Moonlight Ridge Cabin's guidebook to the Whitefish, MT and region

There are two main grocery stores as you enter Whitefish from the south along HWY 93, the airport or Kalispell; - Super 1 - Safeway You cannot miss them. Coming from the south on HWY 93, Super 1 is the first you come upon, next is the Safeway just a a little further down the road and on the left. There are also two small Bodegas style places; - Alpine village (721 Wisconsin Ave, Whitefish) - Markus's (9 Baker Ave, Whitefish) Both are good for sandwiches for the trail or slopes and beer & wine for later. Alpine Village has great cheeses.

Most breakfast places open up early (7 AM) during the summer months. In Whitefish one can expect a 10-20 wait during main breakfast times, it is a first come first served.

During the summer and winter months. One should really call head to make reservations. That day or even a day or two before. For groups a few days in advance is a must. You can try to walk-in, but expect longer waits for the most popular places that are in downtown Whitefish. Explore north towards the Ski hill, on Wisconsin Ave and find more excellent choices. Shoulder season seems to be getting shorter and shorter: April, May, mid September, October and November are the slow months then places are walk-in and when the local come back into town.

There are several great live music places in the Fish. Two main ones are: Remington Bar - Downtown Whitefish Great Northern Bar & Grill - Downtown Whitefish They both have great websites with calendars for events. They also serve food. Live music throughout the week. Some of the bigger name groups charge covers. There are several more small places that also have live music but I'll let you explore to find those places.

The night life can get a little crazy in the summer in downtown on Fridays and Saturdays. In winter... its a Ski town, so same goes; perhaps a little more crazy. Friday and Saturday nights during X-mas and New Years or during Winter carnival in early February are crazy.

There are two grocery stores in Columbia Falls; - Super 1 - Smith's Food and Drug The Super 1 is on HWY 2, west side of Columbia Falls. Smith's Food is in the downtown portion of C-Falls, 419 Nucleus Ave.

Montana Coffee Traders 30th 9th St. West Columbia Falls On the main Hwy to Glacier Park. Good menu for both food and coffee, and it’s a good stop on your way out to Glacier a you pass through C-Falls. Several places to sit and eat or take-away. Serves breakfast and lunch. 7am-2pm daily

Fish = Whitefish, MT C-Falls = Columbia Falls, MT Graupel = Soft hail or snow pellets. The term graupel also comes from the German language. Rocky Mountain Oysters = Bull testicles that are sliced, deep fried, and eaten. Not as fancy as you thought, huh? Driving = Trips measured in hours spent on uncrowded roadways traveling much faster than one should between two towns. Yes, really too fast at times. Neighbors = Those living in the home closest to someone, often several miles away. ;-)

Polebridge is a very, very small off-grid town. Two miles from the is the Polebridge/North Fork Ranger Station (RS). Its has a really cool mercantile store. Huckleberry Bear Claws are a local favorite, but are expensive ($6), but I think they are a must try & worth it. Plus, remember its in the middle of nowhere. In Winter about 8 full time residents. Also the only way to get to Kintla & Bowman Lakes (wow) within the Park. This is less busy side of the Park. Great views or the Rockies, especially in the Fall. About a 45-50 minute drive north from Columbia Falls. Worth the drive.

The Glacier National Park web page it a key resource. A great place to start within that site is, ‘Plan Your Visit’ section. https://www.nps.gov/glac/planyourvisit/index.htm So much on this site. Try this link for interesting short videos the park produced. https://www.nps.gov/glac/learn/photosmultimedia/park-videos.htm If it does not work use the search feature and enter 'videos'

A free weekly newspaper called the Flathead Beacon “https://flatheadbeacon.com”. It comes out every Wednesday and can be found throughout the Valley in restaurants, groceries store, cafes, etc. or online. It provides some local color and is a good source for local ‘going-ons’ in the valley and things to do. Another great source that covers the valley is Flathead Living “https://flatheadliving.com/“. It's a free quarterly lifestyle magazine that is professional produced and highlights local established, restaurants, personalities via interest short articles.

Past Police blotter reports from the Flathead Beacon https://flatheadbeacon.com/section/police-blotter/ 8:52 a.m. A Kalispell man said he got a letter from the post office informing him that they had found all of his stolen mail. He didn’t even realize it had gone missing. 4:04 p.m. A frustrated dog activated the car alarm after its owner went into a pet store without it. 4:14 p.m. A grocery store employee called 911 to report that a woman had been in the store’s bathroom for an extended period of time. The employee thought that the woman was either doing drugs or eating donuts.

Like the year-old Protein Bar hidden at the bottom of your backpack, or the old article on Glacier National Park or Whitefish you bookmarked awhile back that you planned to go back to, they are all as much a part of the journey as anything else. A few apps or web sites that could be helpful. Weather Underground (free): Hyper-local focus, weather & provides detailed hourly forecasts. App & web site. All Trails (free): Lists trails for biking, hiking and running and ranks them by length, difficulty, maps, elevation gain/loss, and trail traffic. https://www.alltrails.com/

There are a lot of good You Tube videos out there on Glacier and Whitefish, but this couple did a few on Glacier and a short one Whitefish in AUG, 2020. Also, interesting Vlog. -Video one; Going to the sun Road, Baring falls and then St Mary’s and Virginia falls along St. Mary’s lake. https://youtu.be/Z84FSxRW7tw -The second video; High-line trail and Grinnell overlook. https://youtu.be/VUdJVKzqDFA -The third video: trail of the cedars, a drive to Polebridge, west side of Glacier and did Bowman lake, then went to Whitefish and the ski resort. https://youtu.be/FRkwj20JGVQ

Because of 2020 and COVID many rental car companies have reduced their fleet in the valley. We strongly recommend that if you will be planning on renting a car to book well in advice to ensure they have what you might desire to rent.