The largest town along eastern US-2, Havre (pop. 9,621; HAV-ver) was founded by the Great Northern Railroad and named, for no good reason, after the French port Le Havre, though you’d never tell by the pronunciation. Havre retains more than a little of its Wild West feel and has enough unusual attractions to merit an extended stop. West of town is a large area of eroded badlands, and just north of US-2, behind the Holiday Village Shopping Center, is Wahkpa Chu’gn Archaeological Site (daily May–Sept.; $6). Dating back to prehistoric times, the area has been used by many cultures, including Plains Indian tribes, to drive bison to their deaths. Many of the artifacts recovered from the area are displayed inside nearby H. Earl Clack Memorial Museum (daily May–Sept.; donations), which manages the site.
The town itself is engaging and rowdy. Numerous poker clubs (everything has “casino” tacked onto it) and cowboy bars line the compact downtown area, underneath which is a defunct underground world of illicit bordellos and opium dens—all part of the whiskey trail that flourished a century ago and again during Prohibition, when bathtub gin—copious quantities from Canada, a stone’s throw north—was run through. Tours ($10) are available through Havre Beneath the Streets at 120 3rd Avenue, next door to Norman’s Ranch Wear.
Along 1st Street (US-2) you’ll find all the usual fast-food suspects, and Chinese at Canton Restaurant (406/265-6666), at 439 W. 1st Street. There’s also the smaller, fresher Lunch Box deli/café (406/265-6588) at 213 3rd Avenue. For a place to stay, the plushest of Havre’s handful of motels is the Great Northern Inn ($60 and up; 406/265-4200), at 1345 1st Street.
For further listings or other information, contact the chamber of commerce (406/265-4383), right downtown at 518 1st Street.
