By Christine Tibbetts
September 20, 2007 11:58 am
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First in a series of northwest Montana destinations are Whitefish and Big Mountain. Next: Glacier National Park, grizzly bears and all, and then circling the largest natural freshwater lake in the west, roaming the bison range and visiting three Native people’s museums.
No need to wait for snow on Big Mountain to head for Whitefish, Montana, although lots of people do. This ski town pumps in the middle of summer with spectacular flowers, diverse restaurants, non-stop sports, all kinds of different lodging experiences and happy people.
Glacier Country is what westerners like to call this region in Big Sky’s northwest. We filled four interesting days before even going to Glacier National Park, just 24 miles east of Whitefish. Surprising experience to go to a famous place and find so many other things to do that you almost forget about the reason you left home in the first place.
Pack light and move around was our approach in August because we wanted to stay in Whitefish, but also high above this little city of 7,000 people for the Big Mountain views and hikes. We started on the top for five nights and then moved down to the town to try out a homey bed and breakfast, a luxury resort and a friendly inn.
The different personalities of each place made rewearing our jeans and washing our underwear worth the bother.
On Big Mountain, just open the front or back doors at Kandahar Lodge and start skiing in winter or hiking the rest of the year. A half-mile trail gives great views of Flathead Valley; three- and four-mile paths put me in the middle of wonderful wild flowers. The biggest walk is 5.6 miles to the summit, and you can take the lift chair back down.
A short stroll (uphill of course) deposits you in the little village with casual places to eat, a beer hall, shops with Montana memorabilia and the outfitters. There are real estate purveyors too, ready to sell you a million dollar home or lot.
I brought my boots and backpack so the only thing I needed at the outfitters was a ticket to the Walk in the Tree Tops. Wobbly boards with cable handrails are suspended 70 feet above the canopy of cedars and Douglas firs a half-mile hike into the forest, and I wanted to look at these Glacier Country trees from up above.
G.W. doesn’t do heights, so only one $49 ticket was needed. The buddy system is mandatory. Tree top guides hooked me up with a harness and two heavy-duty clips to hook to the cables. The rule is simple and strict according to my leader named Inge: "Never unhook both clips at the same time."
Navigating around the trees was tricky even with my long legs; parents had to lift children when the path angled. The boards are held 70 feet up, attached with a clever system of slings; not a single hole was bored in these trees.
The woods on Big Mountain also can be seen with 20-minute hikes guided by Forest Service rangers. "Eighty percent of Big Mountain is Forest Service land," Ranger Jesse Bebb told me. "We like to engage people with informal interpretation, talking about what interests them."
I checked out her free backpack filled with guide books, scavenger hunt lists, scat-tracking photos to see if a bear was recently on my path, binoculars and bug-catching kits. Too bad I’m not 10 or I could have earned a Junior Ranger badge.
I talked out loud to myself a lot, and sang some in my off-key style, since I was hiking alone and didn’t want to happen up on a bear. Might have been wiser just to go to the Monday night grizzly bear slide show at the lodge.
We did go to dinner at Café Kandahar one night, and breakfast each morning. Huckleberries were in season and a heaping portion on top of pancakes rivaled my backyard Tift blueberries.
Taste Executive Chef Andy Blanton’s elk tenderloin for dinner and you’ll be wishing this had always been your favorite food, or somehow might be available again. We accepted the advice of dining room manager Dennis Hertrich to "Trust me" and ordered a wide range of many reasonable-sized starters, entrees and dessert, each paired with a glass of the wine of his choice. Pairing food and wine is a specialty of this place.
Plan your budget accordingly if you do this; our extraordinary, memorable dinner including tip was $154. Chef Blanton believes in local, organic produce and uses Montana buffalo, elk and beef in his delectable recipes. His extensive wine list features international choices as well as what he calls "emerging stellar wine-growing regions including Columbia, Wash., and Willamette, Ore. Wine Spectator presented Café Kandahar an award of excellence.
That was just the beginning of fine and fun dining. How does a town of 7,000 maintain the 10 outstanding restaurants we visited…. and three dozen others we never tried? No chains or franchises here. These are locally owned places with fun names and great food.
Buffalo Café’s is where you meet local folks at breakfast or lunch, and I always like to eavesdrop on the conversations of hometowners to figure out new things to do. G.W. rolled his eyes in dismay when I chose the tofu burrito but he liked his traditional fare so much that he bought the T-shirt with the buffalo to remind him of this place.
I was the judgmental one when he chose the Great Northern Bar & Grill (too dark, too many sports shows on the TVs) but did I ever enjoy the black bean burger and Moose Drool Montana beer. We agreed upon Tupelo Grill for rack of lamb and beef tenderloin, and Loula’s Neighborhood Café for salad and sandwiches, and proximity to the antique mall.
Shopping is fun all around Whitefish, a community which somehow figured out how to attract and maintain an interesting mix of shops with pottery, clothing, books, sculpture, outdoor gear, organic market, farmer’s markets, art and coffee.
Maybe it’s the great views, local microbrewery, bicycle paths with more being planned, or maybe it’s the downtown beach. Whitefish Lake is visible all over town, and if you go just a short turn around the corner from downtown, there’s a white sandy beach with really chilly water. We had a picnic of just-picked Lambert cherries on the shore while hearty local people swam in wet suits.
McGarry’s Roadhouse is right across the street – as in walk to dinner – from Good Medicine Lodge where we moved for two nights. This is a stylish place with modern design, open kitchen to watch the chefs and a very attentive staff. Wok-fired local vegetables with noodles for me and baby back ribs for G.W.
While Khandahar Lodge features three stories, many room configurations and lots of wood and stacked stone for cold après ski nights, Good Medicine Lodge provides nine sunny rooms with plenty of good cheer and attentive service from proprietors Woody and Betsy Cox, including the best granola anywhere, plus egg spinach quiche, fine breads and other home-cooked breakfast foods.
They’ll even pick you up at the train station if you choose to arrive on Amtrak. Hundreds of people do just that year-round. The Empire Builder from Chicago via Minneapolis, and from Seattle, is an Amtrak passenger train success story, Woody says, with winter visitors lugging their skis and summer travelers bringing their hiking boots and flip flops.
The downtown train station is next door to the arts center where we saw two outstanding productions featuring Alpine Theatre Project professional equity actors. Little town, top quality once again was our Whitefish experience.
Good thing we laughed and applauded a lot for exercise because we had more restaurants to choose. The Boat Club at The Lodge overlooks Whitefish Lake and mountain ranges so the views plus the cuisine encourage lingering. For us the sun was setting and the forest fires shooting off plumes of smoke in the distance.
Kind of crazy perhaps to order Hawaiian fish just flown in when cowboy rib steak and bison tenderloin are the specialties but that’s what I did, along with remarkable Asian appetizer and ginger crème Brule for dessert. The Boat House is part of a handsome resort with 85 rooms, all with rock fireplaces, slate tile floors, granite counters, and many with balconies, plus a spa and conference facilities.
The Lodge at Whitefish maintains a 31-foot motor yacht, Lady of the Lake, for sunset cruises, built in 2005 in a classic wooden design.
For yet another Whitefish "celebrate variety" experience, we checked in to Hidden Moose Lodge. Never saw the moose, but we made good use of our back porch within a hilly forest and grand living room with a two story fireplace and picture windows. Proprietor Kent Taylor serves abundant plates of breakfast pizza and French toast, and keeps the coffee and tea pots going. I particularly liked the licorice tea.
Breakfast at Hidden Moose and Good Medicine lodges is a good time to hear what other visitors are doing, and pick up some ideas to maximize the miracle of being in this beautiful place.
More of those pleasures in the next installment.
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