Russel Country

Russell Country covers the central plains-and-river country of Montana, the broad agricultural belt running from the Rocky Mountain Front east to the Missouri Breaks. The region is named for Charles M. Russell, the cowboy artist whose work defined Montana iconography. The terrain shifts from the dramatic Rocky Mountain Front in the west (where the plains meet the mountains in a sharp wall of rock) east through wheat-and-cattle country to the broken country of the Missouri Breaks along the river. Twelve counties cover the region. Cascade holds Great Falls, the largest city, and the C.M. Russell Museum; Hill holds Havre; Chouteau holds Fort Benton (a historic Missouri River steamboat port); Fergus holds Lewistown; Teton holds Choteau and the Rocky Mountain Front gateway. The Upper Missouri River Breaks National Monument runs along the river through Chouteau and Fergus; the Rocky Mountain Front and the Bob Marshall Wilderness’s eastern slope dominate the western edge; First Peoples Buffalo Jump State Park preserves the largest buffalo jump in North America near Great Falls. Most trips here run art-and-river focused. The C.M. Russell Museum and the Lewis and Clark Interpretive Center anchor Great Falls; Fort Benton runs the riverboat-era history; the Rocky Mountain Front draws hikers and wildlife watchers; the Wild and Scenic Missouri stretch downriver from Fort Benton carries multi-day float trips.