and Studio features works by photographer Merv Coleman. Natural scenery and wildlife are his specialties.

The two levels of Country Bookshelf house a large Montana and Western section, including many autographed works, as well as more general offerings. They'll ship all over the world.

In addition to selling outdoor clothing, boots, and bicycles, Dan Bailey's rents cross-country skis, backcountry skis, and mountain bikes. The friendly staff is happy to help mountain bikers, hikers, and skiers with trail maps, directions, and repairs.

At Dave Hodges Fine Art, you'll find bronze sculptures of horses, wildlife, and cowboys by this internationally known artist. Western-theme paintings and Navajo weavings also are displayed.

Find country fabrics in Deer Country Quilts, as well as thousands of bolts of flannels, batiks, and cotton in the store's lovely log lodge studio. Ask about receptions for quilters and the classes they offer all year long.

Thanks to insightful city planners, Great Falls is blessed with a beautiful and extensive downtown shopping district full of the kind of old-fashioned stores—including galleries, toy stores, and clothiers—that in other parts of the country are rapidly giving way to chain stores and shopping malls. During the summer the downtown area comes alive with events such as the Great Falls Farmer's Market, held outside the Civic Center from June through September, and Alive at Five, which brings live music downtown one evening a week. Most of these businesses are in an area bounded by the Missouri River, 8th Street, 4th Avenue North, and 4th Avenue South.

The owners call it the West's most whimsical store, and Electric Avenue Gifts doesn't disappoint. It carries unique Flathead cherry designs in everything from dishes to napkins, vintage and custom wood signs in Western themes, and a multitude of unique gifts.

While you peruse this huge gallery full of beautiful paintings, sculptures and carvings, you can also watch award-winning artist Eric Thorsen at work in his studio. A rare treat not to be missed.

You can pick up a tiny jar of huckleberry jam or flavored honey at Eva Gates Homemade Preserves, or have one of the family-size jars of various treats shipped back home. You can also order and send gift boxes online.

The Flathead Indian Museum and Trading Post has an extensive collection of authentic artifacts from local Native American tribes. On sale are blankets, arts, crafts, local beadwork, books, maps, and gifts.

Gallatin River Gallery, the first contemporary gallery in Big Sky, sells one-of-a-kind jewelry, paintings, sculptures, and photography from international, national, and local artists. Call for an appointment.

Beaver pelts, furs, blankets, and painted buffalo and elk hides hang from walls in the Grizzly Claw Trading Company. Other one-of-a-kind items also are available, including pottery, jewelry, clothing, wood carvings, and furniture.

Impressionist images by the award-winning Montanan artist Harry Koyama are on view at Harry Koyama Fine Art. Subjects include horses, wildlife, Native Americans, and landscapes.

Huckleberry Patch Restaurant & Gift Shop has been the huckleberry headquarters of the state for more than 50 years, selling the purple wild berry native to the region. It has an excellent selection of jams, candies, coffee, fudge, barbecue sauce, and huckleberry-scented lotions . Don't miss their outstanding huckleberry pie or milkshakes.

The largest toy shop in northwest Montana, Imagination Station has myriad fun, educational, and creative toys and gifts in all price ranges. It also has shops in Kalispell and Missoula.

Internationally recognized painter Kevin Red Star, whose works draw on his Crow heritage, displays his oils, acrylics, lithographs, and etchings at Kevin Red Star Gallery. Red Star's works are in the permanent collections of the Smithsonian Institution, the Institute of American Indian Art, and the Pierre Cardin Collection in Paris.

The craftspeople at Miles City Saddlery, in business since 1909, design custom saddles of legendary quality. They also craft saddlebags, holsters, and other leather goods. Even if you're not buying, this is worth a stop.

There are no less than three outdoor Saturday morning markets held downtown in the summer. The oldest and biggest is the Missoula Farmers' Market, which boasts 100 local vendors selling an amazing array of flowers, fresh fruits and vegetables, locally baked breads, and other handmade goods. It's held adjacent to the old train depot at the north end of Higgins Street every Saturday morning from mid-May to mid-October, as well as Tuesday evening from July through mid-September. You can even view what's available on the market's website before you go. You can also check out the Clark Fork River Market under the Higgins Street Bridge and Missoula People's Market on East Pine Street, not far from the farmers' market.