Unseen Missoula, a program of Heritage Missoula from the Downtown Missoula Partnership, offers education-based, guided walking tours to showcase Missoula’s unique history. The program aims to connect Missoulians and guests to our community, foster cultural identity, and promote heritage experiences for all.
Thousands of people have enjoyed the guided tours and connected to the program through social media since its inception. The season begins in April and continues through October. Experience Missoula’s heritage through these unique and exciting guided walking tours!
Public Tours Available April – October
Private Tours Available Year Round
Check website for dates and times.
Basements & Back Alleys
April – September
A holistic look at downtown life during Missoula’s transition from a marginal frontier town to a major local economic and cultural center from 1880 to 1920. The tour starts at Caras Park and lasts approximately 90 minutes. This tour is not ADA accessible and includes going up and down 5+ flights if stairs and elevators are not available in most buildings. Please refrain from bringing strollers. These less-accessible spaces remain hidden the majority of the year, so catch them while you can…
Carnal Enterprises
April – September
While most in Missoula are familiar with the name Mary Gleim or the brief history of Front Street, many of the district’s stories remain untold including Gleim’s and her businesses. Since its existence along the historic Mullan Road, Front Street has been dubbed with the title of Missoula’s ‘red light district’ implicating that district remained a place of vice, sin, and corruption influenced by the radical reformist religious movements of the late 19th century. However, violence and addiction found throughout the entirety of the American West remain only a sliver of the true story.
From 1889-1917, West Front and Main Streets became home to a vibrant ‘restricted’ community of working women, Chinese laborers, African American soldiers, and immigrants who built the environment we as Missoulians have come to love today. This tour discusses the district through the historical lenses of sex, race, class, and occupation in order to create a broader social understanding against the backdrop of the remaining built environment.
This 1-hour tour leaves from the front of The Wilma. It covers about 5 city blocks.
ADA accessible.
Hotels & Hooligans
April – September
Daily life and culture in Missoula during the city’s railroad boom—the Hotels and Hooligans tour looks at how the average Missoulian (whether long-time or just passing through) lived and recreated. Scandals and other sketchiness from the Courthouse to the seedy underbelly of Missoula’s railroad hotel district will also be revealed!
Lower Rattlesnake & Greenough Park
April – September
Come along on this tour to explore the story of Greenough Park, from the Greenough family (and their massive mansion) who donated the land, to the controversies over park management, including the park’s infamous “bear cage.” From Greenough, we’ll travel to the sites of Native American encampments, and old streetcar crossings, then explore the historic Lower Rattlesnake neighborhood before ending at the old Missoula cemetery and Chinese burial grounds.
This walking tour takes about two hours and is entirely outdoors. Bring appropriate clothing and water. The tour route is about 1.2 miles long.
Meet at the Greenough Park LOWER PARKING LOT lot at 1011 Monroe St. The tour ends at the Mount Jumbo trailhead at the end of Cherry St.
Screams & Spirits
October/dusk
Join us for some frights on this limited fright-time tour… if you dare!
Enjoy a chilling exploration into Missoula’s haunted history, Spirits delves into the history defined by forgotten cemeteries, abandoned buildings, and even murder.. This walking tour starts in front of First Interstate Bank and takes approximately 90 minutes. As this is a Halloween tour, it’s recommended to dress warmly for the cool evening weather (costumes are optional but always welcome!), with comfortable walking shoes as this tour covers about 5 city blocks. This tour is recommended for 12 years and older.
