Do you really love a good zoo? Get all excited about seeing all the different animals? Well, lower your expectations before you walk through the gates of Zoo Montana. Think more along the lines of: We’re stopping at this lovely park to walk the beautiful nature trails and occasionally stumble across an animal enclosure.
Really? yes really, cuz I love a good zoo, and that’s what I had to tell myself. If you ever find yourself within 2 hours of Colorado Springs go to the Cheyenne Mountain Zoo. I promise, you won’t be disappointed, and if by some weird chance you are, there are lots of other things to do there. Back to Zoo Montana. It’s in Billings, just off of I90. Take the Zoo drive exit (couldn’t make that any easier could they) and follow the signs. There is a lot of wide open highway heading out in all directions from Billings, and Zoo Montana makes a perfect pitstop to stretch your legs and let the kids run free. With the three playgrounds that I saw, maybe you could even get them so worn out, they fall asleep for the next leg of your trip ;). I spent about an hour wandering the paths taking pictures, and thoroughly enjoyed myself.
Again, it’s a very lovely park. If I lived in Billings I would have a membership and come weekly (or more) for a walk. Most of the paths are shaded, which I found particularly wonderful on the 96 degree day that I found myself meandering about. Yes, Montana gets hot, but it was tolerable because of the shade and …..no humidity! And yes, the hot weather may have been why I only saw 5 animals: grizzly, tiger, badger, otter, wolf…oh, and two eagles. But there were not a whole lot of other enclosures and I’m pretty sure I went everywhere on the map.
Montana native, the grizzly bear, is no doubt zoo royalty, lounging around in the pool, or hanging in the hammock catching the breeze. One of them came right up to the glass. I’m not sure how old it was, but didn’t look nearly as big as it did chasing me around in my nightmares. Yes, stress used to manifest itself in my dreams as a bear chasing me through the forest. It never caught me, even though I would wake up with the sensation of its breath on my neck. I was tormented before any event involving an oral presentation or confrontation. Still creeped out by the deep dark, pine forests to this day and prefer the wide open spaces. But, enough of my issues….
The Nature part of Zoo Montana is quite impressive. As I mentioned, the paths are shaded and airy with trees (mostly not pine) and flowers. In the middle there is a flower garden with a bubbling fountain, waterfall, open lawn and places to plop down and enjoy the beautiful day. Those three playgrounds I mentioned previously are placed throughout the grounds, so if you are in no rush, you can stop and let the kiddos play along the way. You should definitely stop and get a family picture by the big bear statue near the entrance.
Zoo Montana was a lovely stop at the halfway point between Cocolalla Idaho and Thornton Colorado. The perfect place to take a pretty walk and stretch my legs. I wanted to stop the other 8-10 times I passed, just never seemed to hit town at the right time. It closes at 5, and Billings always appeared on the horizon about 4. I didn’t want to have to rush through, so I always passed it by. Glad I finally stopped, and now I know there is an oasis waiting if I need it. Oh, they had a pretty good gift shop too!
