University of Montana in 2 Days: A Missoula College Visit Fly-In Trip
A parent-first plan for visiting the University of Montana in Missoula: how UM's two-hour campus visit works and where to sign up, visitor parking in front of the Gilkey Building, the riverside Edgewater about 2 minutes from campus plus Mid-range and Budget options, drive times from Missoula Montana Airport and Spokane, the free spectrUM Discovery Area and A Carousel for Missoula for siblings, and Missoula weather by season, every fact sourced and checked Oct 31, 2026.
University (Main) Hall on the University of Montana campus, with Mount Sentinel behind (August 2010). Photo: Edward Blake · CC BY 2.0 · Wikimedia Commons · resized and cropped
Last checked Oct 31, 2026. Every fact comes from the pages listed in Sources at the bottom. Some hotel and tour links are affiliate links (disclosure).
The short version
Trip at a glance
School
University of Montana (UM, Missoula, MT)
Days
2 days: fly into Missoula, then a UM campus visit the next day.
Fly into
Missoula Montana Airport (MSO), about 13 minutes from campus with no traffic. Spokane International (GEG) is about 3 hours 43 minutes away by car.
Best base
Edgewater Missoula, Tapestry Collection by Hilton, on the Clark Fork River about a 2-minute drive (or 14-minute walk) to the Admissions visitor parking.
Car or no car
Optional. The Edgewater and the Comfort Inn list free airport shuttles, and the four hotels here are a 14- to 19-minute walk from the Gilkey Building.
Registration
Schedule a Campus Visit through UM's visit portal: pick a date, then choose "Campus Visit."
1. Who this guide is for
This plan is for parents bringing a high schooler, and maybe younger siblings, to see the University of Montana in Missoula, home of the Grizzlies.
UM's standard campus visit is a two-hour experience: a 30-minute information session with an undergraduate admissions counselor, then a 90-minute walking tour led by a Grizzly Ambassador.
Why this order
Day 1: fly into Missoula Montana Airport and get to a hotel by the Clark Fork River in about 12 to 13 minutes, with no traffic.
Day 2: check in at the Admissions Office in the Gilkey Building for UM's information session and walking tour.
With extra time, the free spectrUM Discovery Area and A Carousel for Missoula are downtown, a few minutes' drive from campus.
Plan ahead: registration and timing
Schedule your visit through UM's visit portal: pick a date, then choose "Campus Visit."
Interested in a specific program or activity? You can request meetings with academic departments or campus organizations; for the Davidson Honors College, note your interest on the Campus Visit form.
The Admissions Office doesn't offer campus tours over Thanksgiving (Wednesday to Friday) or the winter holiday (Dec. 21, 2026 to Jan. 3, 2027), among other listed holidays.
Bringing a group? Use UM's group visit request. Can't travel yet? Start with the virtual tour, or grab a Self-Guided Tour pamphlet at the Admissions Office if your dates don't line up with a tour.
Tour availability varies by season.
Winters are cold and snowy: December averages about 31°F highs and 18°F lows at Missoula International Airport, with about 11.6 inches of snow.
Summers are warm and dry: July averages about 85°F highs and 52°F lows with under an inch of rain.
Fall cools quickly for walking campus: September averages about 73°F highs, October about 56°F and November about 40°F.
Check the Grizzlies schedule before you book if you'd like to catch a game, and note that home football weekends bring their own parking plan.
2. The suggested 2-day plan
Drive and walk times are no-traffic estimates from OpenStreetMap routing, with addresses geocoded by OpenStreetMap Nominatim. Campus times are to the Admissions Visitor Parking in front of the Gilkey Building, located from UM's campus map.
We list drive times only; check which airlines serve each airport for your dates. Missoula Montana Airport (MSO) is about 13 minutes (about 8 miles) from campus, and Spokane International (GEG) about 3 hours 43 minutes (about 205 miles), with no traffic.
Head for the Gilkey Building, just off Arthur Avenue on the east side of campus. Visitor parking is directly in front of the building; check in with the Admissions Office to get your parking pass and start your visit.
The visit runs about two hours: a 30-minute information session, then a 90-minute walking tour with a Grizzly Ambassador.
Flying out of Missoula the same day? Allow about 13 minutes from campus to the airport with no traffic, plus time to return the car.
3. Campus by campus
University (Main) Hall on the University of Montana campus, with Mount Sentinel behind (August 2010). Photo: Edward Blake · CC BY 2.0 · Wikimedia Commons · resized and cropped
Campus visits start at the Admissions Office in the Gilkey Building, 32 Campus Drive, just off Arthur Avenue on the east side of campus.
The standard visit is a 30-minute information session with an admissions counselor followed by a 90-minute walking tour led by a Grizzly Ambassador.
Visitor parking
Visitor parking is directly in front of the Gilkey Building; check in with the Admissions Office to receive your parking pass.
Elsewhere on campus, visitors pay for hourly or daily parking (including through the Passport app). UM notes campus parking is often hard to find and that visitors may also park at the Dornblaser/Lewis and Clark Park & Ride.
Getting there
Campus is about 13 minutes by car from Missoula Montana Airport with no traffic, and a 2- to 3-minute drive or 14- to 19-minute walk from the hotels here.
What to know
Missed the tour times? Pick up a Self-Guided Tour pamphlet at the Admissions Office and visit the 14 locations highlighted on campus tours; the route is also on UM's digital map.
Already admitted? UM offers Admitted Student Information Sessions on Monday, Wednesday and Friday mornings from November through June; choose them through the same visit link.
4. Where to stay: Missoula hotels a few minutes from campus
Price tiers (Budget, Mid-range, Upscale) follow each hotel's star class on Expedia. Rates vary by date, so check your dates on Expedia.
Hotel · Our pickMid-range
Edgewater Missoula, Tapestry Collection by Hilton
100 Madison Street, Missoula, MT 59802
Why here
It's about a 2-minute drive or 14-minute walk to the Admissions visitor parking, with no traffic.
Expedia lists this hotel as a 3.5-star property, so we place it in the Mid-range tier. Rates vary by date, so check your dates on Expedia.
Good to know
Expedia lists a free roundtrip airport shuttle, the on-site FINN restaurant (breakfast through dinner), a bar, self-parking (fee) and pet-friendly rooms (fee). The minimum check-in age is 18. Confirm details on the Expedia listing before you book.
Expedia lists this hotel as a 3-star property, so we place it in the Mid-range tier. Rates vary by date, so check your dates on Expedia.
It's downtown, about a 3-minute drive or 18-minute walk to the Admissions visitor parking with no traffic.
Good to know
Expedia lists a free full breakfast, an indoor pool, a bar, valet parking (fee) and pet-friendly rooms (fee). The minimum check-in age is 21. Confirm details on the Expedia listing before you book.
Expedia lists this hotel as a 2.5-star property, so we place it in the Budget tier. Rates vary by date, so check your dates on Expedia.
It's about a 3-minute drive or 19-minute walk to the Admissions visitor parking with no traffic.
Good to know
Expedia lists a free breakfast buffet, a free roundtrip airport shuttle, a 24-hour gym, free self-parking and pet-friendly rooms in specific rooms only (fee). The minimum check-in age is 21. Confirm details on the Expedia listing before you book.
Expedia lists this hotel as a 2-star property, so we place it in the Budget tier. Rates vary by date, so check your dates on Expedia.
It's on the Clark Fork about a 2-minute drive or 15-minute walk to the Admissions visitor parking with no traffic.
Good to know
Expedia lists free self-parking and free WiFi; pets aren't allowed. The minimum check-in age is 21. Confirm details on the Expedia listing before you book.
Missoula has no 4-star hotels on Expedia, so there's no Upscale pick. All four hotels here are a 14- to 19-minute walk from the Gilkey Building, and the Edgewater and Comfort Inn list free airport shuttles, so you can skip the rental car if you stay put.
5. Meals between tours
Hours change, so check before you go.
At the hotels
The Residence Inn and Comfort Inn include a free breakfast, and the Edgewater has the FINN restaurant on site serving breakfast, brunch, lunch and dinner.
6. Things for siblings along the route
With siblings
spectrUM Discovery Area
455 East Main Street (Missoula Public Library, 2nd floor), Missoula, MT 59802
The University of Montana's hands-on science museum, on the second floor of the Missoula Public Library. Admission is free; open Tuesday to Saturday, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., with free drop-in activities at the Discovery Bench from 2 to 6 p.m. and free 2-hour parking in the building lot. About 2 minutes from campus by car.
101 Carousel Drive, Caras Park, Missoula, MT 59802
One of the first fully hand-carved carousels built in the United States since the Great Depression, in downtown's Caras Park, with the Dragon Hollow play area next door. Admission is free and rides are a small per-ride fee; current hours are 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. About 3 minutes from campus by car or a 17-minute walk from the Edgewater.
Head for the Gilkey Building just off Arthur Avenue, park in the visitor spaces in front, and pick up your parking pass when you check in at Admissions.
Flying in and out
Missoula Montana Airport (MSO) is about 12 to 13 minutes from the hotels and campus with no traffic. Spokane International (GEG) is about 3 hours 43 minutes away by car.
Weather by season (1991–2020 NOAA normals: Missoula International Airport)
Spring: March averages about 48°F highs and 27°F lows, April about 56°F/32°F and May about 66°F/40°F.
Summer: June averages about 73°F/46°F and is the wettest month at about 2.1 inches; July averages about 85°F/52°F and August about 84°F/50°F.
Fall: September averages about 73°F/42°F, October about 56°F/32°F and November about 40°F/25°F.
Winter: December averages about 31°F/18°F, January about 32°F/18°F and February about 37°F/21°F; December is the snowiest month at about 11.6 inches.
Parent checklist
Schedule a Campus Visit on UM's visit portal (and request any department or Davidson Honors College meeting).
Book flights into Missoula (or Spokane) and decide whether you need a rental car.
Book the Edgewater, the Residence Inn, the Comfort Inn or Goldsmith's in Missoula.
Plan to park in front of the Gilkey Building and get your pass at Admissions check-in.
After each visit, take five minutes to jot down what stood out to your student.
8. Student-athlete recruiting visits
For families whose student hopes to play a college sport. Rules below are the NCAA's; each school's links were checked Oct 26, 2026.
Coaches arrange the recruiting part of a visit, not the admissions office. The tour sign-ups in this guide are for the regular family visit. An official (school-paid) visit is offered by the school, and contact with coaches follows NCAA rules that vary by division, sport and grade level.
Start with your sport's questionnaire, then email the coaches. The NCAA suggests emailing coaches with your achievements, highlight videos and interest in their program, including your name, position, NCAA ID and graduation year.
1 Division I
Athletics
University of Montana
NCAA Division I Big Sky Conference
RecruitingWe found no department-wide recruiting page. Look for a questionnaire on your sport's team page at the athletics site ↗, or email the coaches.
Unofficial visit: any campus visit you or your family pay for. You can take as many as you like; in Divisions I and II each one has to come after the first permissible date for your sport.
Official visit: a visit paid for by the school. Each school can offer your student only one. Before a Division I official visit, your student must be registered with the NCAA Eligibility Center, be on the school's institutional request list, and the school must have their high school transcripts.
Division I (University of Montana): on an official visit the school can pay for travel for the student and up to two family members, lodging, up to three meals a day for the student and up to four family members, and up to $60 a person in entertainment, including five home-game tickets. On an unofficial visit there are no free meals, but the school can give up to three home-game tickets. Division I uses recruiting calendars with contact, evaluation, quiet and dead periods; in a dead period, no in-person contact and no visits.
Rules change. Confirm with the coach, or check the NCAA's recruiting page and recruiting calendars, before you plan dates.
Planning around the season
Check each school's athletics schedule (linked above) before you pick dates, so a coach meeting doesn't land on a road trip or game day for your sport.
Our recommendation, not a school rule: ask the coach whether they can line up an admissions session or tour around your meeting. If not, book the regular family tour yourself through the official sign-up links in this guide, and leave time between the two.
Add your dates and how you're getting there, and we'll pull this guide into one plan: tour sign-up links, the hotel base, parking or airport notes, the route and meals.
Coming soon
Planning more college trips?
Visit-season reminders and new trip guides from College Visit Guides. Newsletter coming soon.
Sources
All checked Oct 31, 2026. Tour schedules change constantly, so always confirm on each school's official sign-up page. Photo credits are under each photo and on our About page.
Expedia listing: Edgewater Missoula, Tapestry Collection by Hilton (star class, amenities and policies, checked 2026-10-31) (not linked: https://www.expedia.com/Missoula-Hotels-Edgewater-Missoula.h25334.Hotel-Information)
Expedia listing: Residence Inn by Marriott Missoula Downtown (star class, amenities and policies, checked 2026-10-31) (not linked: https://www.expedia.com/Missoula-Hotels-Residence-Inn-By-Marriott-Missoula-Downtown.h33291172.Hotel-Information)
Expedia listing: Comfort Inn Missoula near University (star class, amenities and policies, checked 2026-10-31) (not linked: https://www.expedia.com/Missoula-Hotels-Comfort-Inn-University.h41425.Hotel-Information)
Expedia listing: Goldsmith's Riverfront Inn (star class, amenities and policies, checked 2026-10-31) (not linked: https://www.expedia.com/Missoula-Hotels-Goldsmiths-Riverfront-Inn.h93156071.Hotel-Information)
