Big Sky Waterpark has a variety of family-friendly attractions. Here, you can enjoy water slides, mini golf, bumper cars, and many other activities suitable for the whole family.
If you're willing to suspend disbelief, Montana Vortex is a great place to spend an afternoon. Basically, it's a house built at an 18-degree angle, causing you to be slightly off balance.
Glacier Ziplines is one of Columbia Falls' most popular attractions. They offer a five-zipline tour that features fantastic views of Flathead River, Badrock Canyon, and other parts of the Columbia Falls area.
The Amazing Fun Center has a number of exciting activities for the entire family to enjoy, including a two-level wooden maze, bumper boats, go-carts, bankshot basketball, and mini golf.
Established in the 1890's on land donated by a branch of the Great Northern Railway, Soldiers' Home Historic District is a 147 acre parcel of land that served as an old soldiers' campus. The district now has nine buildings, with the original building serving veterans of the Civil War. The grounds also include a large cemetery, with graves of soldiers from the Civil War to Korea.
Located near the edge of Columbia Falls, Depot Park is home to a historic Shay Locomotive, one of the few still on display in the country. This particular locomotive was built for the Great Northern Railway in 1914, powered by steam and used to transport lumber when in use. Kids will get a kick out of exploring the train, as will railroad enthusiasts.
Glacier Institute has a variety of nature courses, summer camps, and personalized tours available for all age levels. They are also a great source to help you choose the right hike or adventure based on your skill level and what sights you are looking to see. The field camp and outdoor education center can be rented out for custom programs or conferences.
Recently opened in 2023, Flathead Lake's Alpine Coaster is Montana's first and only alpine coaster. The track is roughly 4,000 feet in length and can reach up to 25mph, although you are fully in control of your speed the whole way down. The total ride time is between 7-9 minutes long. Open Wednesday through Sunday, this attraction is a blast for the whole family.
Meadow Lake Golf Course is an 18-hole, par-72 course. The course has perfectly groomed fairways and greens and fantastic views of Glacier National Park and the Rocky Mountains. MeadowLake Golf Course is considered one of Montana's finest courses and receives consistently high ratings by major golf publications.
Buffalo Hill Golf Course is arguably Flathead Valley's most popular course: A great course with great views, and a great practice facility that includes four target greens and actual bunkers that realistically mimic course conditions. You also get panoramic views of the northwest Rocky Mountains and scenic Flathead Valley.
Northern Pines Golf Course is an 18-hole, par-72 course located just north of Kalispell, Montana. Regularly rated as one of Montana's top 10 golf courses by Golf Digest, this course has a blend of tree-lined fairways, sand traps, doglegs, and a number of holes on the back 9 run along scenic Stillwater River.
Village Greens Golf Course is an 18-hole, par-70 course located in Kalispell, Montana. The course features bent-grass greens, sparkling lakes, and fantastic views of the surrounding mountains. This is a great course for all skill levels featuring a PGA golf shop with a wide selection of golf equipment, plus a driving range.
Downtown's restored 1800s buildings include the Conrad Mansion, now a museum with period furnishings. Hockaday Museum of Art focuses on Montana artists. South of the city, Flathead Lake offers beaches and forested Wild Horse Island, home to horses and bighorn sheep.
The small community of West Glacier, Montana (pop. approx. 225) is the gateway to Glacier National Park's west side. The town is your last chance to pick up supplies before you enter the park. It is also a great place to hire a local guide to Glacier National Park, if you need one.
A town of about 900 residents, this town is between Flathead River's Middle Fork and South Fork and is the site of Hungry Horse Dam and Hungry Horse reservoir. Hungry Horse is also the location of the trailhead for the Gateway to Glacier Trail, open for biking and hiking.
Considered one of the best ski towns in the United States with a population of approximately 7,500 residents. Here, you'll find a variety of options for shopping, eating, and drinking. The areas surrounding offer plenty of opportunities for hiking, biking, rafting, kayaking, and many other activities.
Lake McDonald is the largest lake in Glacier National Park. Located on the park's west side, the lake is around 10 miles long, a mile wide, and 472 feet deep. The cold temperatures of the lake don't allow algae to form, which guarantees the water will stay clear year-round. And the floor of the lake is covered with colorful rocks. These rocks vary in color, depending on the amount of iron and minerals they contain. Although not the best place to fish, rainbow trout, cutthroat trout, and lake trout can be found in Lake McDonald.
Flathead Lake is one of the largest natural freshwater lakes in the United States. The lake is about 30 miles long, 16 miles wide, and up to 370 feet deep. It's also one of the cleanest lakes in the country. Flathead Lake offers the opportunity to enjoy numerous outdoor activities, especially watersports. Swimming, water skiing, boating, and sailing are all popular. Flathead Lake is also an excellent location for fishing. Here, you'll find lake trout, rainbow trout, pike, whitefish, and yellow perch.
Whitefish Lakeis one of Montana's most popular lakes. It's about 6 miles long, 1.5 miles wide, and around 230 feet deep. The lake is surrounded by mature forests and is in the shadow of Big Mountain. Whitefish Lake is known for it's watersports. Swimming, waterskiing, and boating are especially popular. Whitefish Lake is also a decent location for fishing. Like Flathead Lake, large lake trout can be found here. In addition, the lake has plenty of whitefish, as well as rainbow trout, cutthroat trout, northern pike, and yellow perch.
The upper Flathead River (above Flathead Lake) is relatively wide and deep for a Montana river, with lots of braided channels. It has a decent population of rainbow trout, cutthroat trout, and bull trout. The river is fed by glacier water and the upper portion stays cold year-round. Good trout fishing starts in early spring and runs through September, with summer being especially productive. Concentrate on areas where the river forks and areas with cover along the river banks.
