A major division point on the historic Great Northern railroad, whose tracks are still in use by Amtrak and the Burlington Northern Santa Fe, Whitefish (pop. 5,032) was originally known as Stumptown because of the intensive logging operations centered here. Despite its proud industrial history, the blue-collar base has long since been eclipsed by tourism, and the city now calls itself the “Recreational Capital of Montana,” with alpine lakes, fishing streams, hiking trails, great skiing, and endless mountain scenery right on its doorstep. The main attraction in Whitefish, for skiing in winter and hiking and mountain biking in summer, is Big Mountain, the 6,770-foot peak (with a 2,170-foot vertical drop!) that looms over the northwest shore of Whitefish Lake.
Besides giving access to the surrounding great outdoors, Whitefish is a pleasant place to stop and stretch your legs, and has everything you could want from a resort town—without the rampant tourist-pandering and real estate speculation that has ruined so many other places. A small museum (daily; free) inside the rustic Great Northern train station, which stands in a pleasant park at the north end of Central Avenue, gives a historical overview of Whitefish. Across the park from the station there’s a new theater, a new library, and a new home for Black Star Brewing, whose hoppy products you can sample in a small tasting room, or in any Whitefish bar.
The heart of town is a few blocks of Central Avenue, running south from the railroad tracks to Montana’s one and only Frank Lloyd Wright building, an early 1950s bank and office complex on the east side of Central Avenue between 3rd and 4th Streets called, directly enough, the Frank Lloyd Wright Building. In between you’ll find some great bars and saloons, the Bookworks bookstore on 3rd and Spokane Streets, art galleries, and the Big Mountain Trading Company, a pawn shop where you can bargain for anything from saddles to DVDs.
The best place to start the day in Whitefish is along 3rd Street, east of Central Avenue, where the Buffalo Cafe (406/862-2833), 514 E. 3rd Street, is a popular breakfast and lunch spot, locally famous for its huevos rancheros. Back on Central, across from the FLW Building, at 334 Central Avenue, the Whitefish Times (406/862-2444) is an erudite and relaxing coffeehouse, with magazines and books and overstuffed sofas. Lunch and dinner places line up along Central Avenue, where you can get great burgers and cheap beers at the rowdy Bulldog Saloon, Mexican food at Serrano’s, wood-fired pizza at upscale Truby’s, or simply quaff a beer or two at The Palace, Whitefish’s oldest and most ornate bar—all in the same block.
Besides the extensive resort accommodations available year-round at the Big Mountain Resort ($85 and up; 406/862-1960 or 877/754-3474), you can choose from numerous motels along US-93 south of town. Two more accommodation options are walkably close to downtown: the attractive and comfortable Garden Wall B&B ($95–150; 406/862-3440 or 888/530-1700), a Craftsman-era cottage at 504 Spokane Avenue, and the tidy Non-Hostile Hostel (406/862-7447), at 300 E. 2nd Street, where bunk beds in a converted Elks lodge go for $15 a night.
For further listings or information, contact the Whitefish visitors bureau (406/862-3501); their office is at 6475 S. US-93, south of downtown.
Kalispell marks the junction of US-93 and the the Great Northern route along US-2, which runs east through Glacier National Park and west across Idaho and Washington to the Pacific Ocean.
