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Trip from Big Timber, MT to Sourdough, MT

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Compiled and reviewed by the US Trip Planner planning team at COD Solutions Oy · Last reviewed Oct 19, 2026 · Editorial standards

Drive Time

21m

Distance

9.3 mi

15 km

Drive Score

6/10

Good drive

Same Day?

Yes, doable

Fuel Cost

$1

one way

EV Charging

Unknown

Best Time to Leave

Save up to 6 min
4 AM
0h 19m ★
6 AM
0h 21m
8 AM
0h 25m
10 AM
0h 22m
12 PM
0h 22m
3 PM
0h 23m
5 PM
0h 25m
8 PM
0h 20m

Estimated drive times based on typical traffic patterns. Actual times may vary with weather, construction, and real-time conditions.

Best Time
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city in and county seat of Sweet Grass County, Montana, United States

Big Timber, MT

Wikimedia Commons

Downtown Sourdough, MT, MT

Sourdough, MT

Feyza Daştan

Trip Overview

Big Timber, MT to Sourdough, MT is 9.3 miles and takes about 21 minutes via Rapelje Road, East 1st Avenue, and Howie Road, with a fuel budget near $2 and enough daylight to finish in a day. This short hop stays within the Mountain West region, specifically in Montana. The drive is primarily on surface roads, making it a straightforward and quick connection between these two points. It's a practical route for local travel or as a brief segment within a larger Montana road trip, offering a taste of the state's expansive landscapes without a significant time commitment.

Main Roads

Road Distance Duration
Rapelje Road 5.5 mi 13m
Howie Road 2 mi 3m
East 1st Avenue 1.7 mi 3m
Sourdough Road <0.1 mi <1m
McLeod Street <0.1 mi <1m
Longest stretch: Rapelje Road — 5.5 mi, about 13m

Turn-by-Turn Driving Directions

Step-by-step road directions between Big Timber, MT and Sourdough, MT.

1

Start on McLeod Street

16 ft · 6 sec · McLeod Street
2

Turn left onto I 90 Business; US 191

0.2 mi · 38 sec · East 1st Avenue
3

Keep slight left at fork onto US 191

1.5 mi · 2 min · East 1st Avenue
4

Turn right onto MT 478

2.0 mi · 3 min · Howie Road
5

Turn left onto MT 478

5.5 mi · 13 min · Rapelje Road
6

Turn left onto Sourdough Road

126 ft · 5 sec · Sourdough Road
7

Arrive at destination

Sourdough Road

Heads-up: tricky spots

5 of 5

5 decision points cluster between mile 0 and 9.3 — GPS handles the exact turns, but know they're coming. Your lane choice matters more than the turn itself.

5
0 mi into trip | ~0m in | I 90 Business; US 191 / East 1st Avenue

Turn left onto I 90 Business; US 191 / East 1st Avenue

Navigation decision point

4
0.2 mi into trip | ~0m in | US 191 / East 1st Avenue

Keep slight left at fork onto US 191 / East 1st Avenue

Highway fork - watch signs carefully

3
1.7 mi into trip | ~3m in | MT 478 / Howie Road

Turn right onto MT 478 / Howie Road

Navigation decision point

3
3.7 mi into trip | ~7m in | MT 478 / Rapelje Road

Turn left onto MT 478 / Rapelje Road

Navigation decision point

3
9.3 mi into trip | ~20m in | Sourdough Road

Turn left onto Sourdough Road

Navigation decision point

Fuel & Cost

Regular Gas

$1.26 one way

$2.53 round trip

$3.45/gal 25.4 MPG avg 3 kg CO2
Fuel Type $/gal One Way Round Trip
midgrade $3.85 $1.41 $2.82
premium $4.15 $1.52 $3.04
diesel $3.75 $1.37 $2.75

No toll roads detected on this route.

Drive Cost (one way)

Fuel

$1

Estimated CO2 emission: 3.3 kg one way.

Driving Electric?

About $1 in charging · 0 stops · 67% less CO2

Vehicle Type kWh Stops DC Fast Home Charge
Average EV 2.8 0 $0.98 $0.45
Efficient EV 2.3 0 $0.81 $0.37
EV Truck/SUV 3.7 0 $1.30 $0.60

Gas CO2

3 kg

EV CO2

1 kg (67% less)

This trip is well within single-charge range for most EVs. No charging stops needed if you start fully charged.

DC fast charging avg $0.35/kWh. Home charging avg $0.16/kWh. US grid CO2: 0.39 kg/kWh.

Travel Intel

Current conditions at both ends of the drive.

Forecast as of Oct 18, 2026

Origin

Big Timber, MT

Evening in Big Timber on Sunday

Local time

6:47 PM

MDT

Current temp

41°F

Mostly Cloudy

W 1 to 25 mph 0% chance Live forecast

High Wind Warning

High Wind Warning issued October 17 at 7:02PM MDT until October 18 at 12:00AM MDT by NWS Great Falls MT

High Wind Warning

High Wind Warning issued October 17 at 7:02PM MDT until October 18 at 12:00AM MDT by NWS Great Falls MT

Destination

Sourdough, MT

Evening in Sourdough on Sunday

Local time

6:47 PM

MDT

Current temp

40°F

Mostly Cloudy

NW 5 to 24 mph 0% chance Live forecast

High Wind Warning

High Wind Warning issued October 17 at 7:02PM MDT until October 18 at 12:00AM MDT by NWS Great Falls MT

High Wind Warning

High Wind Warning issued October 17 at 7:02PM MDT until October 18 at 12:00AM MDT by NWS Great Falls MT

Time zone

Same local time

Origin and destination are on the same clock, so arrival timing is easier to judge at a glance.

Temperature spread

1 degrees cooler at arrival

A meaningful temperature swing is a good cue to rethink layers, water, and how soon you want to arrive.

Road read

21m on the road

The weather snapshot is not static. If you are leaving later, give both cities one more quick forecast check before departure.

Weather data from the National Weather Service. Conditions may change; check closer to your travel date.

What kind of drive is this?

This drive is entirely on surface roads, with no highway driving involved. You'll be on Rapelje Road for a stretch of up to 5.5 miles, which is the longest continuous section of a single road. The route utilizes Rapelje Road, Howie Road, and East 1st Avenue. Expect a rural cruising feel as you navigate these local roads connecting Big Timber and Sourdough.

Only 0% highway — the rest is turn-by-turn surface driving.
7 navigation steps total — most of the decisions cluster near the start and finish.
Longest single stretch: 5.5 mi on Rapelje Road.

How Hard Is This Drive?

4/10

Expect a hands-on drive with frequent turns and local roads rather than long highway stretches. There are only a few real navigation decisions along the way. The trickiest moment comes early in the drive near I 90 Business; US 191 / East 1st Avenue.

Driving Effort 4/10

Easy - simple navigation with a manageable amount of wheel time

Balances navigation complexity with total wheel time.

This is a straightforward 21m drive. You will face about 5 decision points, but nothing that requires special attention if you follow navigation.

Where does it get tricky?

The main spots that need attention: near the start (I 90 Business; US 191 / East 1st Avenue): Navigation decision point; at 0.2 miles (US 191 / East 1st Avenue): Highway fork - watch signs carefully; at 1.7 miles (MT 478 / Howie Road): Navigation decision point.

Elevation Profile

Mostly flat terrain

4,790 ft 4,013 ft

Total Climb

791 ft

Total Descent

220 ft

Highest Point

4,790 ft

~7.3 mi in

Elevation Range

777 ft

Notable High Points

4,040 ft at ~2.7 miles +15 ft prominence
4,790 ft at ~7.3 miles +71 ft prominence

About the Cities

Starting in Big Timber, MT

Full guide →

Big Timber is in south central Montana. About 1,600 people live there. Surrounded on three sides by the Absaroka-Beartooths and the Crazy Mountains, the area's fantastic scenery provided a backdrop for movies such as A River Runs Through It and The Horse Whisperer.

Top landmarks

  • • Carnegie Public Library — historic Carnegie Library in Big Timber, Montana, United States, that is listed...

Arriving in Sourdough, MT

Full guide →

City content from Wikivoyage (CC BY-SA 4.0) and Wikidata (CC0).

Who Is This Route For?

Weekend Trip

Doable as a same-day drive at 21m. Total distance: 9.3 miles.

Family Friendly

Moderate complexity with 0 natural rest stops along the way.

Solo Traveler

21m drive, comfortable solo distance.

EV Driver

0 DC fast chargers along the route. Coverage: unknown.

First-Time Driver

Mostly highway driving (0%). Straightforward navigation.

Scenic Drive

Mostly surface roads route profile.

Frequently Asked Questions

The longest stretch is about 5.5 miles on Rapelje Road. The full list of main roads is in the Roads section above.

Yes. At under 2 hours behind the wheel, this works well for families — plan one quick stop if you have younger kids.

Mostly yes along the main roads, but rural stretches through MT can have sparse or no coverage. Before you leave, download offline Google Maps or Apple Maps for the route, and consider downloading music or podcasts instead of streaming. If you depend on data for navigation, keep a paper backup of the turn-by-turn directions.

The main spots that need attention: near the start (I 90 Business; US 191 / East 1st Avenue): Navigation decision point; at 0.2 miles (US 191 / East 1st Avenue): Highway fork - watch signs carefully; at 1.7 miles (MT 478 / Howie Road): Navigation decision point.

Yes. A round trip is manageable in a single day if you plan a break at Sourdough, MT before heading back.

How this page is built

Compiled by the US Trip Planner planning team at COD Solutions Oy from open government datasets — OSRM over OpenStreetMap for geometry, and USGS 3DEP for elevation. See our methodology for refresh cadence and limitations.

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