Enjoy Ennis, Montana!
You'll want to stay longer than you planned!
If you will be traveling anywhere near Southwest Montana and need to have repair or maintenance work on your RV, it's well worth the trip to Mobile RV Tech in Ennis. Besides getting expert service for your RV, you'll have a great excuse to travel through some of the most beautiful country in the Rockies and enjoy a great little western town.
Situated on the Madison River, Ennis is one of the world's great trout fishing meccas. Whether you prefer lake, stream or river fishing, you'll find plenty of variety in the waters around Ennis. Browns, rainbows and brookies are abundant. Between fly fishing and ice fishing, you can fish year-round!
It's really not that far....
Dillon ~ 71 miles ~ 1 hour, 20 min.
Butte ~ 76 miles ~ 1 hour, 20 min.
W. Yellowstone ~ 71 miles ~ 1 hour, 10 min.
Bozeman ~ 52 miles ~ 1 hour
Helena ~ 105 miles ~ 1 hour, 45 min.
Idaho Falls ~ 152 miles, 2 hours, 30 min.
Remember, we don't have traffic (except for the occasional cattle drive). Time differences for similar mileage reflect a more winding road.
Please click on any image to see the larger slideshow
Ennis has a variety of restaurants ranging from the old fashioned soda fountain to excellent haute cuisine. As with any old west town, Ennis has its share of saloons. Need to feed a shopping bug? We have plenty of gift stores and art galleries. Live music, art shows, cook-offs, educational presentations and other community events keep our visitors as busy as they would like to be.
For many, the best part of visiting Ennis is taking off on a dirt road to drive, hike or bike through the back country and see the eagles, hawks, deer, elk, bison, prairie dogs and all the critters that call the Madison Valley home.
Ennis for Every Season
Live music and educational presentations are held year-round
Summer
Fly fishing
Art shows
Music festivals
Fishing derbies
Rodeo
Victorian Grand Ball
(Virginia City)
Madison Marathons
4th of July Parade
Car show
Annual Wildflower Tour
Fly-In (aviation)
and MUCH MORE
Fall
Fly fishing
Hunting
Hunters Feed
(wild game cook-off)
Halloween carnival
Winter
Ice fishing
Cross country skiing
Holiday bazaars
Virginia City Winter
Fest
Spring
Fly fishing
Cross country skiing
Spring Fever Bingo
Poker Tournament
Brew & Spirit Festival
Mountain Man
Rendezvous
What's Nearby?
The Ennis Fish Hatchery is located about 12 miles southwest of Ennis off of Highway 287 west. Unlike most hatcheries that raise fish for stocking rivers and lakes for anglers, the Ennis Fish Hatchery is a rainbow trout broodstock operation. This means that they raise rainbow trout to maturity and then take the fish eggs which are incubated and shipped to other hatcheries. Then, these eggs are hatched and the fish raised for stocking. The Ennis hatchery produces about 20 million eggs a year! There is also a display pond with rainbow, blue and albino trout that weigh up to 20 pounds! The hatchery is open to the public year-round, 7 days a week from 7:30am to 5pm. You can call (406) 682-4847 for more information.
If you can handle a healthy hike, the Lewis & Clark Caverns are a must-see stop for summer and December visitors to Southwest Montana. This is one of the largest limestone caverns in the Northwest and the formations are outstanding. If you're thinking of skipping this sight, check out the short video for a quick peak at some of the cave's attractions. Summer tours are conducted daily from May 1 through September 30. In July and August, it's best to get an early tour to avoid a hot hike to the cave entrance. There are also special candlelight tours on selected days in December for hearty hikers. Lewis & Clark Caverns are located about 45 minutes north of Ennis.
The West Yellowstone entrance to Yellowstone National Park is 71 miles south of Ennis and is open to wheeled vehicles from May through early November. You can also take a snow coach or cross country adventure into Yellowstone from mid-December through mid-March. If you happen to be in the area when the park entrance is closed, you can still enjoy a close-up wildlife experience at the Grizzly & Wolf Discovery Center in West Yellowstone, which is open year-round. The Yellowstone IMAX Theatre is also open year-round and offers a unique perspective on the country's oldest national park.
Virginia City is 15 miles west of Ennis and was the territorial capital of Montana from 1865 to 1875. In the winter, it's fun to stroll through the old west town, peek in the windows, stop at The Mercantile for a souvenir and have a beer at the beautiful Pioneer Bar. During the cold months, Virginia City's population tops out at about 200. In the summertime, the town is a hopping tourist attraction with a variety of art and gift shops, restaurants, historical exhibits, tours of Boot Hill, live entertainments and more.
Just a few miles down the road, you can visit the Nevada City open-air museum during the summer months with 108 western buildings, many fitted out to reflect an old western town. On weekends, Living History events re-enact local historical events ranging from the trial and hanging of George Ives to the Flour Riot. A train runs regularly between the Virginia City and Nevada City depots from Memorial Day through Labor Day. Nevada City is closed during the winter months except for a special Halloween event.
Bozeman is 52 miles northeast of Ennis and offers all the entertainments of the "big city". Be sure to take a stroll through the old downtown and visit the Museum of the Rockies while you're there. The Museum of the Rockies has one of the largest and most important collections of dinosaur fossils in the world. The Museum also hosts many special programs including the Taylor Planetarium.