Downtown Billings contains the Billings Historical District, a renovated area that consists of most of the original business district. The Castle Corner is a replica of the Potter Palmer Mansion in Chicago, an interesting structure modeled after English castles. The railroad brought prosperity to Billings, and prosperity brought Preston B. Moss. In 1901, architect H.J. Hardenbergh (designer of the Waldorf-Astoria and Plaza Hotels in New York City) created the elegant Moss estate. The three-story Moss Mansion remains authentically furnished and open year-round at 914 Division Street. The Black Otter Trail, beginning at the edge of the city, is a winding highway that follows the "rimrocks," natural sandstone cliffs that border the city on the north and east. Boothill Cemetery, burial ground for residents of the frontier town of Colson, and the Range Rider of Yellowstone, a life-sized bronze statue by artist Charles Christadora, are both located along the Black Otter Trail, as are Sacrifice Cliff and Yellowstone Kelly's gravesite. Pictograph Cave State Park, southeast of Billings, has cave paintings made by Indians who lived and hunted for wooly mammoth in the region some 4,500 years ago.
A number of national monuments, parks, and recreation areas are located near Billings, most within a two-hour drive. Little Bighorn Battlefield National Monument, site of Custer's Last Stand, is 65 miles southeast of the city, and Pompey's Pillar, a spectacular natural rock formation, is 28 miles east of Billings.
The Little Bighorn Battlefield National Monument lets visitors relive the clash between General George Custer's 7th Cavalry and more than 3,000 warriors led by Crazy Horse. Yellowstone National Park is the world's first such park; President Theodore Roosevelt proclaimed it so during his presidential tenure, and visitors today can see its famous geysers, painted canyons, and wildlife much as the way Roosevelt saw it. On the way from Billings to Yellowstone, Montana's highest peak is on view from Highway 212 over the Beartooth Mountain Pass.
The only major performing arts center in the region, the Alberta Bair Theater for the Performing Arts is the site of most of the cultural activity in Billings. The Fox Committee for the Performing Arts and the Billings Community Concert Association are both responsible for bringing a wide range of cultural events to the city each year, including jazz, opera, ballet, and popular music concerts. The Billings Symphony Orchestra and Chorale performs approximately ten concerts each season, including an annual free concert in the park.
The Western Heritage Center features changing exhibits pertaining to the region's history, and the Yellowstone County Museum contains historical relics and dioramas depicting scenes from Billings's past. The Yellowstone Art Museum museum holds one of the region's best collections of contemporary and historic art, including an impressive collection of Western art particularly strong in the works of Montana artists Russell Chatham and Deborah Butterfield; it also sponsors lectures and concerts.
MetraPark fairground holds concerts, rodeos, and the annual MontanaFair. Canyon Creek and a nature trail wind through ZooMontana's 70 acres of exotic animal exhibits.
Annual events in and around Billings include ArtWalk and the MSU-Billings Wine and Food Festival in May, the Moss Mansion County Fair and Strawberry Festival in June, July's Crazy Days downtown and the Skyfest Parade and Balloon Rally; on Labor Day weekend the Heritage of the Yellowstone Folklife Festival is held at Eastern Montana College. Western traditions are observed with Native American craft demonstrations, cowboy cooking and games, calf roping, and a concert featuring cowboy music and poetry. Ethnic roots are preserved in the serving of foods of various nationalities, including Native American, Dutch, Norwegian, Yugoslavian, Hispanic, Hutterite, Chinese, Scottish, Laotian, German, and Welsh. On the fourth weekend in September the traditional German harvest festival, Herbstfest, is held in nearby Laurel. German foods, dancing, and music are featured. Downtown Billings is the site of Harvest Fest each October. Late November has the Holiday Parade and Christmas stroll occurs each December downtown.
Billings supports four professional sports teams. The Billings Mustangs, a baseball farm team of the Cincinnati Reds, play at Cobb Field; the Billings Mavericks of the National Indoor Football League play home games at 8,700 seat MetraPark arena; the Billings Bulls, who play junior hockey, and the new Billings Rims, set to begin play in 2005, are also at the MetraPark. Thoroughbred racing and parimutuel betting are offered at Yellowstone Exhibition, and the city features several rodeo events each year, including the Northern Rodeo Association finals, which have been held in Billings for 30 years. Auto racing takes place at Magic City Speedway, five miles east of town on Hwy 10.
The mountains near Billings offer a complete range of year-round outdoor activity in some of America's most spectacular terrain: skiing (at nearby Red Lodge Mountain, and further away Big Sky and the new Moonlight Basin resort), hiking, hunting, fishing (some of the world's legendary trout streams are nearby, such as Rock Creek and the Stillwater, Boulder, Musselshell, Big Horn, and Yellowstone Rivers), camping, and a wide variety of water recreation. At a number of lakes and reservoirs, swimming, boating, sailing, and water skiing can be enjoyed. The city of Billings operates more than 40 parks that feature swimming pools, tennis courts, athletic fields, jogging and biking paths, and other recreational facilities. There are several public and private golf courses in the city.
Rimrock Mall downtown is the largest shopping area, with more than 100 shops, including Dillard's, JCPenney, Eddie Bauer, Gap, and Bath and Body Works. West Park Plaza is another large enclosed shopping center. There are at least a dozen smaller shopping areas in Billings. Western boutiques to specialty shops serve up quality merchandise and great bargains, all with no sales tax, in the historic downtown shopping district or the Billings Heights area on Main Street.
Restaurants in Billings feature traditional Western fare as well as exotic ethnic cuisine in settings ranging from casual and inexpensive to elegant and intimate. Most restaurants are clustered around the main shopping and commercial areas of downtown on Montana Avenue (Eleven Café, McCormick's, Q, The Rex, and Sweet Ginger) and North Broadway (Travel Café, Creoles, Gunsmoke Barbecue, Montana Brewing Company, and Papa Eddie's Grill).
Visitor Information: Billings Area Chamber of Commerce, PO Box 31177, Billings, MT 59107-1177; telephone (406)245-4111; toll-free (800)735-2635