CM Russell Auto Tour

This central Montana drive between Great Falls and Lewistown travels through grasslands surrounded by Highwood, Snowy, and Moccasin Mountains. The lowland, the Judith Basin, is enjoyed by the rancher, farmer, and sportsman. The drive is named for Charles Russell, an artist who arrived in 1880 and lived here for 10 years, finding his surroundings as an inspiration to create painted canvases as a window into the past to tell the story of Native Americans, bison and wolves, cowboys, the open range, mountain men and miners, and the changes that came with homesteaders, railroads, and highways. Visit the C.M. Russell Museum in Great Falls and the other museums in Stanford, Utica, and Hobson. An interpretive booklet for the C.M. Russell Auto Tour is available from the U.S. Forest Service Office in Stanford, Montana or by calling 406-566-2292.