Kalispell Travel Guide : Attractions.gif)
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| Duck
Pond in Woodland Park in Kalispell, Montana |
Kalispell,
Montana, as mentioned, mainly serves as a very popular
gateway to Glacier
National Park. However, Kalispell
also has many attractions that bring people here as well.
Kalispell
sits just 9 miles north of Flathead
Lake. For those who
aren’t familiar with Flathead Lake, it is
the largest body of freshwater found west of the Continental
Divide. Flathead Lake use to have excellent fishing for salmon.
Unfortunately, a Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks experiment
went a bit awry and killed all the salmon in the 1970’s.
As such, Flathead Lake has reverted over to a quality Lake
Trout fishery – in a very scenic setting.
If lakes
aren’t your thing but hiking is, then you’re
in luck since the Jewel
Basin Hiking Area is a quick and
dirty 45 minute to reach. Excellent hiking trails are found
up in the Jewel Basin, all of which provide some stunning
views of the mountains the Flathead Valley itself. The trails
are also fairly easy to hike as well, as the trailhead starts
up at a high elevation.
If you
don’t feel like hiking, you can always head
north 15 miles to the town of Whitefish. From there, it’s
another 7 miles to the base of Big Mountain Ski Area. You
can either ski there (during the winter) or hop on their
gondola during the summer for what is probably one of the
finest views of Glacier National Park anywhere.
Kalispell
itself has a reasonably good city park system. While it's
a far cry from the extensive park network found in Great
Falls or even Whitefish, both Lawrence Park and Woodland
Park are quite nice. Thus, if you need a place for a picnic,
you at least have a nice place to go. Just beware of the
tame ducks at Woodland Park - they have been known to mug
anyone with food that happens to cross their path!
Kalispell
Weather
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| The
Old Depot in Kalispell |
The
weather in Kalispell, Montana, is not nearly as wild as
is found elsewhere in Montana. In many ways, Kalispell
is a banana belt of sorts. The high mountains of the continental
divide to the east prevent most (but not all) of the cold
air that hits Great Falls from
reaching Kalispell during the winter. Thus, when it’s
like 20 below in Great Falls, it will commonly be around
20 above in Kalispell. Similarly, the mountains around
Kalispell tend to keep things a bit cooler in the valley
during the summer than will be found elsewhere in Montana.
Summer
weather is, quite simply, excellent. Beginning in July
and lasting through September, the weather is generally
sunny, with high’s in the 70’s and 80’s,
with the occasional 90+ day thrown in for variety. However,
the rest of the year, Kalispell tends to suffer from lots
of cloudy, overcast days. The clouds keep the temperature
warm, but also keep the days cooler than they would otherwise
be. The clouds also have a way of wearing on peoples nerves
at times, too.
As a
side note, it is worth mentioning that June weather can
be hit and miss. June is the wettest month in Kalispell,
and the precipitation isn’t always in the form of
rain – particularly in the mountains. Highs will
range from 40 degrees up to 90 degrees, with no rhyme or
reason in the patterns. Thus, be careful planning a trip
here in June, as the weather can be just about anything.
 
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