DAZZLING, DRAMATIC, NATURAL, AND SCENIC.

So it is in southwestern Montana.

Oh sure, there's history, good food, and a variety of places to stay, but the main attraction is the sheer beauty. It's a land where everything seems intensified, in super sharp focus, richer in color, more majestic, more peaceful, and somehow closer to the sky.

Happily for travelers who prefer to avoid crowds, there's plenty of elbow room. Montana may be the fourth largest state in area (145,550 square miles), but, at under a million people, it ranks 48th in population density.

The southwestern portion is one of the state's least populated areas, most of it part of the 3-million-acre Beaverhead National Forest. Uncluttered, wide-open spaces means heaven for active types, with miles of trails for hiking, horseback riding, and mountain biking: a vast choice of waterways for fishing, rafting, canoeing, and kayaking; and, in the winter, plenty of challenging mountain slopes for skiing and snowboarding.

Even Bozeman, the area's largest town, is tiny by most city standards, counting fewer than 30,000 residents. A gateway to the natural areas that surround it, Bozeman is home to Montana State University and the Museum of the Rockies, which chronicles area history from the dinosaurs to the 20th century.

Though the rest of the towns in the area make Bozeman look like a thriving metropolis, they yield some surprises. Dillon, for example, which boasts a population of under 4,000, is unquestionably the place to go to get appropriately outfitted for the region. Stylish and well-made casual wear can be purchased at bargain prices at the Patagonia Outlet store. Ennis, population approximately 900, is home to The Continental Divide restaurant. Serving up creative cuisine for over 20 years, it's been mentioned in such prestigious and far-flung publications as the New York Times and Gourmet Magazine, and you have to love a place that announces, "Blue jeans, tuxedos, and waders are the common attire--leave your ties at home!"

Anyone who's ever been to Montana will understand how it got its moniker "Big Sky Country." On a crisp, clear day the sky hovers like a giant bright blue canopy over seemingly endless stretches of open land. But what most people don't know is that there is actually a tiny berg in southwestern Montana called Big Sky.