Glendive printable guide

Glendive

Stop for one night off I-94: badlands at Makoshika, two fossil museums, then drive on. No taxi or bus, so you need a car.

Glendive is a town of about 5,000 on the Yellowstone River in eastern Montana, 222 mi (357 km) east of Billings and 35 mi (56 km) west of the North Dakota line. It is a Montana Dinosaur Trail stop: Makoshika State Park's badlands sit just south of town, and two fossil museums sit at Exit 215. There is no taxi or bus service, so a car is required, and one night covers the sights.

Sketch, not to navigate by: shapes follow this guide’s areas and places, not official boundaries. North is up.

Country

United States

Best months

May–Sep

Avoid

Dec–Feb (cold, snow, some sights closed)

Stay

1 night

Checked 2026-09. Prices, hours and rules change; anything marked (check) is not confirmed.

Essentials

Currency: USD
Money: Currency is the US dollar (USD, $). Cards and phone payments work almost everywhere; carry a little cash for tips and small vendors.
Daily spend: Budget $70–110 excl. bed · Mid $110–180 excl. bed · High $180+ excl. bed (estimate; check)
SIM and data: AT&T, Verizon and T-Mobile cover the country; prepaid SIMs at their stores and Walmart/Target (passport required), or an eSIM before you fly.
Emergency: Police, fire, ambulance 911 · Poison Control 1-800-222-1222
Plugs: Types A, B · 120 V · 60 Hz · Chargers are dual-voltage; hair dryers and straighteners from 230 V countries need a converter.
Tipping: Sit-down restaurant: 18–22% of the pre-tax bill.; Bar: US$1–2 per drink or 20% of the tab.; Taxi / ride-hailing: 15–20%, in the app.; Hotel housekeeping: US$3–5 a night.; Porter / valet: US$2–5 per bag or car.; Tour guide: US$10–20 per person for a day tour.; Counter service / tablet prompts: Optional; 0–15%.
Water: Tap water is drinkable nearly everywhere; boil or treat water from streams in parks.
Toilets: Free public toilets are scarce in big cities; use cafés, department stores, libraries, stations. Rest areas on highways are free.

What things cost

Item	Price
Coffee	$3–6
Diner breakfast	$10–16
Burger or pizza meal	$14–25
Draught beer at a brewery	$6–9
Makoshika State Park entry per vehicle	$8
Glendive Dinosaur and Fossil Museum entry	$8 adults, $7 children/seniors
Gallon of gas	$3–4

Desk estimates, checked 2026-09; check locally.

Get in

By air

GDV · Dawson Community Airport (Glendive): Cape Air flights within Montana and private planes; small field on Hwy 200 toward Circle, about 4 mi from town

Typical fares

Makoshika State Park entry: $8 per vehicle
Baisch's Dinosaur Digs: $120 full day, $80 half day, children 12 and under free
Glendive Dinosaur and Fossil Museum: $8 adults, $7 children/seniors

Get around

Drive. There are no taxi or bus services in Glendive, so plan on your own car or a rental; the sights are spread along I-94 and the river, and Makoshika is a short drive south of downtown. Walk only within the compact centre.

See and do

Known for

Makoshika State Park badlands
Frontier Gateway Museum
Glendive Dinosaur and Fossil Museum
Yellowstone River and Bell Street Bridge
Montana Dinosaur Trail

Day trips

Where	How	Time
Makoshika State Park	Drive south from downtown on Snyder Ave to the park entrance	About 10–15 min
Miles City	I-94 west	About 1 h 15 min
Medora, North Dakota	I-94 east	About 1 h 30 min
Billings	I-94 west	About 3 h

Sleep

I-94 Exit 215 strip (N Merrill Ave): Motels, diners and the museums cluster here; easiest with a car and bags.
Downtown / W Towne St: Closer to the river, bars and shops; a short drive from the interstate.

Phrase card

English	Say or show
Where is the interstate?	Where is I-94?
Is there a gas station nearby?	Is there gas close by?
Do you take cards?	Can I pay by card?
How far is Makoshika?	How far to the state park?

Etiquette, safety and scams

Etiquette

Greeting: Handshake and 'hi, how are you?' — reply 'good, thanks'; avoid: Treating the question as a real health enquiry
Restaurants: Tip 18–22% and wait for the check; avoid: Leaving without tipping
Personal space: Keep an arm's length in queues; avoid: Standing close to strangers
Politics and religion: Listen more than you speak; avoid: Opening with hot-button topics
Smoking: Smoke only in marked areas; avoid: Smoking near doors or in parks where banned

Scams and watch-outs

No taxi or bus service in town: without a car you are stuck.
Makoshika's badlands roads and trails are rough; carry water and watch for rattlesnakes in warm months.
Summer storms and winter snow can close park roads; check conditions before you drive in.
Distances are long: the next services east are in North Dakota, west in Miles City.

Glendive is a small, low-crime town; the real risks are long empty drives, summer heat in the badlands and winter storms on I-94. Carry water and check road conditions before setting out.

One and two days

No timed day plan for Glendive yet. Suggested stay: 1 night. Build a day from the list below, mornings for the big sight.

Makoshika State Park badlands
Frontier Gateway Museum
Glendive Dinosaur and Fossil Museum
Yellowstone River and Bell Street Bridge
Montana Dinosaur Trail

Sources

Written by Voykit; facts cross-checked against these sources, last desk check 2026-09. Prices, hours and rules change: check on the day.

Visit Glendive: www.visitglendive.com/
Montana FWP — Makoshika State Park: fwp.mt.gov/stateparks/makoshika
Wikivoyage: Glendive, revision 5326357 (CC BY-SA 4.0): en.wikivoyage.org/w/index.php?oldid=5326357

Pocket card

Cut along the border and keep it in your wallet. Show the local-script lines to a driver.

Glendive

Take me to this address, please

My hotel (write the name and address in the local script)

Police, fire, ambulance911
Poison Control1-800-222-1222

No embassy in Glendive; nearest consulates are in Denver or Seattle.

No taxi or bus service: arrange your own car before arrival.

Voykit · checked 2026-09