11 Things to Do in Shelby, MT: A Montana Hi-Line Road Trip

11. The Shelby Carousel: Montana’s Most Unique Rest Stop  

At the Carousel Rest Area in Shelby, you’ll find a lovingly restored 1936 merry-go-round featuring 900 lights and hand-painted animals.

The carousel was a true community labor of love, completed by Shelby residents in 2018.

It’s the perfect way to welcome road-trippers off the highway.

In November of 2016, Harry and Jeanne Benjamin pioneered the effort to carry out Harry’s dream of restoring the old carousel and making the building a hub for the Shelby community. 

The 1936 Allen Herschell Carousel opened to the public in 2018.

While the rest stop is open 24/7, the carousel operates intermittently, depending on demand and when volunteers are available.  Make sure to stop in to check it out, chat with the volunteers on duty about Shelby, and enjoy a free ice cream.

10. The Revitalized Roxy Theater

An Art Deco landmark has come back to life, and is now a vibrant hub for the Shelby community.

The Roxy Theater opened its doors on Main Street in 1936 as a 280-seat, single-screen movie house, and it quickly became Shelby’s go-to gathering spot. For decades, the Saturday matinees, first-run Westerns, and summer kids’ programs, the Roxy was a Hi-Line tradition.

After Roxy’s neon blade sign went dark in 2020, six community members formed the Roxy Theater Group Board of Trustees and partnered with the City of Shelby to buy the building and launch a volunteer-driven restoration.

Since then, the theater has installed a new digital projector, immersive surround-sound, and a fresh roof.

The iconic neon red sign is also fully restored.

In addition to movies, the Roxy also hosts special events.  Montana native (well, after moving from Greece to Billings) and Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame inductee Kostas brought stories from his impressive career back home to share.  

Among the song credits he talked about on stage at the Roxy:

• “Timber, I’m Fallin’ in Love” – Patty Loveless
• “The Lonely Side of Love” – Patty Loveless
• “Blame it on Your Heart” – Patty Loveless

9. The Prairie Peddler (National Register of Historic Places) 

The historic Rainbow Conoco Gas Station is now converted into a great local shop in Shelby called the Prairie Peddler.

I love the transformation of the building into a modern structure with a perfect purpose in town, because they’ve kept the bones of the historic gas station, which generations of drivers depended on for service.

Designed by Continental Oil Company (Conoco) architects and built in 1936, the station was built in “English cottage” style, intended to blend with both commercial and residential surroundings.

In 2025, the original Conoco station, which is on the National Register of Historic Places, was converted into the Prairie Peddler.

8. Marias Valley Golf & Country Club: Built by the Community

Tucked into the natural beauty of the Marias River Valley, Marias Valley Golf & Country Club offers 18 championship holes that consistently rank among Montana’s top public courses.  

Any level of golfer will appreciate the natural surroundings: the river bluffs that run adjacent to the course, and the ancient cottonwood trees that tower over the tees. There is a reason the Shelby golf community has loved this course for generations.

Depending on who you talk to, the beautiful Marias Valley Golf and Country Club is the evolutionary result of three, four, or five different golf courses in Shelby. All agree that there has been a course to play in Shelby since the early 1900s.

The original course had 9 holes, sand greens, and prairie fairways. It also was hot, dry, and windy.  In 1966, during a particularly windy men’s league night, a group of progressive golfers decided to find a new place to play.

These early visionaries, calling themselves “Green Grass,” looked into bringing water to their existing layout, but found out it was far too expensive to purchase water from the City to irrigate a golf course. The group collected $20 donations and started the process of building Marias Valley Golf and Country Club. 

With the first $400, a private golf corporation was created, and $100 shares were sold to anyone interested in being a member of the new course. When they opened a 9-hole course along the Marias River in 1970, it featured what was then the longest hole in Montana, at over 600 yards.

After a devastating 1975 flood covered much of the course in mud, it was donated to the City of Shelby and became a public course.

A local family donated land and labor for a second 9 holes, which were completed in 1997.

The club opened a new clubhouse in 2019 with a pro shop, full-service bar and restaurant.

Green Fees:

• 9 Holes18 HolesTwilight w/ Cart (after 6pm)
• Weekdays (Mon–Thu) $25 $40 $25
• Weekends (Fri–Sun & Holidays) $35 $55 $35

Age Appreciation Tuesdays

I love this promotion. Your age is your discount Tuesdays before 2:00pm.  If you’re 40, your green fee is 40% off!

7. Melissa’s (Made in Montana) Spirits & Wine

Owned by Melissa Flesch, a Shelby stylist of 28 years, Melissa’s Spirits & Wine showcases the best of Montana’s locally crafted spirits.

Right on Main Street, next to the Roxy Theater (which Melissa is also a big part of), you can browse your Montana-made options:

• handcrafted whiskeys distilled with Montana-grown grains
• crisp vodkas filtered through mountain waters
• gins infused with local botanicals 
• small-batch rums and liqueurs made from Montana crops

Melissa’s is also a great spot to pick up a souvenir from Big Sky Country.

Hours:

• Monday to Friday: 10:00am – 6:00pm
• Saturday: 10:00am – 4:00pm

6. The Griddle: A Breakfast Mainstay

Tammy Head has owned and operated The Griddle for 20+ years, buying the business after working in the same building for three previous owners.

With 50 years in the restaurant business, Tammy runs a true local hot spot for coffee, breakfast, and lunch.

Hours:

• Monday to Friday: 7:00am – 2:00pm
• Closed weekends

5. Hi-Line Pride at the Marias Fairgrounds

A Hi-Line summer staple since its debut in 1941, the Marias Fair fills the fairgrounds in Shelby with rodeos, a carnival midway, and generations of 4-H exhibitors from across the country.

Saturday night traditionally wraps with a fireworks show locals call a “must-see.” Remember: since the sun doesn’t set until well after 9:00pm in summer, the show usually kicks off around 9:45pm.

Off-season, the fairgrounds stay busy hosting overnight livestock boarding, winter vehicle storage, junior high and high school rodeos, weddings, tractor pulls, and the Shrine Circus.

The Shelby Area Chamber of Commerce hosted its extensive haunted house in the barn buildings, but I’m told the event has now moved into school buildings in town.  

There’s no better way to experience small-town Montana community spirit than the Marias Fair and its year-round calendar of events.

Annual highlights to plan around:

• 4th of July
• Fall Festival (September)
• Haunted Houses (October)
• Christmas Stroll (December)

4. Marias Museum of History & Art

Shelby is home to two museum buildings, which make up the Marias Museum of History and Art.  The exhibits chronicle Toole County’s heritage … from its homestead and railroad roots to the “fight of the century” (more on that below).

The museum also features an impressive collection of art from local and regional artists, with interactive displays and storytelling for visitors of all ages.

Location & Hours:

• 1129 1st St N, Shelby, MT 59474
• Monday–Friday: 10:00am – 5:00pm
• Saturday: 10:00am – 2:00pm

3. The Dash In: A True Drive-In Experience

The Dash In buzzes with customers nonstop.

Pull into the lot, and the staff comes to the window or right to your car window to take your order.

Grab burgers, sandwiches, and ice cream, and enjoy the picnic tables on the lawn in summer.

Bring cash to pay!

Dash In’s Hours:

• Daily: 11:00am – 8:00pm
• Closed Mondays
• Cash only

2. Champion’s Park: Where Dempsey Fought Gibbons

Few small towns can claim a heavyweight title fight in their history. Shelby can, and the backstory reads like a movie script!

In 1923, promoter Loy J. Molumby had a 40,000-seat, multi-tiered wood octagon arena built right in town.  At the time, it was billed as the biggest outdoor stadium in America.

Construction began just seven weeks before the fight, and the costs ballooned out of control.

The crews used more than a million feet of timber shipped in from Kalispell, laid additional rail track for the expected crowds, and built 20 hotels in six weeks.

In the end, 85 rows of seats circled the ring.

On July 4, 1923, champion Jack Dempsey defended his title against local favorite Tommy Gibbons in a grueling 15-round bout on a scorching 100-degree day.

Ticket sales fell far short of expectations.  Around 8,000 people paid the entry fee.  People couldn’t afford the price. A security officer, taunting the crowd, set off a rush through the barbed-wire perimeter.  Several thousand more fans poured in for free. Estimates of the total crowd inside the arena that day range from 12,000 to 20,000.

The fight itself delivered: Gibbons, who had trained in Shelby and entered to a hero’s ovation, survived all 15 rounds against the champion, opening a cut over Dempsey’s eye along the way.

Financially, the event was a bust for its promoters, but it remains one of the most colorful stories in boxing history.

The site, now known as Champion’s Field, has a history stretching back further.  In the spring of 1886, Blackfeet warriors raided the area to steal horses from a rival Sioux band, making the valley a battleground long before Dempsey and Gibbons ever stepped into the ring.

1. The Frontier: A Classic Montana Supper Club

File this under “Don’t judge a book by its cover.”

From the exterior, right on US Highway 2 east of Shelby, The Frontier might appear to be a spot you’d drive right by.  Pull in, and prepare for a feast!

Of all places, the classically-trained chef inside (trained in Portland) chose to settle here … lucky for people in town and across the Hi-Line.

The Frontier Bar & Supper Club has been a general store and restaurant for decades.  It’s been owned and operated by Loren and Michelle Billedeaux since May 2000. 

Loren makes everything from scratch. If the restaurant were located in Missoula or Bozeman, the prices would quadruple.

The dinner menu is extensive: hand-cut steaks (including a 14-ounce Frontier Special Ribeye and a bacon-wrapped Filet Mignon), homemade pasta dishes like Shrimp and Chicken Alfredo, and even fresh seafood when it’s available.

Friday and Saturday specials always feature Prime Rib.

Reservations aren’t required, but they’re recommended: (406) 432-3600.

Hours: Open daily after 3:00pm, Wednesday through Sunday