Ahh Montana! Big Sky Country… home of the open range… a land where there are more trees and deer than there are people! Montana is the perfect place to plan your relaxing summer getaway. Indeed, a summer vacation to Montana is the perfect choice when you are planning a summer trip that the entire family will enjoy. However, if you are planning on packing up the spouse and kids and embarking to northwest Montana for a road trip this year, then you should take a little time to plan out some fun and interesting activities that the kiddos will be sure to enjoy and remember for years to come. Lets face it, Montana is a big state to drive across, and once you reach your vacation destination in the Flathead Valley, your children are going to be aching for some fun and adventure, so you better be prepared with some well thought out itinerary!
Below is our list of ideas and suggestions to get you started in your kid-friendly vacation planning…
Do Some Backcountry Exploring in Glacier National Park
Ok lets be honest, Glacier National Park probably played a significant roll in you even choosing this part of the country for your vacation plans to begin with right? Rightly so! Glacier National Park is amazing, boasting more than 700 miles of hiking trails, hundreds of dazzling lakes, rivers, waterfalls and tarns to gaze upon and explore. Beautiful old-growth forests, and jaw -dropping mountain scenery that is unlike anything else you and your family has probably seen anywhere else in the US.
While there are many great hikes located all throughout the park leading to hundreds of amazing and picturesque locations, I am going to limit this conversation to just a few of the more popular, easy-to-access trails which are easily accessible and easy for the whole family to hike and enjoy, regardless of their atheletic abilities.
The Trail of the Cedars is a very short, easy and kid-friendly hike. The Trail of the Cedars is located along the western side of the park just north of Lake McDonald, in the Avalanche Creek area. This easy and level trail wanders through a grove of quite impressive old-growth Cedars some of which have a diameter of more than 15 feet! A significant part of this trail consists of a boardwalk which is raised to protect the fragile forest floor, and this is a very easy but very enjoyable hike.
If you are feeling a little more adventurous, you might want to continue along the Avalanche Trail which starts near the half-way point on the Trail of the Cedars Loop, and leads further back through the forest to a beautiful cirque where you will find idyllic Avalanche Lake reflecting a perfect mirrored image of the beautiful surrounding mountains of Glacier National Park.
Near the top of the Going-to-the-Sun road you will find the trailhead for the Hidden Lake Trail starting just behind the Logan Pass visitors center and striking out across the beatuful alpine meadow back to Hidden Lake. Unlike the Avalanche and Cedar Trails, this trail passes mostly through higher alpine country so the views are sweeping and impressive. You will have a good chance of seeing some interesting wildlife up here, including hoary marmots, mountain goats, and big horn rams. Like the Trail of the Cedars, much of this trail consists of a boardwalk, which makes it quite an easy and family-friendly hike to complete. At the end of this trail you will be rewarded with breathtaking views of hidden lake, a beautiful alpine lake situated almost a mile above sea level and reflecting the stunning blue color of Montana’s Big Sky.
Along the eastern side of the park one great hike that is pretty easy, and would be enjoyable for the whole family is the hike to St. Mary Falls. This hike is less than a mile and the thundering roar of the waters at St. Mary Falls is something that the kids are sure to enjoy and not soon forget. If your feeling more adventurous, you can continue on down the trail a bit further and see another stunning waterfall called Virginia Falls. The trail to Virginia Falls is a little more taxing, but still easily doable, and definitely worth the effort.
Let The Kids Become Official Junior Rangers!
A fun endevor for kids to take part in is the Glacier Park Junior Ranger Program. In this program, children who visit the park will attend a ranger-led program and receive a fun Junior Ranger activity booklet. If they complete at least 5 of the activities in the booklet, they can return the booklet to any of the park visitor centers through the park and receive their official Junior Ranger badge.
Go For a Horseback Ride!
There are many opportunities throughout the Flathead Valley and the rest of Glacier Country where you and your kids can get your ‘cowboy’ on, with horseback riding, cookout dinners under the big sky sitting around a campfire, wagon rides, and so much more!
A few of the popular spots throught the area include the Bar W Guest Ranch, Gynor’s Resort, Lonesome Dove Guest Ranch and more
The Bar W Guest Ranch is a 3000+ acre ranch located along Spencer Lake just west of the town of Whitefish. This working ranch offers unique opportunities for horseback riding, riding lessons, real ranch-style cattle work, horsemanship skills training, wagon rides and dinner rides, campfire cookouts, square dancing and so much more.
Also located a few miles west of Whitefish Montana and situated in a picture-perfect valley with outstanding views of the surrounding mountains, Gaynor’s Resort is a beautiful resort ranch which also offers many western-themed activities including roping and horseback riding, practice bull riding, feeding the horses, wagon rides, and lots more.
Located south of Kalispell near Flathead Lake, the Lonesome Dove Ranch also offers horseback riding opportunities, as well as lessons in horsemanship, campfire cookouts and more.
Get Into The Zone
The Zone Family Fun Center is located just north of Kalispell along highway 2, just a few miles south of Glacier Peaks RV Park. The Zone offers all kinds of fun activities for the entire family to enjoy, including lazer tag, the Krazy Zone climbing center featuring climbing ropes, slides and foam ball launchers, a bowling alley, bounce zone, arcade, and much more! You can also order delicious pizza and ice cream while you are enjoying the attractions. This one is sure to please the kiddos.
A Mountain of Adventure
If you are looking to unwind and satisfy your desires for an adrenaline rush, then the Whitefish Mountain Resort is the place you want to go. Many recent aditions to this resort have made it as popular a destination during the summer time as it is in the winter time. Here you will find an alpine slide, an Aerial Adventure Park and obstacle course, a unique “Walk in the Treetops” attraction that lets you walk from treetop to treetop through the forest, and more. For those who really want a rush of adrenaline, Whitefish Mountain Resorts’ Zip Line tours are a can’t miss attraction. You can choose either a 5 or a 7 line zip tour, with zips that will fly you through the air 300 feet above the forest floor, and for distances of up to 1500 feet!
Experience a Whitewater Adventure
The middle fork of the Flathead River is famous for it’s whitewater rafting opportunities. In fact, stretches of this river were used in the filming of the Hollywood production “The River Wild” in 1994.
There are several river rafting tour operators in the area that will arrange for half day or full day rafting trips that will take you through some of Montana’s scenic back country, and through some exhilarating class II and III rapids.
The Amazing Fun Center
Located just up the road from Columbia Falls, on the way to Glacier Park, you will find the “Amazing Fun Center” another family-friendly fun center with go carts, bumper boats, mini-golf, and a walk-through maze.
The Flathead Valley and northwest Montana is full of fun and adventure for the entire family to enjoy. And Glacier Peaks RV Park is ideally centrally located offering easy access to all of these fun family attractions and adventures.
You can learn more about Glacier Peaks accommodations and book your stay by calling 800-268-4849 or visit www.GlacierPeaksRVPark.com
