Where to stay and
what to do in
Whitefish
Click on Flathead Valley Area Map to locate cities and towns and other features of the Flathead Valley in Northwest Montana.
Nearby Cities and Towns
Bigfork, 34 miles
Coram, 19 miles
Columbia Falls, 9 miles
Hungry Horse,16 miles
Kalispell, 15 miles
Lakeside, 30 miles
Somers, 25 miles
Cities and Towns of Northwest Montana
Bob Marshall Wilderness
Flathead Valley
Glacier National Park
The relief map of Northwest Montana will help you locate geographical features such as rivers and mountains.
More Northwest Montana
Bitterroot Valley
Blackfeet Indian Res.
Clark Fork River
Flathead Valley
Kootenai Valley
Missoula Valley
Seeley Swan Valley
Montana Travel Regions and Maps:
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Whitefish, Montana
Whitefish, like other towns in the Flathead Valley, offers close proximity to year-round outdoor recreation. (See the full range on our Activities page.) In summer the outdoors is alive with events such as the "Lake-to-Lake Canoe Race" down the Whitefish and Flathead Rivers, and the Olympic-style "Summer Games" with sports ranging from rugby to mountain biking. Winter celebrations include the "Christmas Stroll" with carol singing, and the "Torchlight Parade" on the Big Mountain. Fall and spring are quieter times.
Location
Whitefish lies at the north end of the Flathead Valley in Northwest Montana along the shores of Whitefish Lake. It is just minutes from one of Montana's largest ski resorts, Whitefish Mountain Resort, and about 25 miles west of Glacier National Park.
Getting to Whitefish
Road
Main routes in are US 93, US 2, MT 40. Closest Interstate is I-90 to the south.
Air
Glacier Park International Airport is about 11 miles south, near Kalispell. Services include Big Sky Airlines, Delta Airlines, Horizon Airlines, Northwest Airlines and Holman Aviation (private charters).
Rail
The daily Amtrak passenger service the Empire Builder runs between Seattle/Portland and Chicago. A depot is located in Whitefish, toll free phone: 800-862-7245
History
Whitefish began as a fur trading center in the late 1800's. It later flourished with the logging industry and the Great Northern Railway. In 1919 the "Ding-Dong Ordinance" was made law. This 9:00 p.m. curfew for children is still in effect today, although updated to 10:00 p.m. Listen for the siren located in the tower of the City Hall!
Downtown offers many historic buildings with interesting facades. Casey's, built in 1903, is the oldest building. The Home at 328 Central, which was built in 1907, was the first brick building in Whitefish. The Bulldog Saloon was once more genteelly named the Pastime Bar. "Pastimes" included boxing matches that took place in the hall above. Make a rest-stop in the Great Northern Bar and take in its collection of historic Whitefish business signs, or, check out an old apothecary display in the rear of the Chalet City Pharmacy. On the corner of 4th and Central, Whitefish boasts one of the few buildings in Montana designed by Frank Lloyd Wright. Also of general epicurean interest is the Great Northern microbrewery building where Black Star beer is made.
Looking north on Main Street with the Big
Mountain in the background.
A ski and summer resort offering winter (skiing, snowboarding, tubing) and summer (mountain biking, hiking on the Danny On trail system) vacation packages. Live cam view.
*See also the Go Northwest! guide to the Flathead Valley
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Portrait
of Whitefish: A Portrait of People Who Shape Our Community, Whitefish,
Montana (Vol 1 No 1) by Laira Fonner and David Reese. Photographs and
the stories of those that helped shape the community of Whitefish, Montana.
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Frommer's
Montana and Wyoming, 8th Edition by Eric Peterson. From small old-west
towns to the Grand Teton, Glacier and Yellowstone National Parks, this guide
has the highlights, information, advice and recommendations on planning a
trip to Montana.
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Moon Montana,
9th Edition (Moon Handbooks) by Judy Jewell and W.C. McRae. This guide
has complete information about all of Big Sky Country, from Yellowstone
National Park to the eastern prairies of the state, to help the traveler
plan a memorable vacation.
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Montana
Off the Beaten Path, 9th Edition: A Guide to Unique Places by Ednor
Therriault and Michael McCoy. Discover the hidden attractions, unusual
locales, unique finds and quirky cultural tidbits; all the interesting
stuff you'd want to see and experience if you only knew about them.
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Benchmark
Montana Road & Recreation Atlas by Benchmark Maps. Large-scale Landscape
MapsTM and a complete 30-page Recreation Guide make it the ideal planning
tool for any outdoor adventure. Benchmark field-checkers drove thousands of
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Montana
Curiosities: Quirky Characters, Roadside Oddities & Other Offbeat Stuff, 2nd Edition
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offbeat and oddest people, places, and events of the Treasure State. This
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