Start Your Montana Vacation with a Red Oxx Factory Tour

Are you heading to Montana for your vacation this year? Or just planning on a day trip around our beautiful state? We’d love to have you visit us. Start your adventure on the right foot by stopping at the Red Oxx Factory Outlet. Browse our inventory collection and get a local’s advice on where to eat and the secrets to the best places to visit.

While you’re here be sure to schedule a personal tour of our state-of-the-art Factory #8. Can’t make it on a weekday during our normal 10am to 5pm business hours? Please contact us in advance for a weekend tour.

Montana’s Trailhead

Billings is known as Montana’s trailhead. Located in the crossroads of south central Montana, Red Oxx’s base of operations in Billings is an ideal launch point for your state vacation. Situated in the heart of the old North side, the Red Oxx Factory Outlet Store is easy-to-find from any direction.

While you’re in town, check out the happenings at our new hip 406 Events Lawn. All summer long there’s something going on, from concerts, to art shows, and more. Don’t miss Wood Fired Pizza Night every Thursday night. Delicious fresh hot pizza from our own outdoor wood-fired oven.

From the Events Lawn, it’s a quick hop to downtown Billings where there’s always plenty of other places to eat. Drink a refreshing local microbrew from one of many breweries, then relax and plan the rest of your trip.

Got a hankering for some culture? Visit the Yellowstone Art Museum. From contemporary to historical, the YAM always has something interesting to visually feast on.

Dig cool animals? Spend an day and hang out at Zoo Montana. Both establishments are two popular destinations in the Magic City.

Play Regional Touristas

After your visit and tour of Red Oxx, head north for a short distance and check out Pompey’s Pillar. This is where intrepid explorers Lewis and Clark left their mark on the unique geologic structure. Drive a couple hours further to Great Falls and enjoy the Charles M. Russell Museum. C.M. Russell was an iconic cowboy painter of Montana landscapes during the final days of the real wild west.

Speaking of cowboys, swing by the Little Big Horn Battlefield and explore where General Custer was routed by the largest Indian encampment in the old west.

Virginia City Ghost Town.

Do you enjoy boating? Head east from Billings over to the Big Horn Canyon. There you can take a boat ride through the towering riverside cliffs gazing in wonder as geologic history unfolds, all while trailing a fishing line. NOTE: You must pick up a Montana fishing license – these can be purchased at any sporting goods store, such as Scheels or Cabellas.

Three Ways to Access Yellowstone Park

Less than a couple hundred miles to the west of Red Oxx is the world’s largest volcanic caldera, Yellowstone National Park. You can reach America’s oldest original National Park from three different directions via the Billings’ trailhead:

1.     Head south to the artsy little town of Red Lodge, a quaint little artsy town bordering the towering Bear Tooth Mountains. Crawl up 10,000 feet over the magnificent Beartooth Mountain Pass where you’ll partake in some of the most beautiful vistas in Montana. Once you’ve zig-zagged down on the other side, turn right towards Cooke City for a back door, and less crowded, access to the park.
2.     Or jaunt down I-90 West to Bozeman, named after pioneer John Bozeman, who was mysteriously murdered. From Bozeman, roll south through the scenic Gallatin Canyon as it snakes along the river to Big Sky. Sink your fishing line in the river at one of the many fishing access points. Take a tram ride up Lone Mountain Peak. Hike a trail around the largest ski resort in the country. Turn south again from Big Sky where it’s a short drive to the tiny, yet bustling town of West Yellowstone. For a small fee you can enter the park and take the Grand Loop Road around the park.
3.     A third route to Yellowstone is take the turnoff on I-90 at Livingston and point south through lovely Paradise Valley to the north east entrance to the park in Gardiner. Beware the elk who have made the shady grassy areas in town their own. Any and all animals in the park are totally wild and should be kept at a good safe distance at all times. Be aware of geologic formations and the dangers of boiling waters and follow all Park Tour Guide instructions. Stick to the trails and boardwalks and you’ll live to tell your tale.

Welcome to the Bozone

Like Billings, Bozeman is also a central focal point for visiting famous places in Western Montana. On your way over from Billings you can pass through the sleepy and windy town of Livingston. Stop at the Railroad Depot for a bit of rail history. Shop the many quaint art galleries, then down a brew at the famous Murray Bar.

Between Livingston and Bozeman resides the iconic Chico Hot Springs. Be certain after your soothing soak to dine there, then grab a copy of one of their famous cookbook. It’s loaded with delicious western style recipes.

Bozeman has been crowned the "Last Best Place" and home to MSU, Montana’s fastest growing University. Loaded with fancy restaurants and home to over a dozen breweries, you’re sure to find tasty food and plenty of thirst-quenching beverages to wash it down. Swing by the Museum of the Rockies and get your selfie with a Tyrannosaurus Rex, explore the stars at the Taylor Planetarium, or poke around the Tinsley House. This authentic working old west farm is staffed by Museum volunteers in period clothing.

Biggest Man Made Hole

Due to it’s central location in southwest Montana, you have several options to explore the state. As they say, you can find Montana 20 miles from Bozeman in any direction. If you keep heading west to Butte, you’ll land in the pit of the largest copper mine in the world. Butte is also loaded with plenty of classic old west architecture.

Both the historical towns of Philipsburg and Anaconda are a hop-skip from Butte. The Philipsburg Museum will entertain with wild stories of Montana’s mining history. 

Feeling lucky digging for Gemstones? Crystal Park is a short jaunt nearby.

If you go northwest from Bozeman to Flathead Lake, you’ll find the largest and purest body of water in Montana, home to famous Flathead Cherries. On your way there, take a refreshing dip at Fairmont Hotsprings.

A quick jaunt from Flathead is the unforgettable Glacier National Park, where the wild meets the scenic along the Going to the Sun Road.

Flathead lake is as clear as glass

Authentic Ghosts in Authentic Ghost Towns

Only a few miles to the southwest of Bozeman is a real "living" ghost town. Virginia City is where you can still walk the boardwalks of a classic western gold mining town. Take in a humorous Virginia City Players vaudeville act at the local Opera house. Catch a train ride over to Nevada City and explore the abandoned ghost town’s preserved buildings on foot.

Or drive west to Dillon where you can plan your trip to the famous ghost mining town of Bannack.

While you’re in the general vicinity, check out the Madison Buffalo Jump where the local Indians ran buffalo off a ridge to feed the tribe. Don’t miss the Lewis and Clark Caverns, a beautiful underground natural cave complete with stalagmites, stalactites and glow-in-the-dark rock.

Take a Made in Montana Souvenir Home

Regardless of where you plan to go, Red Oxx, located in the trailhead of Billings, Montana, is your central launch point on your vacation around the treasure state. Book your tour of Red Oxx today. See where your bags are hand-crafted with pride.

When you get home please review us on Trip Advisor, and thanks in advance!
~ Cheers, Jim Markel, CEO and the Red Oxx Herd.

P.S. For the latest information on recreation opportunities in Montana, visit Montana’s Fish Wildlife and Parks website.