Anaconda, MT Summary

The town of Anaconda, which is located 25 miles west of Butte by State Route 1, once housed the world’s largest smelting operation.

In the 1880s, the Anaconda Mining Company produced copper in vast quantities. But “Copperopolis,” as it was dubbed, started to lose its luster when the demand for copper waned, eventually closing its plants in 1980. Former golf champion, Jack Nicklaus, recently transformed Anaconda’s smelters into the Old Works Golf Course.

Thankfully, the town’s historic district remains a reflection of its boom years with a host of late- Victorian buildings and the Art-Deco-style Washoe Theater crowding Main Street. There are some dramatic limestone cliffs and waterfalls worth exploring in nearby Lost Creek State Park.

Anaconda, with a population of 10,300, provides a regional pit stop for visitors who are exploring Montana’s gold country.

The nearest airport is in Helena, about 20 miles north via I-90, then about 30 miles east by US-12. The towns of Missoula and Bozeman also have airports. Buses service the area.