A winter weekend trip to Whitefish Montana, The Ultimate Guide
What led me to take a winter trip to Whitefish Montana is an adventure in itself. After my girlfriend had found my photography and ventured out to Colorado to meet up. We hit it off for the week in Colorado, so I decided to travel her direction and check out Montana as I had never seen that part of the country before. She grew up in Eastern Washington, so we decided to take a weekend trip to Whitefish Montana. I flew into Spokane, stayed the night in Ponderay, snowboarded for a day at Schweitzer ski resort and hit the road to Whitefish Montana. It was the trip of a lifetime and one that gave us memories for the rest of our lives.
In this post I’ll be going over how to get to Whitefish, best winter activities, where to stay, and some extra fun things to do if you’re road tripping it. Alright, lets do this!
Where is Whitefish
Whitefish is on the Northwest side of Montana about 40 minutes from Glacier National Park and north of Missoula as well as the capital, Helena. The closest major airports to Whitefish will be Glacier Park international airport and Spokane, with Spokane being the most commercial airport. Kind of cool, I also found out recently that there is a train that goes from Spokane to Whitefish with tickets from $50-$70 one way. Below I listed times and distances from major areas.
Spokane: 4.5 hours/254 miles
Missoula: 2.5 hours/137 miles
Helena: 3.5 miles/209 miles
Bozeman: 5 hours/324 miles
Coeur d’ Alene: 4 hours/221 miles
Where to stay
Like most ski towns the lodging is a bit more expensive. Since the town is smaller there weren’t a whole lot of options, however below are a couple places I would recommend that we enjoyed.
Apres’ - Very close to town with an awesome cabin like vibe on the inside, we stayed here this past summer when visiting Glacier National Park. Complimentary coffee, a fire pit out back, and a sauna, are some of the benefits of Apres’.
Downtown Studio- In the heart of downtown and walkable to almost everything, this place was awesome for those in need of something cozy.
Where should we grab a bite to eat
Dinner
There’s not many food options that stuck out to us in Whitefish, needless to say we were able to dine at a couple awesome restaurants, one which is no longer around (Last Chair Kitchen and Bar). I was bummed when I found out it closed as it had a welcoming ski town comfort atmosphere to it, with old ski memorabilia on the wall. It is now the Grouchy Grizzly which we went back to this past summer when going to Glacier National Park. More bar food and self serve, but they were able to keep the restaurant appearance mostly the same.
The other restaurant which was fine dining that we went to was Herb and Omni. The name is derived from Herbivore and Omnivore and paying homage to the Flathead Valley ecosystem. The portions are smaller, but the flavors are top notch. Desert was my favorite out of all of the courses.
Breakfast and Coffee
Our go to breakfast spot was Swift Creek Cafe after reading some good reviews. You’ll more than likely have to put your name on a list as it is a popular spot. Incredible pancakes and Eggs Benedict. Located right on second street, you can usually find parking in one of the side neighborhoods.
One of our favorite coffee shops in Whitefish was Folklore, due to some of the specialty coffee options they had. Great music and chill vibe on inside. Another coffee shop in town that looked really good that I would like to try the next time we go back is Wild Coffee. It has a European mountain feel on the inside and just looked like they made great coffee.
What were your favorite winter activities
What I liked about winter here is how local the area felt and that we were able to find a couple other fun things to do over the weekend that weren’t just skiing or snowboarding. With that being said we still checked out the mountain and were able to get lucky with a good snowstorm for the whole weekend.
Skiing and Snowboarding
Formally known as Big Mountain, the ski resort itself isn’t far from the town, about a 10-15 minute drive to the base. There will be a number parking lots, some paid and some that are free. We were able to snag a spot in a free lot (Larch) and still walk to the lifts. Most of the lots are free, with a few that cost money on the weekends.
Lift tickets were also pretty inexpensive as Whitefish is one of the only resorts in the country that is independently owned and operated. Therefore they are not connected to any big ski pass. If you’re curious about multi-resort ski passes, check out the post I did on the Epic or Ikon ski pass.
We stuck to the frontside where there is a range of green, blue, and black runs, but I’m hoping to go back eventually as there is a whole backside with tree runs, bowls, and steep terrain for those awesome powder days. Whitefish alone has 3,000 skiable acres with 110 runs along with four terrain parks.
Dog Sledding
What an awesome experience, highly recommend this activity if you love dogs and are up for an adventure. Dog Sled Adventures is run and operated by longtime local Jeff. It is actually in Olney right outside of Whitefish. The tours last about two hours and go through the foothills of Whitefish along with the Stillwater state forest. Sleds can fit up to two adults and two small kids and are pulled by 8-12 dogs!
You’ll go through a series of turns and downhill areas along the trail that add to the excitement. If you get Jeff as your guide, it is a fun time. He has names for all his dogs that can range from songs or band names such as Zeppelin. The dogs are fed raw meat so that they can run for miles each day without getting tired. Jeff likes to yell “Good dog, goooood doggy dog!” as he takes the reigns. He’ll crack jokes along the way and even share stories about the dogs.
One of the best parts was getting to meet and greet some of the dogs before we sledded up. After your ride, hot coco will be provided and you’ll get to warm for a bit!
Although the sleds have warm blankets it’s a good idea to wear snow pants, a winter jacket, gloves/mitts, a face mask, and even goggles.
Lake McDonald at Glacier National Park
When it comes to winter the last thing you probably would think to do is visit a national park that is a popular destination in the summer and fall, but winter? After seeing that it was open I knew we had to go explore it for a day. The area can get cloudy in the winter time so we happen to get lucky and the sun popped out just long enough to get some awesome surrounding mountain views.
The only part that is open in the winter at the national park is Lake McDonald. Now Glacier does offer backcountry snow shoe tours that are guided off the Going to the Sun Road, but if you just want a fun easy activity for the day this is it!
You’ll still need to pay a daily national park fee to get in unless you have your yearly pass and from there it’s a short drive to the lake. There’s plenty of parking as this is a very slow time of year, and the visitor center is also open to answer any questions you might have. There’s a small shore area to take in all the views and you can also walk around the village area (although nothing will be open).
Explore downtown
In the evening it was fun to walk around town and go into some of the shops. Especially after a good day of adventuring it was nice to unwind and hangout. Mountain towns are some of the best places and it’s cool when you find a souvinear or a shop that grabs your attention. On a clear day you’ll even get some views of the ski resort!
Any other ski resorts you recommend nearby
About four hours from Whitefish is Schweizer ski resort, the largest in Idaho. Such an amazing mountain with a local mountain feel to it. We rode here for a day before road tripping it to Whitefish and it just added to the experience and made the trip really memorable. We stayed at the Outdoors Inn in Ponderay for a night and then it was a short drive (15 minutes) to the resort up the mountain pass to the base. There is free and paid parking options as well as rental and retail shops at the base. Your Ikon pass will work here too (full Ikon).
With 2,900 skiable acres, the mountain has lots of different runs and terrain for all kinds of ability levels. We were able to get in a full day of riding and happened to get lucky with fresh snow too. Schweitzer has some awesome bowls on the frontside mixed with some fun cruiser blues and greens on the backside. I even snuck in a couple fun tree runs.
Megan is from Eastern Washington and she is the one who first talked Schweitzer up to me. If you are a beginner to intermediate rider check out Stella on the backside!
Are there any hot springs nearby
When I first visited Whitefish, the goal was to check out Quinn’s hot springs on the way from Idaho, but we ended up skiing for too long at Schweitzer and I didn’t realize that Montana is on a different time zone then Idaho. Keep that in mind. Montana is on mountain time while Northern Idaho is on pacific time! Although Quinn’s is almost two hours from Whitefish, it’s going to be the best hot springs around.
Make sure to make reservations here far in advance and if you need a place to stay for the night, they do have cabins on site! They also have food, drinks, and nice lockers to store any of your things. Towels are not provided to day guests, so make sure to bring your own!
That’s it for a weekend trip to Whitefish Montana. Thanks for reading the blog, if you have any questions or comments, drop them below! If you’re looking for a fun place to ski or snowboard with a wild west feel, check out Jackson Hole in Wyoming
