Facility Overview
Bobcat Lot 6 (commonly known on campus as the Greenhouse Lot) is an expansive open-air surface parking facility serving the Montana State University (MSU) campus in south Bozeman, Montana. Positioned adjacent to the Animal Biosciences Building and the university's Agricultural Plant Growth Center, the lot features a straightforward, paved layout designed to handle regular campus traffic from faculty, staff, students, and visitors. Because this is an open-air surface lot with no overhead structural beams or low ceilings, it accommodates a broad range of passenger vehicles without vertical clearance concerns. Drivers of lifted four-wheel-drive trucks, full-size SUVs, commercial service vans, and vehicles outfitted with rooftop ski racks, cargo boxes, or bicycle mounts can navigate and park with confidence.
Prime Location & Nearby Attractions
Situated in the heart of MSU’s agricultural, sciences, and student residential corridor, Bobcat Lot 6 offers exceptional proximity to essential university landmarks and recreational venues:
- Animal Biosciences Building & Plant Growth Center: Located directly adjacent to the lot, providing immediate door-to-door access for lectures, conferences, academic meetings, and research visits.
- Strand Union Building (SUB): A comfortable 5- to 7-minute walk (0.3 miles) northeast, connecting visitors to student dining, the campus bookstore, event ballrooms, and banking amenities.
- Bobcat Stadium: Situated roughly 10 to 12 minutes on foot (approx. 0.6 miles) to the south, making the lot an attractive secondary parking location on autumn football game days.
- Brick Breeden Fieldhouse & Worthington Arena: Approximately a 10-minute walk (0.5 miles) southwest, hosting MSU basketball games, rodeo competitions, headline concerts, and trade expos.
- Museum of the Rockies: Located just over 1 mile east along Kagy Boulevard, offering world-class paleontology exhibits and planetarium shows.
- Downtown Bozeman: Approximately 1.5 miles north, placing historic Main Street shopping, breweries, galleries, and farm-to-table dining within a 5-minute drive.
Access, Navigation & Transit Connectivity
Bobcat Lot 6 provides straightforward ingress and egress via South 11th Avenue and Deer Street, feeding smoothly into major campus arteries such as West Grant Street and West Lincoln Street. Motorists arriving from out of town can take Interstate 90 to Exit 305 (North 19th Avenue) heading south to Kagy Boulevard, or Exit 309 onto Main Street before transitioning south onto South 11th Avenue. Post-event egress is generally well-managed compared to the primary stadium lots, allowing drivers to disperse north toward downtown or west toward 19th Avenue with fewer gridlock delays. Campus pedestrians benefit from direct access to the Streamline Bus system, Bozeman’s fare-free municipal transit network, which maintains frequent stops near the Strand Union Building and along 11th Avenue connecting the campus directly to downtown Bozeman and the Gallatin Valley.
Facility Amenities & Key Features
- Spacious Surface Parking: Level asphalt surface with clear, painted stall striping and generous turning radii.
- Unrestricted Headroom: Zero height restrictions, providing seamless parking for oversized trucks, tall utility vans, and roof-racked vehicles.
- ADA Accessible Stalls: Designated accessible parking bays situated conveniently close to adjoining sidewalk ramps and the Animal Biosciences Building entryways.
- Campus Safety & Lighting: Well-lit overhead floodlighting throughout evening hours, supplemented by routine patrols from Montana State University Police and Parking Services.
- Digital Payment & Permit Integration: Monitored via campus parking enforcement systems, including license plate recognition (LPR) technology and mobile payment portals for daily or hourly visitors.
Ideal For
- Academic Visitors & Guest Lecturers: Attendees of agricultural symposiums, bioscience workshops, and departmental events in the Animal Biosciences corridor.
- MSU Faculty, Staff & Commuters: University permit holders seeking reliable parking near central-west campus academic halls.
- Bobcat Athletics Fans: Tailgaters and spectators attending games at Bobcat Stadium or Worthington Arena seeking to avoid post-whistle bottlenecks in primary stadium lots.
- Campus Tour Participants: Prospective students and families touring MSU’s residence halls, engineering complexes, and student center.
Visitor & Driver Tips
- Permit Enforcement Hours: Standard university permit regulations are enforced Monday through Friday from 6:00 AM to 6:00 PM. Outside of these hours and on non-event weekends, campus surface lots are generally open to the public unless marked for 24-hour reserved or service vehicles.
- Check Event-Day Restrictions: During home football games and high-profile stadium events, MSU athletics may repurpose campus lots for donor parking or event-specific permit zones. Always look out for temporary event signage at lot entrances.
- Winter Driving Preparedness: Bozeman experiences substantial winter snowfall. University grounds crews plow lots regularly, but morning black ice can form; exercise caution when braking and maneuvering.
- License Plate Accuracy: MSU relies on License Plate Recognition (LPR) enforcement. Ensure your license plate is entered correctly in the online payment portal or campus parking account to avoid inadvertent citations.