Plans to visit Missoula this weekend, but don't have a room booked yet? If so, you're either out of luck or you'll be paying a premium.
The Garden City will host not only the first University of Montana home football game of the season, but also the hugely popular River City Roots Festival. That admission-free, two-day music and arts event is produced by the Missoula Downtown Association.MDA Executive Director Linda McCarthy says the convergence of both events has presented some unique challenges
"We have every hotel room in town booked. Lots of folks are couch surfing and doing the Airbnb thing. We'll have about 30,000 people in town for the football game. We'll probably see about 15,000 to 20,000 people in downtown for roots fest. There is some crossover between those audiences."
The River City Roots Festival will be held Friday and Saturday. Parking in downtown Missoula will be free all day Friday. The Mountain Line bus system is always zero-fare and people are encouraged to use it as parking will be in short supply.
McCarthy says a planned 4 mile fun run and paddleboard event may have to be cancelled if air quality doesn't improve by Saturday, but no decision on that has yet been made.