U.S. Route 89 in Montana

This article is about the section of highway in Montana. For the entire length of highway, see U.S. Route 89.

U.S. Highway 89 (US 89) is a north-south United States Numbered Highway in the state of Montana. It extends approximately 400.5 miles (644.5 km) from Yellowstone National Park north to the Canadian border. US 89 is an important tourist route within Montana as it connects Yellowstone National Park and Glacier National Park. The section of US 89 located between US 12 and US 87 is known as the Kings Hill Scenic Byway, which passes through the Little Belt Mountains in the Lewis and Clark National Forest,^[2] and is home to a wide variety of wildlife and provides many recreational opportunities for travelers along the route.

U.S. Highway 89
US 89 highlighted in red
Route information
Maintained by MDT
Length	400.511 mi[1] (644.560 km)
Existed	1934–present
Major junctions
South end	Yellowstone National Park at Gardiner
Major intersections	I-90 / US 191 in Livingston US 12 near White Sulphur Springs US 87 from Armington to Great Falls MT 200 from Armington to Sun River I-315 in Great Falls I-15 from Great Falls to Vaughn US 287 in Choteau US 2 in Browning
North end	Highway 2 at the Canadian border at Port of Piegan
Location
Country	United States
State	Montana
Counties	Park, Meagher, Cascade, Teton, Pondera, Glacier
Highway system
United States Numbered Highway System List Special Divided Montana Highway System Interstate US State Secondary
← MT 87 → I-90

Route description

Roosevelt Arch looking towards the southern terminus of US 89 in Montana

US 89 in St. Mary

US 89 crossed the Carbella Bridge near Gardiner, destroyed in 2022

US 89 enters Montana at the North Entrance of Yellowstone National Park, on the southern edge of Gardiner at the Roosevelt Arch; it is one of two entrances opened year-round (the other being the Northeast entrance on US 212). Some commercially produced maps show US 89 going through Yellowstone National Park; however, it officially has a gap inside the park and resumes in Wyoming at the South Entrance. US 89 travels north along the Yellowstone River for 52.9 miles (85.1 km) to Livingston, where it heads east along a 7.5-mile (12.1 km) concurrency with I-90/US 191. US 89 heads north for 56.7 miles (91.2 km); the route joins US 12 (which heads east towards Helena) for 8.4 miles (13.5 km) before entering White Sulphur Springs, and for another 3.0 miles (4.8 km) east of town, where it turns north and becomes the Kings Hill Scenic Byway.^[3] From US 12 the byway travels for 71.4 miles (114.9 km) through the Lewis and Clark National Forest, through the communities of Neihart and Monarch, and on to its junction with US 87. The route offers access to the Showdown Ski Area and Sluice Boxes State Park. The route travels over the Kings Hill Pass which snow removal crews work to keep open throughout the winter season.^[2]

At the northern end of the byway near Armington, US 89 joints US 87, Montana Highway 3 (MT 3), and MT 200; the four-route concurrency travels northwest for 22.7 miles (36.5 km) to Great Falls. As it travels through Great Falls along 10th Avenue South, US 87 branches north at 14th Street South, I-15 Business joins the route at 6th Street South, and it follows a short, unsigned concurrency with I-315 before reaching I-15. US 89 and MT 200 follow I-15 for 11.5 miles (18.5 km) to Vaughn, where they exit the Interstate and travels 7.9 miles (12.7 km) west to Sun River, at which point US 89 turns northwest and MT 200 heads southwest to Missoula. US 89 travels 32.4 miles (52.1 km) to US 287 in Choteau and another 68.8 miles (110.7 km) to US 2.^[3]

US 2 and US 89 share a 3.8-mile (6.1 km) concurrency through Browning and at a roundabout on the western end of town, US 2 heads southwest towards East Glacier and provides an all-weather link to the western end of Glacier National Park. US 89 heads west for 12.2 miles (19.6 km) and then turns north at Kiowa and travels north for 18.9 miles (30.4 km) to St. Mary where it intersects the Going-to-the-Sun Road, a seasonal scenic mountain road that traverses Glacier National Park. US 89 travels 12.9 miles (20.8 km) to the Chief Mountain Highway (MT 17), a road that travels through the northeastern corner of Glacier National Park and provides seasonal access to Canada's Waterton Lakes National Park by way of the Chief Mountain Border Station and Quarters (the only road that connects Waterton-Glacier International Peace Park). US 89 travels 6.2 miles (10.0 km) to its northern terminus at the Canadian border at Port of Piegan where the road continues into Alberta as Highway 2 towards Cardston.^[3]

History

When US 89 was first created, it ran as far north as Spanish Fork, Utah. This was the case until 1934, when it was extended to more or less of its current alignment up to the Port of Piegan.^[4] North of Great Falls, US 89's route was originally part of the US 87 corridor until 1934. US 87 ended in Great Falls until 1945, when it was extended to its current northern terminus near Havre.^[5]

Major intersections

County	Location	mi[1]	km	Exit	Destinations	Notes
Park	Yellowstone National Park	−3.1	−5.0		North Entrance Road – Mammoth	Continuation into Wyoming; US 89 resumes at Yellowstone National Park's South Entrance
	Gardiner	0.000	0.000		Yellowstone National Park North Entrance	Southern end of state maintenance
	​	19.683	31.677		S-540 north (East River Road)
	Emigrant	30.919	49.759		S-571 east
	​	49.680	79.952		S-540 south (East River Road)
	Livingston	52.917	85.162	333	I-90 west / US 191 south – Butte	Southern end of I-90 / US 191 concurrency; exit numbers follow I-90
		57.865	93.125	337	I-90 BL west – Livingston
	​	60.395	97.196	340	I-90 east / US 191 north – Billings	Northern end of I-90 / US 191 concurrency
	Wilsall	84.515	136.014		MT 86 south (Flathead Creek Road)
Meagher	​	109.217	175.768		S-294 east – Lennep, Martinsdale
		117.100	188.454		US 12 west – Townsend, Helena	Southern end of US 12 concurrency
	White Sulphur Springs	125.956	202.707		S-360 west – Fort Logan
	​	128.899	207.443		US 12 east – Harlowton	Northern end of US 12 concurrency; southern end of Kings Hill Scenic Byway
		136.650	219.917		S-259 south
Meagher–Cascade county line	​	157.478	253.436	Kings Hill Pass
Cascade	​	182.257	293.314		S-427 north – Raynesford
	Armington Junction	200.258	322.284		US 87 south / MT 3 south / MT 200 east – Lewistown	Southern end of US 87 / MT 3 / MT 200 concurrency; northern end of Kings Hill Scenic Byway
	​	203.861	328.082		S-331 north – Belt
		216.717	348.772		S-227 north / S-228 south – Sand Coulee, Highwood
	Great Falls	219.736	353.631		US 87 Byp. north (57th Street S) – Malmstrom AFB
		222.836– 222.916	358.620– 358.749		US 87 north (14th Street S / 15th Street S) – Black Eagle, Havre	One-way pair; northern end of US 87 concurrency
		223.569– 223.654	359.799– 359.936		I-15 BL north (5th Street S / 6th Street S)	One-way pair; southern end of I-15 Bus. concurrency
		225.082	362.234		I-315 begins / Fox Farm Road, 6th Street SW	Eastern terminus of unsigned I-315; southern end of I-315 concurrency
		221.435	356.365	0	14th Street SW	Exit number follows I-315
		225.910	363.567	— 278	I-15 south – Helena I-315 ends / I-15 BL ends / MT 3 ends	Northern end of I-15 Bus. / MT 3 concurrency; southern end of I-15 concurrency; western termini of unsigned I-315 / I-15 BL / MT 3; exit numbers follow I-15
		227.499	366.124	280	I-15 BL south (Central Avenue W) to US 87 north
	​	229.478	369.309	282	To US 87 north / Northwest Bypass	Southbound exit, northbound entrance
		233.356	375.550	286	Manchester
	Vaughn	237.454	382.145	290	I-15 north – Shelby	Northern end of I-15 concurrency
	Sun River	245.429	394.980		MT 200 west – Missoula	Northern end of MT 200 concurrency
Teton	​	256.757	413.210		S-431 north / S-565 south – Simms
	Fairfield	260.096	418.584		S-408 west
	Choteau	277.723	446.952		US 287 south (W Division Street) – Helena	Northern terminus of US 287
		277.794	447.066		S-221 east (1st Street NE) – Dutton
	​	299.011	481.212		S-219 east – Pendroy, Conrad
Pondera	Dupuyer	311.608	501.484		S-534 east – Conrad
	​	320.566	515.901		MT 44 east – Valier, Lake Frances
Glacier	​	346.489	557.620		US 2 east – Shelby	Southern end of US 2 concurrency
	Browning	349.755	562.876		S-464 north (East Boundary Street)
		350.330	563.801		US 2 west – East Glacier	Northern end of US 2 concurrency; access to Glacier National Park
	Kiowa	362.524	583.426		MT 49 south (Looking Glass Hill Road) – East Glacier	MT 49 closed in winter
	St. Mary	381.469	613.915		Going-to-the-Sun Road – Glacier National Park	Going-to-the-Sun Road closed in winter
	Babb	388.754	625.639		S-464 south – Duck Lake
	​	394.341	634.630		MT 17 north (Chief Mountain Highway) – Waterton Lakes	Chief Mountain Border Crossing open seasonally
Piegan Border Crossing		400.511	644.560	Canada–United States border
					Highway 2 north – Cardston	Continuation into Alberta
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi       Concurrency terminus       Incomplete access        Tolled

See also

• U.S. roads portal

References

1. Road Inventory and Mapping Section (2013). Montana Road Log (PDF). Helena: Montana Department of Transportation. pp. 6–7, 15, 23, 36–37, 46, 66–68, 100–102, 189–192. Archived from the original (PDF) on January 1, 2020. Retrieved November 27, 2020.
2. "Kings Hill Scenic Byway". Archived from the original on August 23, 2006. Retrieved November 21, 2010.
3. Montana Department of Transportation (2016). Montana Official Highway Map (Map). 1:633,600. Helena: Montana Department of Transportation. §§ A3, B3, B4, C4, D4, D5, D6, E6, F6, G6, H6, I6.
4. Sanderson, Dale (August 18, 2019). "End of US Highway 89". US Ends.com. Retrieved December 1, 2020.^{[self-published source]}
5. Sanderson, Dale (April 13, 2020). "End of US Highway 87". US Ends.com. Retrieved December 1, 2020.^{[self-published source]}

External links

Template:Attached KML/U.S. Route 89 in Montana

KML is not from Wikidata

• Highway 89 Route: Between the Parks

U.S. Route 89
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