Landing at Bert Mooney Airport in Butte keeps everything close, with nearby cities and attractions within easy reach. Butte is the Richest Hill on Earth, a copper mining city whose Uptown is one of the largest historic districts in the country. Headframes still stand over the streets, brick buildings climb the hillside, and the town carries a gritty, generous pride that comes from a century of hard work and a dozen immigrant cultures.

Standout experiences in Butte: - Walk Uptown's steep streets past mansions, miners' bars, and the old headframes - Look into the Berkeley Pit from the viewing stand, a mile-wide open-pit mine filled with water - Explore the World Museum of Mining and its recreated 1890s mining town - Tour the Copper King Mansion, the 34-room home of William A. Clark - Visit the Mai Wah Museum to learn about Butte's Chinatown - Order a pasty or a pork chop sandwich, the city's two signature foods - Catch the free Montana Folk Festival in July or the St. Patrick's Day crowd in March - Drive up to Our Lady of the Rockies, the 90-foot statue on the Continental Divide

Anaconda, 25 minutes west of Butte, has the Washoe Theater and the giant smelter stack, with Fairmont Hot Springs on the way. Philipsburg and its sapphire shops are about an hour, Helena and the state capitol are about 70 minutes, and Bozeman is an hour and a half. The ghost town of Bannack and the Big Hole National Battlefield are each about 90 minutes south. Butte also sits on the divide, so trout streams run both ways. Come for Evel Knievel Days, stay for the pasties.