Welcome to the Bozone.
Congratulations, you finally packed up your life, waved goodbye to your friends & family, and moved to Bozeman. Whether your move took you over winding mountain passes, across roiling rivers, or through huge swathes of grasslands, marshes, swamps, or cornfields is inconsequential. What matters is that you’re here now. Regardless of the terrain you’ve covered or your motivations for moving, welcome.
I’m one of the lucky few who actually grew up here—I didn’t stumble upon it in my late teens or early twenties. Now, my folks weren’t crazy outdoorsmen, and for a long time, neither was I. I spent years taking this place for granted. I didn’t realize how unusually lucky I was to have world-class skiing, fishing, hunting, and trail systems right outside my front door. It was only after I left Bozeman in search of someplace better that I realized nowhere else could measure up: great skiing but no rivers, great rivers but no biking, great biking but no hunting—the list goes on. But back home in Bozeman, I could do it all. And friend, so can you.
Truth be told, you’d need multiple lifetimes, a bottomless pit of cash, and scores of adventure buddies to ever cover all the bases.
Like all the B-Towns—Bellingham, Boulder, Bend, Burlington—Bozeman’s recreational offerings are seemingly endless. Truth be told, you’d need multiple lifetimes, a bottomless pit of cash, and scores of adventure buddies to ever cover all the bases. But if there was ever a place to be a jack of all trades, then you’ve found it.
With so much to do, and so little time, getting overwhelmed is seemingly inevitable. We all want to bike Leverich, paddle the “Big Three” (Beartrap Canyon, Yankee Jim Canyon, and the Mad Mile), compete in the Ridge Run, catch a 22-inch trout, ski the Beartooths, jam out at Music on Main and Music in the Mountains, backpack in the Absarokas, climb in Bear Canyon, and camp in the Tobacco Roots. And that just covers the warmer months. So take your time, and soak it all in. If that means calling in sick to work on a powder day, taking a gap year, or skipping class to fish a hatch, then so be it. Do everything you can think of and then do some more. Drink up every ounce of this place you possibly can. Make hay while the sun is shining and get while the getting’s good.
Now, as good as all this might sound, there’s a good chance you’ve begun to question where you should even start. Lucky for you, you already have. This little book, The Blue Light Guide, was written with you—the burgeoning Bozemanite—in mind. It’s our goal to help you settle into the next stage of your life here in southwest Montana, show you the ropes, and help you come to love and appreciate this place as much as we do. So, dive on in, find your next adventure, and remember to be here now. After all, time waits for no man.
