About The Area

Ovando, MT is a small town with a population of ~50; They are a hot spot for cyclists top stop while riding the Great Divide/Tour Divide route.

The original inhabitants were the Kootenai, Salish, Pend d' Oreilles and the Crow, followed closely by the Shoshone, Gros Ventre and Nez Perce.

The town of Ovando was officially established in the 1870's and '80's with the pioneering efforts of the Geary's, McNally's, Jacobsen's, Brunner's, Jakways', Shoup's, Boyd's, Kleinschmidt's, and Ovando Hoyt himself, who the town is named after.

In 1883, prior to MT becoming a state in 1889, over 1,000 people claimed Ovando as their home. It was a busy town at that time as the town was the main distribution center for a 75 mile area and the anticipation of the Blackfoot Railroad's arrival, but in 1919 a fire broke out in town and destroyed much of the town. Unfortunately, around the same time, the Blackfoot Railroad was never completed, so the population dwindled.

A few buildings did survive and are now on Main St. and Town Plaza: the Community Church, Blackfoot Commercial Company, Custom Welding Design, the Trading Post that now houses the Blackfoot Angler & Supplies, and the Brand Bar Museum. Ovando Hoyt's original home is still intact and located at the end of town, on the creek that bears his name.

Excerpts from: https://ovandomontana.net/history.html

The first inhabitants of the Missoula area were the Salish tribe. In 1801, the Lewis and Clark expedition passed through the Missoula Valley, but it wasn’t until 1860 when a trading post was opened by C.P. Higgins and Francis Worden, followed by a sawmill and flourmill. The US Army established Fort Missoula in 1877 (which also became a WWII Internment Center) and the Northern Pacific Railroad was built through the valley in 1883. It was during this time that Missoula became a large trading hub. In the early 1880’s the Missoula Mercantile was formed and was the go-to place for wholesale and retail trade until 1920. Most recently, the Mercantile was transformed into a hotel, owned by the Radisson, where they have pieces of the old Mercantile history throughout the main floor of the building.

Missoula is home to the University of Montana, which opened in 1895. In 1942, the Missoula based Forest Service began to train Smokejumpers for wildland firefighting.

The community of Missoula is very active and many that live here are outdoor enthusiasts. The town is surrounded by 7 wilderness areas and 3 rivers which allows for numerous trail activities, such as hiking, running, mountain biking, along with fishing, kayaking, and surfing Brennan's Wave.

Missoula is also the homebase of the Bandita crew working hard on The Dusty Bandita as well as the presenting non-profit organization, MT Alpha Cycling. The Banditas are avid cyclists, skiers, trail runners and explorers. We are so excited to show you around our home area!

Things to do in Missoula

Seeley Lake, located an hour northeast of Missoula, Montana, was inhabited and traveled through mainly by the Kootenai Salish, Pend d’Orielle and Blackfeet tribes. However, the entire Clearwater, Blackfoot and Swan Valleys were also inhabited by the Crow, Shoshone, Gros Ventre, and Nez Perce . The town was named after Jasper B Seely- the first Ranger on the Lewis and Clark Forest Reserve and homesteader in the area. Although Seeley settled in 1881, the first road to Seeley lake was not built until 1895. It is now a popular area to recreate and vacation, especially for the surrounding towns. Lying between the Bob Marshall and Mission Mountain Wilderness, Seeley Lake is a 1,025 acre glacial lake and is just one in the Seeley-Swan Chain of Lakes, connected by both the Clearwater and Swan Rivers.

Seeley Lake is a vibrant, year-round, recreational community. Seeley offers miles of both winter and summer activities. There are mountain biking and hiking trails, water recreation opportunities, and fishing options in addition to fantastic gravel riding (bring your bear spray as it’s bear country)! Visitors can make the 5.5 mile round trip by foot or mountain bike to see Morrell Falls then rent a paddleboard to explore the lake - all in the same day!

To note, for the 80 mile route, you will be riding through the big Rice Ridge Fire, which occurred in 2017, burning over 160,000 acres and caused many to evacuate their homes.

Things to do in Seeley