Shelby

Shelby is a town in north-central Montana. Around 3,100 people live there.

Understand

Shelby is an important Montana town for commerce. The Canadian border crossing at Sweet Grass is only 30 mi (48 km) north on Interstate 15. The crossing has the highest traffic volume in the state. Interstate 15 spans the entire state from north to south while US Highway 2 spans the entire state east and west. Plus the town has major commercial rail service.

Get in

By car

Long-distance drivers in northern Montana are all but guaranteed to pass through Shelby: situated at the intersection of Interstate 15 and US-2, it's hard to miss.

By bus

• Northern Transit Interlocal. Bus service from Sweet Grass, Kalispell, and Great Falls. (updated Dec 2021)

By train

See also: Rail travel in the United States

• 1 Shelby station, 230 West Central Ave. (updated Nov 2020)
  • Amtrak, ☏ +1 215-856-7924, toll-free: +1-800-872-7245. Operates train service around the United States of America. (updated Mar 2022) Route stopping at Shelby:
    • Empire Builder operating daily between Seattle/Portland and Chicago including stops at Spokane, Glacier National Park, Fargo, Saint Paul, and Milwaukee. The trains split into separate branches between Seattle and Spokane, and between Portland and Spokane, while operating as trains consisting of train cars from both branches between Spokane and Chicago.

Get around

There is a historic Main Street Business District that is easily walked. Many places will require a car.

See

• 1 Marias Museum of History and Art, 1129 1st St N, ☏ +1 406-424-2551. Jun-Aug: M-F 1-5 and 7-9 PM, Sa 1-4 PM; Sep-May: Tu noon-4 PM. Historical artifacts and assorted oddities from the region. (updated Nov 2020)

Do

• Aronow Park has tennis and volleyball courts, and horseshoe pits. There is ice skating in winter months.
• Marias Valley Golf and Country Club

Sleep

• Lake Sheloole Park & Campgrounds

Go next

• Lake Elwell (50 miles to the east) has fishing, boating, and camping.
• Little Jerusalem (30 miles north to Sunburst, then 10 miles west) offers a dramatic landscape with hiking allowed. Numerous hoodoos, picture a stone totem pole, cover the area, ranging from 5 to 100 feet in height.
• Rudyard Depot Museum (60 miles east) is part of the Montana Dinosaur Trail. Rudyard also has the Hi-Line Vintage Motors Museum.

Routes through Shelby

Spokane ← Cut Bank ←	W  E	→ Havre → Minot
Lethbridge ← ← Sweet Grass ←	N  S	→ Great Falls → Helena
Kalispell ← Cut Bank ←	W  E	→ Havre → Williston