Darby Montana Map

About Darby, Montana

Darby is a locality in Ravalli County, Montana, United States. It is a small community with a population of 783. The population density is 480.6 people per km². Darby is located at 46.0227°N, 114.1781°W. It observes the Mountain Time (America/Denver) timezone. Darby is an incorporated locality. ZIP code: 59829.

Darby occupies a stretch of high-altitude ground where the Bitterroot River carves a path through the valley floor, its waters running cold and clear against the stones. It lies 59.3 miles south of Missoula, MT (from Missoula, MT: bearing 189°T), and is situated 15.5 miles south of Hamilton. The landscape rises sharply from the riverbank, climbing toward the distant, jagged silhouettes of the Bitterroot Range that define the western horizon. To the east and south, the terrain gives way to the dense, pine-scented expanse of the Bitterroot National Forest, which envelopes the perimeter of the locality. Within the immediate vicinity, the rugged topography of McQuirk Gulch breaks the flat expanse of the valley, creating a series of shadows that lengthen and deepen as the sun dips below the peaks. The air here holds a distinct, metallic sharpness, cooling rapidly even in the height of summer, as if the land itself remembers the frost long after the snow has retreated.

Darby maintains a quiet, deliberate pace of life, rooted in a history of timber extraction and the seasonal rhythms of ranching that have long sustained the local economy. The architecture of the main thoroughfare reflects a utilitarian past, with sturdy storefronts that have weathered decades of harsh winters and the changing fortunes of the woods. While travelers often pass through on their way to the deeper wilderness or the higher elevation of Hart Lake, the character of Darby remains fixed to the soil and the cycles of the harvest. Daily life is measured not by the clock, but by the shifting color of the pines and the seasonal movement of livestock across the lower meadows. It is a place where the proximity to the Bitterroot National Forest dictates the flow of activity, keeping the inhabitants tethered to the rugged reality of the terrain and the immense, open sky that hangs heavy over the valley.

About This Darby Map Page

This page provides an embedded street and satellite map of Darby, Montana. Coordinates: 46.022698, -114.178143. Live weather conditions are sourced directly from the National Weather Service. Real-time local and world news feeds keep the page current.

Detailed location data for Darby includes the ZIP code (59829), telephone area code (406), county seat of Ravalli County (Hamilton), and school district assignment (Darby K-12 Schools).

Location data is drawn from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (GNIS) and cross-verified against 2020 US Census records by coordinate proximity. Population figures are sourced from the 2020 US Census.