Visiting Montana?

[Ilovemylife]

DH and I are thinking about taking a mini-vacation in March or April (minus the kids) and we'd like to go to Montana.

We've never been there, but I'd like to go somewhere that's either in or close to the mountains. What I'm imagining is a snug little cabin with a great view of the mountains.

I've been searching online today for places to stay, but the only place that looks remotely interesting is Kilspell. Either I'm not googling right or there isn't a whole lot of info out there about Montana.

Do you have a recommendation about places you've been or resorts/lodges you've stayed at?

 

[babytrees]

there aren't many places to stay in MT

Our favorite spot is Red Lodge. My husband is from Lewistown and Dutton....Lewistown is great. Dutton is a blink and you miss it town on the way to the Cascade Mountains.

Red Lodge is close to Yellowstone (kind of).

 

[hrh_disney_queen]

There are some resorts/hotels on Flathead Lake, which is near Kalispell.

 

[Ilovemylife]

There are some resorts/hotels on Flathead Lake, which is near Kalispell.

That's the area I seem to be focusing on. Though I have to admit I'm woefully ignorant when it comes to MT and where any of the cities are located.

*hangs head in shame*

 

[Ilovemylife]

One place I've favorited to show DH is Somer's Bay Log Cabins. I'll have to poke around the site a bit more, but so far, it looks similiar to what I have in mind.

 

[Charade]

I went to the Moss Mansion (Billings) when I was there. That's good for an hour or so!

http://www.mossmansion.com/

If your up for a scenic drive, head south (from Billings) over the pass into Wyoming.

 

[janette]

Glacier Park has cabins by the lakes, I'd love to visit again someday. The entire NW corner around Glacier has many National Forests so there are plenty of places to stay.

My SIL stayed at a house close to Glacier last summer and really enjoyed it. You can look for house rentals and maybe find something.

 

[janette]

That's the area I seem to be focusing on. Though I have to admit I'm woefully ignorant when it comes to MT and where any of the cities are located.

*hangs head in shame*

There really aren't any cities, Billings is the largest at about 100K it is very sparsely populated. Missoula is closest to the NW area you are looking at. You'd probably find better airfare by flying to Spokane WA or Billings but Billings is in the SE corner about 500 miles from where you want to be.

 

[Ilovemylife]

There really aren't any cities, Billings is the largest at about 100K it is very sparsely populated. Missoula is closest to the NW area you are looking at. You'd probably find better airfare by flying to Spokane WA or Billings but Billings is in the SE corner about 500 miles from where you want to be.

If I wanted to drive 500 miles, I'd just drive from WI.

 

[padams]

You could go skiing at Big Sky or Big Mountain.

 

[tasha99]

We visited friends in Montana last summer, and it was awesome. Glacier Park is beautiful, and all the boating on Flathead Lake was a blast. They lived in Lakeside, but you could also stay in Whitefish, Bigfork or Kalispell and be near the lake.

Edit--oops, Whitefish is nearby but not on Flathead Lake it turns out.

 

[hrh_disney_queen]

That's the area I seem to be focusing on. Though I have to admit I'm woefully ignorant when it comes to MT and where any of the cities are located.

*hangs head in shame*

Don't feel bad, I have been visiting Montana for over 20 years annually, and we are building a cabin about 20 miles east of Butte on a mountain. I have no idea what is up near Kalispell, except for my poor memory of drives up to Glacier. We tend to stay down in Yellowstone's area. Actually our house sounds just like what you are looking for, view of mountains, but it is only half finished. I don't think that would be very romantic sleeping on the floor amidst the sawdust and mice...

I agree with babytrees, Red Lodge is a cool little mountain town. The Beartooth pass won't be open then, so you will have to come in and leave by the north.

ETA, oops, I forgot that Red Lodge is pretty far from where you actually want to be. Good luck, I would say that it will be cold, but I see you are from WI, so no biggie to you, right?

 

[mtblujeans]

There are at least two of us, from Kalispell, on the DISboards. HRH has some ties to Montana and knows I am in Kalispell...

Going To The Sun Road (Glacier Park) usually doesn't get blasted open all the way until June, sometimes July. They stop skiing the first weekend in April up on Big Mountain, which was recently renamed Whitefish Mountain. We also have a historic "founding home", in Kalispell, that you can tour: Conrad Mansion.

I'm not familiar with Somer's Bay Log Cabins. Somers is a very small community 10 miles south of Kalispell.

You can fly directly into Kalispell but it is usually very expensive. Missoula is 2 hour's drive south and it is usually cheaper to fly into their airport....depends upon if you have access to a vehicle.

Tasha99, Whitefish is on the edge of Whitefish Lake so it is understandable that you might get it a little confused with Flathead Lake. Flathead Lake seems so big, it seems like it runs right up the middle of the entire county.

 

[jsmith]

Ummm-nobody has mentioned this-but-thats not really the best time of year to visit Montana-in fact-unless you are coming to Colorado or Utah to ski-that a crappy time of year anywhere in the Rocky Mountains-our weather is unpredictable-warm one day and 2feet of snow the next-oh wait-thats any time of year . Kalispell is beautiful-but you will have to drive-its just a rule out here-Hamilton-which is just south of Missoula might meet your standards-and you can fly to Missoula-again expensive-as others have said-unless you fly to billings or spokane-which mean driving-those flights are gonna set you back. March-especailly early March is gonna be chilly -but it should be fun. But - i would totally go with RedLodge-awesome place-quiet beautiful and you can ski and stuff-its awesome-and you CAN get there from the south in the winter. If you choose to go to Red Lodge compare flights to Billings with Flights to Cody, Wyoming-its closer or as close as Billings and a pretty cool place in its own right.

 

[decaff38]

Look into the Bozeman area. Fabulous skiing on a public hill. We loved it their. Look on Tug2 for timeshares that people are not using. THey also have a great natural hotsprings. You could also go to Big Sky just south a bit. It is more expensive but very nice. Lots of condos etc... You can drive to Bozeman in 12 ish hours from WI. You maybe able to fly in too. I lived in Missoula and have relatives in Whitefish. THere are many condos right on Big Mountain(Whitefish) Have fun I am jealous!!

 

[Deb & Bill]

March, April in the mountains in MT? Lots of snow. We went to Glacier and hiked up to the Sperry Chalet in mid-July. There was still snow on the way up and it was pretty cold at night. Sperry Chalet is only open for guests from mid-July to late August. Too much snow the rest of the time. Lake McDonald was freezing.

We went to Yellowstone for Memorial Day weekend once and the roads had just opened. Lake Yellowstone was just breaking up. We wore coats. Even Yellowstone doesn't open the roads until about Memorial day. Except right into Mammoth Hot Springs (that's open year round). We did Yellowstone in January once. It was beautiful, but extremely cold. 25 below during the day, 45 below at night. You have to take a snowcoach from Mammoth Hot Springs to Old Faithful.

I had a friend who drove the Beartooth Mt from Red Lodge over to Yellowstone on July 4. They got caught in a blizzard on the mountain.

Western MT has mountains. Eastern MT has badlands. We used to live in Miles City in eastern MT.

By the way, there are more cattle in MT than people. When we lived there, there were about 800,000 people in the entire state with about 100,000 in Billings. Landwise, MT is the fourth largest state.

 

[Ilovemylife]

I'm from WI ~ cold and snow don't bother me.

 

[Ilovemylife]

Oh, and can I have just one small rant about this?

I wanted to order some vacation info from the City of Kalispell's website, but I have to pay for it! What the heck?

I have two choices...either pay $6 for a packet, or $12. Ummm, no.

I think I'll just go to the official state website and order info there. I'll be spending plenty of money once I'm there ~ I shouldn't have to pay money to get the info!!

*rant over*

Thanks everyone, for the info you gave me!

 

[Judy from Boise]

when you are ready to actually plan your trip, you should head over to the CA and the West planning board in the Disneyland section. Lots of good info over there!

 

[hrh_disney_queen]

March, April in the mountains in MT? Lots of snow. We went to Glacier and hiked up to the Sperry Chalet in mid-July. There was still snow on the way up and it was pretty cold at night. Sperry Chalet is only open for guests from mid-July to late August. Too much snow the rest of the time. Lake McDonald was freezing.

We went to Yellowstone for Memorial Day weekend once and the roads had just opened. Lake Yellowstone was just breaking up. We wore coats. Even Yellowstone doesn't open the roads until about Memorial day. Except right into Mammoth Hot Springs (that's open year round). We did Yellowstone in January once. It was beautiful, but extremely cold. 25 below during the day, 45 below at night. You have to take a snowcoach from Mammoth Hot Springs to Old Faithful.

I had a friend who drove the Beartooth Mt from Red Lodge over to Yellowstone on July 4. They got caught in a blizzard on the mountain.

Western MT has mountains. Eastern MT has badlands. We used to live in Miles City in eastern MT.

By the way, there are more cattle in MT than people. When we lived there, there were about 800,000 people in the entire state with about 100,000 in Billings. Landwise, MT is the fourth largest state.

Here is a picture I always like to pull out and show folks. This was taken early/mid June, the weekend after the Beartooth pass opened that year, I think 1996.

That is not a show drift, it is the side of the road where they have cut a path through the snow and plowed the road. The tall sticks are to guide the snowplows as to where the sides of the road are. This is the only road that runs to Red Lodge from the south, so I'm not sure what road the PP was talking about when they said you can access Red Lodge from the South in the winter. I would be interested to know the name of the highway that does enter RL from the south in the winter. The Beartooth Highway closes with the first good October snow and opens the weekend after Memorial day, if it is clear.