When people think of Montana, they think of camping. With its majestic mountains, gorgeous lakes and rivers, I'd expect the it to easily beat every other state when it comes to spending the night under the stars. Though in the case of this rankings system, I'd be wrong.

The website Adventures on the Rock, which has guides to help people find adventure vehicles and gear, used a scoring system based on 10 factors to determine which state is best for camping. The factors are "the number of hiking trails, RV parks and campsites relative to state population, average fuel prices, yearly average rainfall, diversity of plant and animal species, deaths per 10 million national park visits and deaths caused by dangerous animal or plant exposure."

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Montana scored pretty well, earning second place on their rankings. The number-one spot went to Wyoming. Here's a quote from the Adventures on the Rock press release to explain that result:

  • Wyoming ranks as the best state in America for camping, featuring the highest number of free campsites and RV parks relative to its population.
  • Montana ranks as the second best state for camping, offering the highest number of hiking trails and the second highest number of free and paid campsites.

Though I ultimately disagree, with those stats in mind I see how Montana could be seen as only second best. But if Adventures on the Rock added wind as a factor, I wonder if that would be enough to give Montana the top slot. According to the data website World Population Review, Wyoming is the second-windiest state in the country, only behind Alaska, while Montana's the 4th-windiest state, behind Michigan.

Maybe the most important factor for a great camping trip, natural beauty, is impossible to quantify, though I'd say Montana has Wyoming beat on that too.

Montana's scenery will leave you breathless.

Here's a photo collection of Montana's BEST views and terrain for you to enjoy

Montana National Parks

Montana National Parks

 

 

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