Bozeman mixes one of the best ski locales in the nation (2010 winner of Outdoor magazine’s “best town for skiing in the west”) with a PhD per capita ratio more than twice the national average. MSU is the state’s agricultural college, and was originally placed in Bozeman due to its healthy soils and verdant surroundings. Though out in the Montanan wilderness, the valley surrounding Bozeman is known as the “valley of flowers.”
Bozeman is embedded in nature, surrounded by mountain ranges, and many parts of town are within walking distance of trail heads that run all the way to Yellowstone some 90 miles to the south. The University’s outdoor recreation center is open year around, and hosts rentals and regular trips to local destinations (Yellowstone, Glacier, and Grand Teton National Parks), as well as trips father afield, to California, Mexico, and up into the Canadian Rockies. Student run outdoor-related clubs include the range management club, the science and natural history film making forum, alpine skiing, cycling, climbing, equestrian, logger sports, and ultimate. Bozeman is also home to the Museum of the Rockies, the largest collection of dinosaur fossils in the world.
