Deer Lodge

Deer Lodge is the county seat of Powell County, Montana. More museums and historical collections can be found here than in any other town in the Northwest.

Deer Lodge’s 1,500-acre Grant-Kohrs Ranch National Historic Site illustrates the development of the northern plains cattle industry from the 1850s to recent times. This was the headquarters of one of the largest and best known 19th-century range ranches in the country.

Deer Lodge was also once an important railroad town, serving as a division headquarters for the Chicago, Milwaukee, St. Paul and Pacific Railroad (“the Milwaukee Road”) before the railroad’s local abandonment in 1980.

Local Attractions

Grant-Kohrs Ranch National Historic Site

It's kids and cattle - horses and history and it's a piece of the American frontier! Settled in the 1860s by Johnny Grant, it became the headquarters of cattle baron Conrad Kohr's 10-million-acre empire. The ranch preserves the history of the open range era of the American West and commemorates the role of the cowboy and cattlemen in American history.

Things to Do

Ranger Programs

• Repair Shop
• Chuckwagon Talk
• Cowboy Talk
• Museum Collection Tour
• Evening at the Ranch
• Ranger and a Movie

Guided Tours

Ranch House Tour

Get to know the pioneer families who made this house their home. Johnny Grant built the ranch house in 1862 and it was declared by an article in The Montana Post as “by long odds, the finest in Montana.” Conrad Kohrs purchased the house in 1866 and in 1890, he added the brick addition with many innovative amenities.

Tickets Required - Tickets are free & available at the visitor center on the day of your visit. The last tour begins at 3:30 PM.

Wagon Tour

Feel the power of the draft horses as they lean into the harness. Hear the clopping of hooves as the team digs into the hard earth. Smell the sweat off the horses backs on the cool breeze.

Immerse yourself into the ranch, beyond the buildings, as you travel at a slower pace. Most of ranching still takes place out in the open spaces, just like during the Open Range Era. Experience the landscape, see the first irrigation ditch dug to carry water to the crops, and pass by haying equipment from a time when horsepower was the main kind of power on this unique look at Grant-Kohrs Ranch.

Offered Monday afternoons from 1:00 pm - 3:30 pm, June 22nd through September 7th. No tickets or reservations are required.

Explore Historic Buildings

Walk through the bunkhouse and see how the cowboys lived. Breathe in the history, as the distinct smell of hay, horses and leather greet you in the log Draft Horse Barn, that has been in use since 1870. Discover the large collection of horse-drawn vehicles in the Thoroughbred Barn, which was built in 1883 as a stable. These are just a few of the buildings you will see at the ranch.