Peter Greenberg: Visiting Montana and Texas

By: Peter Greenberg | Source: AARP.org | 2009-08-24

Q: Hi, Peter. There are about 10 states I've never visited. Between Montana and Texas, which state would you recommend? If I choose Texas, what are some of the highlights we should see? And how long should we spend in each?

–Shelley, Fullerton, Calif.

A: Montana and Texas are very different states, and since they are two of America's biggest, there's no shortage of things to do in either place. As far as choosing between them, one thing to keep in mind is the weather.

If you can't handle the heat, stay out of Texas in the summertime; the mercury regularly reaches 100 degrees Fahrenheit and higher during June, July, and August. Montana, on the other hand, is not nearly as hot in the summer, but it's much colder in the winter, with January highs in Billings averaging just 37 degrees.

As far as things to see and do in either state, there are plenty, and it really depends on what sort of activities you prefer.

If you're into shopping, museums, restaurants, and other "urban" activities, the obvious choice is Texas, which boasts big, diverse cities like Dallas, Austin, San Antonio, and Houston. (Montana's biggest metropolitan area is Billings, which has only 150,000 people.) Texas also has a number of famous must-sees, from the Alamo and the River Walk in San Antonio, to the Sixth Street music district and the Texas State Capitol in Austin.

Montana may be nearly as large as Texas but has just a fraction of the residents, making it ideal for outdoor activities, such as horseback riding, hiking, camping, fly fishing, fall-foliage viewing, and big-game hunting.

Yellowstone National Park has three entrances in Montana, while the state's Glacier National Park is home to what's probably America's fastest-disappearing geographical feature—glaciers. In fact, climate scientists have begun predicting that the park's glaciers could be completely gone as soon as 2020. So seeing Glacier National Park before it loses its namesake ice could be appealing.

In terms of how long to stay, that's really up to you. But with plenty of activities in either state, your visit won't be cut short by a lack of things to do. Just remember that because both states are so big, it would be difficult, if not impossible, to visit most of either one on a single vacation. So pick a city or a section of the state, and really delve into it.