Whitefish Montana is the quintessential, four-season rocky mountain resort town.

If you could dream up and design the perfect Rocky Mountain resort town, it would look a lot like Whitefish Montana... a quaint little turn of the century, western frontier town with an eclectic mix of delicious dining venues, art galleries, bars, pubs and boutique shopping experiences. Whitefish Montana is a four-season playground for any adventure loving, outdoor enthusiast, with a variety of recreational opportunities for every season to satisfy every appetite.

Whitefish in Winter

For many, the name 'Whitefish, Montana' garners up thoughts of ski slopes, snow ghosts and back-country bowls filled with waist-deep powder, and Whitefish certainly delivers on those wishes. The Whitefish Mountain Ski and Summer Resort located on 'Big Mountain' just north of town provides more than 3,000 acres of ski-able terrain ranging from easy beginner slopes to double black diamond challenges. The mountain gets more than 300 inches of snow annually and provides 105 marked ski trails to keep you occupied. In addition, you will find vast amounts of bowl and tree skiing opportunities for the powder-lovers and those who like to break free from the groomers and carve out their own path.

The south face of the mountain dominates the northern skyline as you gaze up from the town of Whitefish. A web of groomed ski trails gleam bright-white under the gaze of the afternoon sun like a string of pearls which transform into glittering diamonds after sunset as the ski trails light up for night skiing.

And downhill slopes are not the only way to live out your wintertime fantasies. The area surrounding Whitefish provides more than 200 miles of groomed snowmobile trails and more than 2,000 miles of U.S.D.A. Forest Service roads open to snowmobiles, providing great opportunities for exploring Montana's legendary back-country on a powered snow sled!

If Nordic skiing is more your vibe, you will find hundreds of miles of trails that can accommodate your cross-country skiing as well, some of which will even let you ski with your dog if you are so-inclined.

Other Whitefish winter adventures include dog sledding, ice skating at the Stumptown Ice Den, ice fishing on Whitefish lake, winter sleigh rides and much more.

Each December thousands come to Whitefish from all over the valley for the Whitefish Christmas Stroll, a family-friendly community gathering in downtown Whitefish that includes a variety of street performances, curbside bonfires and specialty booths set-up along both sides of central avenue where you can sample free baked goods, hot cocoa and delicious homemade cider. All of the shops and restaurants stay open later on this festive night as well, allowing you to do some Christmas shopping for unique one-of-a-kind gifts and novelties that can only be found in downtown Whitefish.

Whitefish is a popular gathering spot for Christmas and New Years Eve celebrations as well, with a generous variety of four and five star dining venues as well as special concerts and events that are planned especially for these popular holidays.

Every February Whitefish hosts the Winter Carnival, a multi-day event filled with lots of merriment and a little mayhem. The winter carnival includes everything from elegant gala's to rowdy disco parties, ski-joring events, pie socials, a penguin plunge, and a grand parade down central avenue.

And because Whitefish, Montana is such a popular ski resort destination, there is always some kind of entertaining 'apres ski' event happening in downtown Whitefish.

Whitefish Summer, Spring and Fall

With all of the fun activities that Whitefish packs into the winter months, it would be easy to mistake Whitefish as being only a wintertime destination, but the winter fun is only one small piece of the total Whitefish package.

When the snow melts, Whitefish is reborn into a spring, summer and fall recreational paradise. Whitefish Lake with it's 5-plus square miles of surface water is a warm weather playground for water skiers, boaters, jet-skiers, fishermen, swimmers and more.

After a small springtime hiatus, the Whitefish Mountain Ski and Summer Resort reopens in early June with an emphasis on summertime fun, with more than 30 miles of lift-accessed and cross-country mountain bike trails, an Alpine Slide, an Aerial Adventure Park, Walk in the Treetops, miles of hiking trails, and a network of zip-lines some of which stretch out over 1900 feet and zip you across mountain valleys some 300 feet in the air!

Bordering the west side of town you will find the picture-perfect, meticulously maintained, 36-hole Whitefish Lake Golf Course. The Whitefish Lake Golf Course is western Montana's only 36-hole course. The north course was updated in 1983 by John Steidel and sits above Whitefish Lake, boasting beautiful views of the Big Mountain and Whitefish Lake. The South course, also designed by John Steidel offers many long fairways and immaculate greens that wind south from the golf club down toward Lost Coon Lake before taking you on a u-turn back up towards the club. The south course provides many sweeping views of Big Mountain rising above the trees and private homes that surround the course.

Other warm-weather activities that you will find near Whitefish include the Whitefish Trail system, several dude ranches, and of course Glacier National Park just a short drive away.

The Whitefish Trails are a community funded network of more than 36 miles of multi-use, non-motorized trails ideal for outdoor enthusiasts of all ages and interests. The trails wind through picturesque forests and along several lake shores that dot the landscape north of Whitefish attracting dog-walkers, mountain bikers, horseback riders, runners and many others with a taste for nature.

There is always something going on in downtown Whitefish throughout the summer. Concerts, festivals, art walks, theatrical plays and much more can be enjoyed just about every night in summer as well as the shoulder seasons of spring and fall.

Every Tuesday evening from late May through late September, Whitefish holds it's Farmers Market - a wonderful weekly event that attracts an eclectic mix of people from not only Whitefish, but the surrounding communities as well. These events are a fantastic way to bring the community together to celebrate the bounty of summer and to indulge in Montana's long and lovely summer evenings. The Farmers Market brings together local organic farmers, musicians, craftsman, and artisans from around the community to share their talents with the community. These evenings are a wonderful time to network with others throughout the area and to find some great gifts and bargains on local arts, crafts and delicious home-grown produce.

Each year in August the town of Whitefish comes together during the Huckleberry Days Art Festival in honor of the delicious little purple berry that grows wild, natural and abundant in the mountains throughout northwest Montana! The Huckleberry Days Art Festival is a multi-day event that brings the town together with over 120 artists, food vendors, live entertainers and and other talented craftsmen from around the area to celebrate our good fortune to be living in such a beautiful wonderful place!

The cooler temperatures, shorter days and colorful leaves of autumn is a signal that it is time for the Whitefish Oktoberfest, a multi-day event that spans out over two weeks in late September and early October. Oktoberfest is chalk full of fun contests and activities for the whole family, including Keg Hurling, Log Sawing, Bavarian Barrel Racing, a kids Chicken Dance competition and much more!

Other popular events that are held throughout the year in Whitefish include live world-class music performed by both the Glacier Symphony Orchestra and the Glacier Chorale, (a 75-voice symphonic chior). Both of these musical ensembles perform throughout each season at the Performing Arts Center located in the heart of Whitefish. And if you prefer live theatre, the Whitefish Theatre Company performs 9 theatre productions throughout the year resulting in 47 engaging performances each season at the O'Shaughnessy Center also in downtown Whitefish.

These are just a sampling of some of the more publicized events that are held in Whitefish throughout the year. There is always some sort of smaller-scale event happening in or around Whitefish just about every day throughout the year. Open mic nights, and local bands can be enjoyed several nights a week at many of Whitefish's watering holes. Art classes and open gallery nights occur frequently at the art galleries, brewerys and other establishments in downtown Whitefish, and many more similar activities are offered on a regular basis throughout the community, ensuring that you will always have something fun to do in Whitefish Montana!

Glacier National Park is America's eighth national park and the worlds first International Peace Park. The park was also named a World Heritage Site in 1995.

The park encompasses over 1 million acres and spans the border of two countries, the United States and Canada. Much of this vast parks public lands remain virtually unchanged from the way they would have looked hundreds of years ago, except for the deteriorating glaciers that have shrank dramatically over the past several hundred years.

Glacier National Parks geography includes a portion of two separate mountain ranges, (sub-ranges of the greater Rocky Mountain range), which are separated by beautiful sweeping valleys that were carved out by the massive glaciers of the last ice age. These valleys are the home of more than 130 named lakes and countless rivers and streams that are partially concealed by thick swaths of forest which occasionally open up to mountain meadows decorated in an abundance of native wild flowers throughout the summer. A total of more than 1,132 unique variety of plant species have been identified throughout the park.

The forests throughout the park are primarily a coniferous mix of spruce, fir, larch and pine although you can find a variety of deciduous trees (mostly cottonwood and aspen) in the lower valleys and along lake shores and streams. As you climb in elevation the forests transition into an alpine tundra environment. The conditions here are quite harsh for the majority of the year (often covered in snow for up to seven months of the year) and the flora is far more limited to a mix of small hardy plants that include tundra-tolerant grasses, and small but beautiful wildflowers.

Nearly all of the same animals that inhabited the park at the turn of the twentieth century are still found in the park today, with the exception being the bison and the woodland caribou. Some of Glacier Parks wild inhabitants include animals that are either completely absent or very rare throughout the rest of the contiguous United States, including the grizzly bear, the wolverine and the Canadian lynx.

There are twenty-three species of fish that populate the lakes and streams inside the park, including including a variety of trout, whitefish, salmon and grayling. Sport fishing is allowed in many waters of the park, however there are regulations in place to protect the fish population and many waters throughout the park are catch and release only, while other areas are closed to any type of fishing.

The Great Northern Railway played a major roll in Glacier National Parks designation as a national park. The railroad crossed over the continental divide on its expansion westward in the year 1891 at Marias Pass, (along what is now the southern boundary of the park). As the railroad expended west, railroad investors and executives were anxious to stimulate the railroad economy and drive up interest in railway tourism. They saw the beauty and recreation potential of Glacier National Park as a great opportunity to do that. The Great Northern Railway built a number of hotels and chalets throughout the region and in an attempt to brand Glacier Park as “Americas Switzerland” many of the hotels were built with Swiss-inspired architecture as part of their overall theme. As a result, the architecture throughout the park has a very unique appearance that gives it extra special character and nearly all of the hotels and chalets inside the park are now registered as national historic landmarks.

Whitefish Lake lies right at the northeast corner of town and offers more than five square miles of surface area for recreational and leisurely activities.

The lake rests at the foot of Big Mountain (home of the Whitefish Mountain Resort) and the picturesque slopes of the resort provide a stunning backdrop to the lake. Whitefish Lake is very scenic and easily accessible via a couple of concrete boat launches for your speedboats and pleasure-craft, as well as a couple of large public parks located along the lakes southern and eastern shores. From here you can launch your kayaks, canoes, paddle boards and other small watercraft.

There is a large sandy public beach area located along the southern shoreline of the lake which is a very popular destination during the summertime. The appropriately named 'Whitefish City Beach' is located right at the edge of town and boasts impressive views of the lake and Big Mountain with the slopes of Whitefish Mtn. Resort adding to the aesthetics.

Whitefish Lake is probably best know for it's recreational pleasures. In the summertime her waters are the ideal spot for locals to practice their water-skiing and wake-boarding skills. Jetskiers and flyboarders are also regularly seen playing on the surface of the lake. Whitefish lake is a popular spot for more leisurely activities as well, like kayaking, canoeing, paddle-boarding and wind surfing.

City Beach with its large sandy beach area and beautifully maintained park is a very popular spot for locals to gather with friends and family to sunbathe, swim, barbecue or play some beach volleyball. A generous portion of the bay surrounding the sand beach is roped off to provide swimmers with a large area free from any boats or other watercraft, and there is a wood platform serving as a small man-made island near the center of the swim area which is a popular way-station for swimmers to pause and catch their breath, or practice their dives into the lakes deeper waters. There is an active lifeguard on duty at city beach for much of the summer.

Each July 4th, Whitefish City Beach attracts people from all over the Flathead Valley to the shores of the lake for the annual Independence Day celebration and fireworks display put on by the Whitefish municipality. Just as the sun begins to set, dozens of boats begin filling the Whitefish Bay - their masthead lights dancing along the surface of the water, as they wait for the fireworks display to begin. Once the afterlight of the sun begins to fade from the sky, the impressive display is performed over the waters of the lake providing onlookers with two shows, the one in the air and a broken reflection in the waters below. The thunderous boom from each explosion ricochets off the face of the surrounding mountains adding a wonderful surround-sound echo to the event.

There are two state parks located along the lakes shoreline as well. The Whitefish Lake State Park is located along the southwest side of the lake in Dog Bay. This spot provides another concrete boat launch that is available to the public, and several campsites and picnic areas. There are also some incredible views of the Big Mountain and Whitefish Mountain Resort from this spot as well.

On the opposite side of the lake you can find Les Masons State Park, another well-kept park that is open to the public and provides a nice roped off area for swimmers, although there is no sandy beach area at this location and no boat launch.

The large portion of the western side of the lake (as you travel north from Dog Bay) is either undeveloped state or private land in stark contrast to the eastern side of the lake which is almost entirely private land with the exception of Les Masons State Park. The railroad parallels the lake for the majority of the western shoreline and the geography is more vertical than the east side.

Whitefish Mountain Resort was recently named one of the top 10 ski resorts in North America by SKI Magazine, and it is easy to understand why.

This world-renown resort enjoys 300+ inches of powdery snow each year and invites you to play on it's 3000+ acres of terrain - a mix of beginner level, moderate and black diamond difficulty. There are even a few double black diamond runs tucked away in the forest where the adrenaline junkies can feed their addiction.

The resort boasts 105 marked trails many of which are groomed and maintained each night, and endless options for unmarked 'tree runs' and powder-heavy bowls where you can escape from the crowds and create your own path. There are also 4 terrain parks and a skier and boarder-cross course.

Eleven chair lifts and two t-bars service the mountains vast and diverse terrain. The longest run on the mountain is Hellfire, a 3.3 mile long run that skirts along the boundary of the mountains west side in the Hellroaring Basin. The total vertical drop for the resort is about 2,353 feet from the summit house to the base lodge below the main village.

The Whitefish Mountain Resort base village is set at about 4,464 ft in elevation on the south side of Big Mountain overlooking the Flathead Valley and the town of Whitefish. The views from here are awe-inspiring, with magnificent vistas of Whitefish Lake and the Whitefish and Columbia Mountain ranges. On clear days you can see over 50-miles all the way down to Flathead Lake and Blacktail Ski Area, (a smaller, less notable ski area that shares the Flathead Valley with the Whitefish resort). However don't get too caught up in the views from the base village as these views are only here to whet your appetite, because the panoramas only get more impressive as you climb towards the summit.

The summit of Big Mountain is a respectable 6,817 ft above sea level. From here you'll have amazing, almost 360-degree views of the incredible beauty that surrounds, from the peaks of Glacier National Park, all the way down the Columbia Range and Swan Range to Flathead Lake and beyond. And looking north you can even see some of the peaks of Canada's Rocky Mountains.

As the snow and frost begin to build up over the first few weeks of the winter season, the trees up at the summit become so caked in snow and ice they are almost not even recognizable as trees. They become cocooned in a sepulcher of white so completely that their needles and branches cannot even be seen anymore. Their unique winter look has garnered the name “snow ghosts” and it is quite a beautiful site to see, especially on a bluebird day when they are dazzling white under the winter sunshine.

Whitefish Mountain Resort hosts many events throughout the winter season like moonlight dine & ski adventures, exciting ski race leagues, live music, firework displays, pond skimming and more!

And winter adventures only paint half the picture when it comes to the Whitefish Mountain Resort. After closing for a short hiatus in the spring, the resort reopens in early June to satiate your summertime appetite for adventure. Alpine slides, an aerial adventure park, scenic lift rides, mountain bike trails and a network of 7 zip-lines that will 'fly' you thousands of feet across forests and valley's some 300 ft in the air are just a few of the activities that you will find on the Big Mountain during the summer season.

Mountain biking is a very popular activity at the resort during the summertime. Riders can access more than 30 miles of lift-accessed and cross-country trails with varying levels of difficulty from simple family-friendly trails to 'double-diamond' difficult trails for those with lots of experience and a love for adrenaline.

Another popular and free pastime on the Big Mountain is taking a hike along one of the many hiking or multi-use trails. There are eleven named trails for hiking located on Big Mountain. Most trail heads start at or near either the Whitefish Mountain Resort Village or the Base Lodge. Probably the most popular of the trails for hiking is the 'Danny On' Trail, a 3.8 mile trail that starts from the base village and leads hikers gradually upward around the east side of the mountain to the summit house. During the summer months when the chairlift is running, hikers may choose to ride the lift up the mountain and hike down the trail, or hike up the trail and ride the lift down if the full round trip on foot proves to be too intimidating.

You can learn more about the all of the resorts summer and wintertime activities at the following links:

Whitefish Mountain Resort summer activities

Whitefish Mountain Resort winter activities

The Cabins at Whitefish are located just steps away from the Whitefish Lake Golf Course. The Whitefish Lake Golf Course is one of many great options for golf in the Flathead Valley, it is also one of the most rewarding. You will find golfing in Whitefish, Montana to be a pleasure to all of the senses, including your sense of adventure.

Whitefish Lake Golf Course is the only 36-hole golf course in northwest Montana. The course is split up over two distinct sections, a north and a south course. Both courses offer very different and unique experiences for play, yet there are also some common traits shared by both. Wide, tree-lined fairways lead to beautifully maintained bentgrass greens on either course, and both boast of magnificent vistas and panoramic beauty around almost every turn.

Whether you choose the north course or the south course you will find a variety of challenges to keep you interested in the game and spectacular views of one of two lakes. Whitefish Lake, located along the northern edge of the north course, is beautiful set against the backdrop of Big Mountain. The south course meanders south and along Lost Coon Lake which is a much more quiet and secluded lake and a wonderful spot to catch a glimpse of waterfowl and occasional eagles.

Other wildlife that is often seen alongside the fairways includes deer, turkey, geese, ducks and loons. Occasionally you might see an elk, moose or bear, so be sure to have a camera handy to capture the special moment.

The 18-hole 'north course' sits above Whitefish Lake and provides some beautiful views of the lake and beautiful 'summer-green' slopes of the ski resort. The north course has a circa 1930's feel with a parkland style layout. You can choose to play 9 or 18 holes, and the course offers enough elevation gain and challenge to keep it interesting while still being walkable if you are looking for some exercise while you play.

The south course was named one of the 'top 5 courses in Montana' by Golfweek Magazine. It meanders its way south from the golf club around the eastern foot of Grouse Mountain and then down along the shores of Lost Coon Lake before hanging a u-turn and returning back up towards the golf club again. This course is more for the 'shot makers' and those who like to break out the big clubs and crush it. You will find yourself digging through your golf bag for all of your irons and drivers as you progress through these 18-holes. Several of the holes include challenging water hazards that keep things interesting and add a bit of aesthetic beauty along the way.

The Whitefish Lake Golf Course is just one of more than half-a-dozen unique golf courses around the Flathead Valley. It is no wonder the Flathead Valley golf courses were ranked as one of the top 50 Golf Destinations in the world.