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Museum of the Mountain West

Museum of the Mountain West

Museum of the Mountain West
5
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  • sabinekudyba
    Frankfurt (Oder), Germany6 contributions
    5.0 of 5 bubbles
    Great museum visit. Definitely worth a visit.
    On our way back from the Black Canyon we noticed this amazing museum. Good thing we stopped and payed it a visit. It is simply overwhelming what an amount of things and buildings the founder Richard collected over the years. Well preserved and presented. It really showes the every day life of former Wild West. Plan at least 2 hours, since there are so many details to look at.
    Visited May 2024
    Traveled as a couple
    Written May 14, 2024
  • ffmisty
    Amalfi Coast, Italy8 contributions
    5.0 of 5 bubbles
    Hidden gem in Cortez
    We just happened to stop by after driving by a few times. So glad we did. A very warm welcome, a very interesting group of historical western buildings. Real history and movie history both represented. Then a museum of western and local artifacts. I would highly recommend stopping in. The owners, their dog Cash and counter staff were very friendly too.
    Visited July 2024
    Traveled with family
    Written July 13, 2024
  • Patricia Y
    1 contribution
    5.0 of 5 bubbles
    Worth the stop!
    This museum is awesome. It has about 12 authentic houses/building that you can peak into and imagine life in the mid1800s to early 1940s? I loved the Montgomery Wards House - if you live in CA, you see the bones of some of the older homes in the area. If you are a fan of Laura Ingalls/Little House books, this place makes the stories come alive - the log cabin that Pa build, when you see them up close - you know know why they had to fill inbetween the logs with mud. Or the schoolhouse, with the inner room and outer room. We did a rafting trip in Gunnison in the morning, and I had to drive an hour extra to get to this museum. We only had a half an hour, but the museum curator was so nice and friendly. She made us feel like VIPs as she highlighted the must-sees and even gave us extra time to see the indoor exhibits. My teen daughter enjoyed this visit as well. Hint: don't get scared when you see the dummies of people in some of the houses. We thought they were real at first and screamed when we first saw them. It made my daughter so paranoid that when talking to a live woman sitting in the museum shop, she asked "is she real?" haha.
    Visited August 2024
    Traveled with family
    Written August 3, 2024
  • Kate_12_fan
    Albany, New York20 contributions
    5.0 of 5 bubbles
    Wonderful museum
    We stopped at the museum on a whim. We were very pleasantly surprised at how enjoyable the museum was. There are interesting buildings to look in. The main building has storefronts built inside and all the stores have old items on display. The staff were very friendly and knowledgeable. We didn’t have time for the tour. We did it on our own using the brochure.
    Visited September 2024
    Traveled as a couple
    Written September 7, 2024
  • Reina K
    1 contribution
    5.0 of 5 bubbles
    Must-see in Montrose / Very cool artifacts & history here
    Must-see in Montrose! This museum has a warm & friendly staff, who are very knowledgeable and happy to share information & history regarding the artifacts and time period. The museum is extremely well put together & really feels like you’re back in time. Highly recommend checking it out!
    Visited September 2024
    Traveled solo
    Written September 20, 2024
These reviews are the subjective opinion of Tripadvisor members and not of TripAdvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews.

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Detailed Reviews: Reviews ordered by recency and descriptiveness of user-identified themes such as wait time, length of visit, general tips, and location information.

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5.0
5.0 of 5 bubbles412 reviews
Excellent
353
Very good
38
Average
9
Poor
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Terrible
9

Mike T
Apple Valley, CA2 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Nov 2020 • Friends
My friend and I were traveling from California to Indiana, stopping at as many national parks as possible along the way. We happened by the Museum of the Mountain West while driving through and were absolutely blown away by the collection Mr.Fike has acquired over the years. It felt as though we stepped back in time. Every piece in the museum has a story. Mr.Fike and his staff are extremely friendly and proud of the things they have on display. Thank you for preserving this history and for sharing it with the world. This is a must do if you’re in the area. We were there for almost three hours and could have easily stayed for many more, so much to see. Thank you Mr.Fike and your amazing staff and volunteers for an amazing experience!
Written November 11, 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

BarryY
Los Angeles, CA3 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Aug 2020
This is a true hidden gem! We met the founder, a professional archaeologist, who has lovingly assembled a vast collection of over half a million artifacts artfully and creatively displayed. You will get a great feel of daily life in the mountain West over the past 200 years. Allow 2 hours for the great tour.
Written August 18, 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Stacey L
10 contributions
4.0 of 5 bubbles
Nov 2021 • Family
This place was very neat. You can tell the founder of this museum has a passion for preserving the old west! Everything was so well built and taken care of. The guided tour is a MUST. Some of the artifacts they had were greatly preserved, other things they had to clean up and restore. Either way, they all tell an amazing story! My favorite was the Jail house, The white picket fence house, and the Lutheran Church at the end of "town".

However, not a tour small children should go on. I'd say minimum of 6-7 years, younger kids/toddlers will have a hard time. My little one is 3 and she wanted to touch everything and run around. It was difficult for her and I (especially) to fully enjoy the museum. The artifacts are old and fragile, and some, irreplaceable. Having something broken or damaged by a curious toddler would make for a bad tour all around.

That's the only reason why I gave it 4/5 stars.
Written November 4, 2021
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

CM
1 contribution
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Jul 2022 • Family
This is one of the best museums I have ever been to in my entire life. It is one thing to see a museum that has interesting exhibits but to see the exhibit in the context of the time period is much more interesting.

Our tour guide was so excellent that the two hours we spent there hardly felt like we were there long enough.

If you are interested in history this is an excellent place for you to come. Even my kids thought this was a great museum and enjoyed the varied items that were displayed.

I would recommend at least an extra hour after the tour to go back and hit highlights. Unfortunately we had to continue on our journey. If we get back this way we will definitely make a point to stop here again!
Written July 25, 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Elizabeth
Philadelphia, PA22 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Jun 2023 • Family
If you’re on the fence about visiting this museum, *definitely* do it, and *definitely* get the guided tour! This was an unexpectedly fantastic and amazing museum! Our family really enjoyed our time here. I would 100% recommend getting the guided tour for a few more dollars - you learn so much more and go in many of the buildings you can’t go in on a self-guided tour. Jim was SO knowledgeable and we went early in the morning (about 8:30/9am on a Wednesday) and ended up having a private tour for about 1.5 hours. Jim knows SO much about everything and had an answer for every single one of our many questions about the artifacts. I thought this was going to be more of a “road side attraction” type place, but it turns out Mr. Fike, the collector/curator of all of the items, is an actual renowned archaeologist and everything is historically accurate and original. It’s like stepping back in time and seeing things exactly how they were in the late 1800s. Plan on spending at least two hours here for the guided tour + time after to walk around and see the additional buildings. If you like to read everything and are interested in history, you might want to spend more time than that - there is a lot to see!
Written July 11, 2023
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

gowestyoungman
Frisco, TX47 contributions
4.0 of 5 bubbles
Jul 2020
Amazing collection but slow guided tour. We started out fascinated and ended up ready to leave before the finish. This place needs too find a way to allow self-paced tours. Our host was great, but he had limited knowledge of the collection and spent way too much time locking an unlocking rooms while fumbling with a ring of fifty keys. This could be an amazing attraction with a little effort made towards understanding what people want to see and what the attention span of a visitor is likely to be,
Written July 9, 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

sbcousa
Monument, CO24 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Dec 2022
To say that this is a museum would be an understatement - This is actually a magical place that would transport you back in time. Each building has a story and our guide Steve did a wonderful job of not only telling us the history behind them but also how they were acquired and some of them have actually featured in the movies. The place is full of interesting artifacts, most of them donated by the founder Richard Fike, and we had the pleasure of meeting him as well during our visit and learning about the effort he has put in to build the museum . The sophistication behind some of the musical instruments and household items from more than 100 years ago at display is simply amazing and am sure kids who have been born with iPhone in their hands can learn a lot about the things that they would never see otherwise. It does take time to admire the collection at display and the time is well spent.
Written December 22, 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

swt754
Modesto, CA12 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
May 2022 • Friends
Such a great tour! Sooooo much to see and lots of extremely interesting items! HUGE collection! I have to recommend the guided tour because you get so much more information and the best stories. Our guide “Jim” was an absolute gem & his stories were so fantastic. Met the curator after the tour and Mr. Fike was very nice and I wish I would have had more time to hear more stories. I could have spent a whole day there just asking questions, listening to stories, and looking around. Thnx SO much for such a great tour!
Written May 20, 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

skco_01
Evergreen, CO7 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Jun 2022 • Couples
Hands down the best museum I have ever been to. A beautifully and expertly curated collection. The staff is extremely knowledgeable and seem to enjoy talking about not only the piece in the museum and what they are, but the specific history of certain items and where they came from. If you are in Montrose or the surrounding areas this is an absolutely must (especially if it’s a Saturday and can get Coulee as your tour guide). Absolutely will be coming back to this place in the future.
Written June 12, 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Lori G
7 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Jul 2023 • Family
A wonderful fun day looking back in time. As you tour the grounds you can use the QR codes and watch Mr. Fikes videos giving you a tour explaining facts about each building and some of the contents within. They have an amazing collection of buildings and artifacts mostly donated to the museum. The people are all so friendly and happy to share their knowledge and stories and They are all volunteers! That's awesome! We went to Montrose and made the 7-hour drive specifically to see this Museum and I'm so glad we did. While you're there check out the gift shop where Mr. Richard Fike has his book The Long Ride South available. He even signed my copy for me.
Written July 10, 2023
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

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Museum of the Mountain West - All You Need to Know BEFORE You Go (2024)

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