Paradise Valley is a major river valley of the

Yellowstone River The Yellowstone River is a tributary of the Missouri River, approximately long, in the Western United States. Considered the principal tributary of upper Missouri, via its own tributaries it drains an area with headwaters across the mountains a ...

in Southwestern

Montana Montana () is a state in the Mountain West division of the Western United States. It is bordered by Idaho to the west, North Dakota and South Dakota to the east, Wyoming to the south, and the Canadian provinces of Alberta, British Columb ...

just north of

Yellowstone National Park Yellowstone National Park is an American national park located in the western United States, largely in the northwest corner of Wyoming and extending into Montana and Idaho. It was established by the 42nd U.S. Congress with the Yellowst ...

in Park County. The valley is flanked by the

Absaroka Range The Absaroka Range ( or ) is a sub-range of the Rocky Mountains in the United States. The range stretches about across the Montana– Wyoming border, and at its widest, forming the eastern boundary of Yellowstone National Park along Paradise ...

on the east and the Gallatin Range on the west. The Paradise Valley is separated from the

Gallatin Valley Gallatin County is located in the U.S. state of Montana. With its county seat in Bozeman, it is the second-most populous county in Montana, with a population of 118,960 in the 2020 Census. The county's prominent geographical features are the ...

and Bozeman, MT, by the Bozeman Pass.

Interstate 90 Interstate 90 (I-90) is an east–west transcontinental freeway and the longest Interstate Highway in the United States at . It begins in Seattle, Washington, and travels through the Pacific Northwest, Mountain West, Great Plains, Midwest, and ...

passes through both communities. The valley lies predominantly along a north–south axis, and is anchored to the north by Livingston, Montana and to the south by Yankee Jim Canyon, approximately fifteen miles north of Gardiner, Montana and the north entrance of Yellowstone Park. US Highway 89 passes through the valley and into Yellowstone National Park. The valley was the route taken by early Yellowstone expeditions and the only recognized route into the park when it was established in 1872. The

flows through the valley and is noted for world-class

fly fishing Fly fishing is an angling method that uses a light-weight fishing lure, lure—called an artificial fly—to catch fish. The fly is Casting (fishing), cast using a fly rod, Fishing reel#Fly reel, reel, and specialized Fly line, weighted line. T ...

in the river and nearby spring creeks such as DePuy Spring Creek. The valley hosts other natural wonders such as several natural hot springs, including Chico Hot Springs near Emigrant, Montana, La Duke Hot Springs near Gardiner, and Hunter's Hot Springs near Livingston. Mount Cowen is the largest peak near the valley, at in elevation. It is located in the southern portion of the valley on the eastern side of the river within the Absaroka mountain range. The valley is winter range for elk, specifically The Paradise Valley Herd and The Northern Herd.

Notable residents

Al Agnew Al Agnew (born 1952) is an American naturalist painter known for his work capturing wildlife and scenery in realistic detail. "To view an Al Agnew original is to be given the gift of a moment suspended in time".Spies, Kathy (1992), "Al Agnew," Ar ...

, artist * Casey Anderson, grizzly bear specialist, animal magnet * John Banovich, artist/conservationist *

Richard Brautigan Richard Gary Brautigan (January 30, 1935 – c. September 16, 1984) was an American novelist, poet, and short story writer. A prolific writer, he wrote throughout his life and published ten novels, two collections of short stories, and four bo ...

, poet * Jeff Bridges, actor * Austen S. Cargill II, billionaire heir of

Cargill Cargill, Incorporated, is a privately held American global food corporation based in Minnetonka, Minnesota, and incorporated in Wilmington, Delaware. Founded in 1865, it is the largest privately held corporation in the United States in te ...

* Russell Chatham, American landscape artist, author, and fly fisherman * Al Feldstein, ''Mad'' magazine founder *

Peter Fonda Peter Henry Fonda (February 23, 1940 – August 16, 2019) was an American actor. He was the son of Henry Fonda, younger brother of Jane Fonda, and father of Bridget Fonda. He was a prominent figure in the counterculture of the 1960s. Fond ...

, actor/director * Eduardo Garcia, chef, outdoorsman, public speaker *

Margot Kidder Margaret Ruth Kidder (October 17, 1948 – May 13, 2018), known professionally as Margot Kidder, was a Canadian-American actress whose career spanned five decades. Her accolades include three Canadian Screen Awards and one Daytime Emmy A ...

, actress * Patrick Markey, producer *

John Mayer John Clayton Mayer ( ; born October 16, 1977) is an American singer, songwriter, and guitarist. Born and raised in Fairfield County, Connecticut, Mayer attended Berklee College of Music in Boston, but left and moved to Atlanta in 1997 wit ...

, singer-songwriter * Thomas McGuane, author * Ken Niles, radio announcer, actor *

Wendell Niles Wendell Niles (December 29, 1904 – March 28, 1994) was an announcer during the American golden age of radio and later in television. Early years Niles was born in Livingston, Montana and grew up there. He attended New York University and ...

, radio announcer, actor * Christopher Paolini, author *

Missi Pyle Missi Pyle (born November 16, 1972) is an American actress and singer. She has appeared in a number of successful films, including ''Galaxy Quest'' (1999), ''Big Fish'' (2003), ''Bringing Down the House'' (2003), '' Dodgeball: A True Underdog S ...

, actress

References

External links

* {{Park County, Montana Landforms of Park County, Montana River valleys of the United States