Area Information
About Billings
Yellowstone County is home to Billings. With a population of 100,000, Billings ranks as the largest city in Montana, and yet is still home of small town standards and values, while at the same time playing host to the luxuries of living in town. Top notch education, local news, up-to-date medical facilities, and an abundance of social, cultural and outdoor activities to indulge in. The "Magic City" is a great place to call home!
Here are more topics about Billings and Montana that may interest you.......
Photo complements of Billings Chamber of Commerce
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WEATHER
Billings may be the ultimate place for people who enjoy a change of seasons. With an average of 12 inches of precipitation each year, extreme weather in any form is a rarity; muggy summers and icy winters, tornadoes, flooding, and blizzards are just not seen often in this part of Big Sky Country. Along the eastern front of the Rocky Mountains, the humidity remains low and the temperatures stay seasonal throughout the year. As the seasons evolve from lush green springs to bright, clear summer days and cool, clear summer nights right through to the crisp autumn days, punctuated by an Indian summer for hunters and harvests to the time when Montana coats itself with its first crystalline snow, Montanans are able to enjoy each day. Ample opportunity awaits to enjoy life outdoors as well as snuggling up inside with a good book.
Up to the Minute Weather Information
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EDUCATION
Educational excellence begins at the kindergarten level and extends through two four-year colleges and a handful of technical schools in Billings. Montana always is well above the national average in such educational measurements as Iowa and SAT scores, and Billings Public Schools consistently are at the top of the Montana list.
Continuing education takes many forms in the Billings area. Montana State University - Billings a four-year state college offers courses and degrees for traditional students and the non-traditional student as well. Its School of Education is the source of continuing training and certification updates for many Billings teachers. Billings' private liberal arts institution Rocky Mountain College offers a well rounded assortment of degrees, with several pre-professional programs available. MSU-Billings College of Technology, May Technical College, and The Billings Business College offer more specialized training for those that desire this route.
In addition there are a handful of private school programs, licensed pre-schools and don't forget the Parmly Billings Library, another educational resource.
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SHOPPING
There are 2 shopping malls plus many specialty and 'big box' stores. Since Billings is the largest city in the eastern part of the Montana and northern Wyoming, it has many shopping opportunities normally found in much larger communities. And remember, there is no sales tax!!
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TRANSPORTATION
Billings has a good and up-to-date city bus system to provide transportation to all parts of town for commuters and students. We are served by Billings Logan International Airport. Montana Rail Link and Burlington Northern & Santa Fe Railway provide rail service. The nearest passenger service on AmTrak is in Malta, MT.
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MEDIA
The Billings Gazette Online publishes a daily version of The Billings Gazette, Montana's largest newspaper, including news, sports, weather, and classified ads.
Billings is also host to four television stations, three with local news coverage: Channel 2 - KTVQ a CBS affiliate, Channel 4 - KHMT a FOX affiliate, Channel 6 - KSVI-TV6 an ABC affiliate, and Channel 8 - KULR-8 a NBC affiliate.
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HEALTH CARE
Billings is the regional health care hub for the northern Rocky Mountains. Its hospitals, health centers, and specialists attract patients from a four-state region. The "medical corridor" north of the city center and near Billings' colleges and airport, puts all services within easy reach of patients.
Saint Vincent Hospital and Health Center is Montana's largest tertiary-care hospital, specializing in Neurology, Obstetrics, Perinatology, Neonatology, Pediatrics, and Oncology. While Deaconess Billings Clinic Health Care System is a major regional hospital with emergency, surgical, and walk-in facilities. The hospital associates with specialists in all disciplines at the near-by Billings Clinic, and is known as one of the finest heart-surgery hospitals in the nation. Both of these hospitals are technical leaders in the industry.
Billings is also home to the Northern Rockies Cancer Center, The Rimrock Foundation a residential treatment center for substance abuse, eating, sexual, gambling, and other disorders, and the Yellowstone Treatment Centers which offers rural-setting residential treatment center for children and youth with emotional problems.
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WHAT IS THERE TO DO OUTSIDE ?
Wanting to wander outside, and just don't know what to do? Billings and the surrounding area offer to you a full palate of opportunities. You can, backpack, hike, fish, hunt, canoe, raft, kayak, snowshoe, ski, or just relax under the Big Sky of Montana.
Billings' backyard playground includes two of the nation's premier national parks. Yellowstone National Park, the jewel of the national park system, is just 2 1/2 hours by car or RV over the 11,000-foot Beartooth Pass, called "the most beautiful highway in America" by Charles Kuralt. Routes to Yellowstone through Montana's aptly named Paradise Valley are just as grand. An easy day's drive from Billings is the national park system's best-kept secret . . . Glacier National Park. The awe-inspiring peaks, waterfalls, glaciers, wildlife, and lakes make it an experience, not just a must-see. And its grandeur makes it a favorite destination - over and over again. Not far from Billings also lies The Grand Tetons a majestic range of mountains just begging for exploration. Closest to home, don't forget the Absaroka/Beartooth mountains that offer the beauty of the untouched outdoors, only a hop, skip and jump from your front door.
In addition to these major parks, Yellowstone county is the home of over 40 developed parks, most of which lie within the city limits.
Hitting the slopes is not hard to do, downhill skiing and snowboarding can be found not far away at Red Lodge Mountain, and with a little more road time Bridger Bowl, and Big Sky offer that day of exhilaration that you crave. All of the resorts offer lessons, rentals and package rates. So load up the family and make your way to the mountain.
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CULTURAL EVENTS AND ACTIVITIES
Teaming with social and cultural opportunities, Billings offers to you the Alberta Bair Theater, which enriches the area with the performing arts. The theater has a full calendar of events year round to include recognized artists in theater, song and dance. The theater is also home to the Billings Symphony. The symphony is a non-profit, professional orchestra and chorale with year round performances to entertain you.
Don't forget Zoo Montana. The zoo has focused it's energy on developing a wonderful world of animals and plants native to the northern latitude. This growing endeavor is establishing a get-away to the wild. The zoo hosts many seasonal activities and events for the whole family to enjoy. 
The Metra Park, plays host to many concerts, rodeo and sports events. The Metra is also home of Montana Fair each year in August. If you are a sports fan, in addition to the local high school and college teams, you will find that Metra Park is home of the Billings Bulls, our hometown hockey team that are members of the American West Hockey League, and the Billings Rimrockers members of the International Basketball Association.
This is just to name a few of the shows, events, and exhibits that are available, Billings is teeming with activity and you will find it wherever you look.
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HISTORY AND MUSEUMS
Eastern Montana's rich history is in ample evidence in and around Billings. From the nomadic Indian tribes that followed vast buffalo herds across the plains, through Lewis and Clark, French fur trappers, Gen. George Armstrong Custer, Buffalo Bill, and Jeanette Rankin, the area's historical sites and museum are filled with cultural reminders of our past. The Peter Yegen Museum near the Billings airport is packed with historic tools, photographs, artwork, clothing, and machinery from the frontier days. An hour south of Billings along Interstate 90 is the Custer Battlefield National Monument, where the cavalry general's troops were decimated along the Little Bighorn River in one of the last major confrontations between Indians and the military. Plan on a full day to enjoy all there is to see. Also set aside the whole day for the Buffalo Bill Historical Center 90 miles south of Billings in Cody, Wyo. The museum complex houses the Winchester
gun collection, one of the world's most complete collections of western art, a plains Indian museum, and its centerpiece, the Buffalo Bill Museum. Other area historic attractions include the Western Heritage Center along historic Montana Avenue in downtown Billings.
The Yellowstone Art Museum features a large collection of western and contemporary art, as well as world-class traveling exhibitions. Here is an example of the "Montana Collection" which represents the preservation of Western art relevant to today's West, and constitutes a living artistic heritage.
Montana' Official Travel Site provides many additional links and information planning a visit to Montana.
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