Paradise Valley Scenic Drive

Paradise Valley has been carved by the Yellowstone River running through the land, separating the Gallatin Range to the west and the Absaroka Range to the east. Leading from Livingston to the Gardiner entrance to Yellowstone National Park, the valley offers a spectacular landscape and great fly fishing and recreational activities. The Crow Indians inhabited this area along the river for many years before the white man settled here. Today, celebrities such as Dennis Quaid, Peter Fonda, and others call it home much of the year.

After miners struck gold in Emigrant Gulch in 1862, a few small mining towns sprouted up along the valley, including Old Chico and Yellowstone City. By the late 1800s, coal mines exceeded gold mines, and much was extracted from this area. Nowadays, ranching dominates the valley’s economic activity.

Reprinted from “The Ultimate Montana Atlas and Travel Encyclopedia”