Explore the “Energy Capital of Montana” when you fly to a jet charter airport in Colstrip, Montana.
Known for its history as a coal mining town, Colstrip had its start in the 1920s when the Northern Pacific Railroad began mining in the region to fuel their steam locomotives. Then a settlement of only 63 homes, a schoolhouse and two churches, the town was nearly abandoned when locomotives switched from coal power to diesel.
It wasn’t until the 1960s when the Western Energy Company, a subsidiary of the Montana Power Company, started mining in the region that Colstrip began to grow once again. Construction of a new power plant began and soon thousands of people flocked to Colstrip for work. With a stable population and work, this little town became a city in 1999.
With just over 2,000 residents, Colstrip is a small town known for its hospitality and impressive green space. More than 20 parks dot the landscape of this small southern Montana town.
Today, most visitors come to Colstrip for business at the power plant and fall in love with the community and its history. The original schoolhouse, built in 1924, still stands at the center of town and welcomes visitors with tourist information and houses the local art gallery. Inside, historic photographs of Coldstip help tell the story of strip-mining in the region.
If the weather is nice and your itinerary allows, don’t forget to visit Castle Rock Lake and try your hand at catching walleye, pike and bass.
