Montana Has the 'Most Remote Town' in the Lower 48

Montana encompasses 93 million acres.

We’re the 4th largest state with vast prairies and rugged mountains spread over 147,040 square miles of land. Locals share frustration with newcomers moving to the Treasure State, and despite hordes of out-of-staters moving in, Montana remains sparsely populated in most of the state. For example: Glasgow, MT is named the most remote town in the United States (excluding Alaska).

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Glasgow, MT, population 3,200 is far away from everything.

Certainly, a handful of unincorporated hovels may be more isolated than Glasgow. Still, regarding a town – with a post office – located farthest from a city of 75,000 or more, Glasgow takes the title as most remote in the United States.

It’s about 4.5 hours from Glasgow to the larger cities like Billings, Great Falls, or Minot, ND. If you’ve got your passport, it’s a faster drive from Glasgow to Regina, Saskatchewan at just under 4 hours. TheTravel.com described Glasgow’s location as “rural America’s middle of nowhere.”

Get away from it all in Glasgow.

If that’s not their slogan, perhaps it should be. Established as a railroad town, Glasgow’s population boomed during the Cold War construction of Glasgow Air Force Base and the now (mostly) ghost town of nearby St. Marie. The base was decommissioned in 1976.

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The city seems to embrace its title of the most remote town. On a city map shared by the Glasgow Chamber, verbiage reads “Welcome to the Middle of Nowhere!”

You’re not alone in Glasgow.

Sure, you’re four-and-a-half hours from any airport that can land a commercial jet, but it’s not like Glasgow is completely off-grid. There is a 25-bed hospital for routine medical care, they have an Albertson’s grocery store, hardware stores, a McDonald’s, and great local bars and restaurants, like Montana-famous Eugene’s Pizza.

Visit the roads less traveled in Montana.

For visitors looking for a “real” Montana experience, I’d encourage you to spend some time in places that aren’t Bozeman, Whitefish, Missoula, or Billings.

Check out the small communities around the Hi-Line or eastern Montana if you’d like to see what most of Montana was like 30 years ago. Progress moves slower in isolated places like Glasgow. That’s not necessarily a bad thing.