Debra Magpie Earling, Director
Liberal Arts 215
(406) 243-4462
debra.earling@mso.umt.edu
Missoula
We are a town of rivers: the Clark Fork, Blackfoot and Bitterroot meet here. Biking and hiking trails cross the valley and fan out into the mountains that circle the city. There's a designated Wilderness Area less than 5 miles from downtown, a ski resort less than 15 miles.
Average temperatures range from 32 to 84 degrees, so it's not as cold here as people think. Nicknamed "the Garden City," Missoula has community farms and a lot of backyard gardens. The University commons and city restaurants serve locally-grown, gourmet food.
Big enough to offer all the comforts of 21st century living (population 70,000), but small enough to feel neighborly, Missoula is a city of young, educated people. The majority of our population falls between the ages 25 and 34. Nineteen percent of adults in Missoula have a graduate or professional degree.
Other perks: we have no sales tax, the bass player for Pearl Jam kicks it at our local skateboard park, if you throw a stone in Missoula you'll hit a famous writer.
Every few months a new "best of" list comes out ranking our town among the finest living communities in the nation. Recently, Liveability.com named Missoula one of the best college towns in America. It's a great place to live, work, play and write.

- Visiting Missoula
- Student Life at UM
- 406 Writers Workshop
- Clay Studio of Missoula
- Fact & Fiction Bookstore
- Missoula
- Missoula Cultural Council
- Missoula Downtown Association
- Missoula Events Calendar
- Missoula Art Museum
- Missoula Independent: Western Montana's Weekly Journal of People, Politics & Culture
- Missoula Public Library
- Missoula Writing Collaborative
- Missoulian
- Montana Festival of the Book
- Rocky Mountain School of Photography / Gallery Saintonge
- Shakespeare & Company Bookstore
- The Write Question / Blog, hosted by Cherie Newman