Montana Highway 287 (MT 287) is a state highway in the U.S. state of Montana. The highway runs from MT 41 in Twin Bridges east to U.S. Route 287 (US 287) in Ennis. MT 287 is the primary east–west highway of Madison County. The highway connects the county's four towns, including Sheridan and the county seat of Virginia City. The course of MT 287 follows the ultimate portions of two trails that met in Virginia City, the center of the Alder Gulch gold rush of the mid-1860s and the second territorial capital of Montana. Parts of the highway were improved from rudimentary roads around 1920 from Virginia City to Ennis. This connection became the first portion of Montana Highway 34 in the early 1930s; the highway was extended west to Twin Bridges in the late 1930s. MT 34 was reconstructed from Twin Bridges through Alder to Virginia City in the late 1930s and early 1940s and between Virginia City and Ennis in the late 1940s to mid-1950s. The MT 287 designation was first applied to a cross-state route from West Yellowstone to Canada in the late 1950s. The highway was rerouted in place of MT 34 in the early 1960s. MT 287 was replaced by US 287 along much of the cross-state corridor in the mid-1960s. The highway extended north of Twin Bridges to Whitehall until the late 1970s, when it achieved its current length. Route description MT 287 begins at a T-intersection with MT 41 in the town of Twin Bridges. MT 41 heads west along Fourth Street to cross the Beaverhead River and north along Main Street. MT 287 heads south on Main Street and veers southeast out of the town. The two-lane highway parallels an inactive Montana Rail Link line through the valley of the Ruby River between the Ruby Range to the southwest and the Tobacco Root Mountains to the northeast. MT 287 follows Main Street through the town of Sheridan, where the route passes the H.D. Rossiter Building, Christ Episcopal Church and Rectory, and the William O'Brien House. The highway passes by the Robbers Roost and to the west of St. Mary of the Assumption Church in the hamlet of Laurin before reaching the southern end of the rail line in the unincorporated village of Alder, through which the highway follows Main Street and meets the northern end of Upper Ruby Road, which is designated