Whitefish Travel : Outdoor Activities.gif)
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| Big
Mountain Ski Area and Whitefish Lake |
Whitefish
excels in one thing in particular – its
very close proximity to a whole host of various outdoor activities.
For hiking, Glacier
National Park, with its 800 miles of
trails, is about 25 miles away. Countless other hiking trails
can be found in the nearby Swan Mountains and just out of
town in the Whitefish Range. Other, less designated hiking
trails, are also found in the nearby State Forest lands that
lie just outside of town.
Whitefish
also is lucky enough to have one of the nicest lakes in
all of Montana, Whitefish
Lake. This beautiful lake,
which lies at the base of Big Mountain, stretches for 7 miles
and is about a half mile wide. Whitefish Lake has crystal
clear water and good fishing for lake trout. During the summer,
Whitefish Lake is a very popular place for boating – with
dozens of boats to be found on the water during nice weather.
The clear water of Whitefish Lake, combined with beautiful
views of the surrounding mountains, has led to massive building
along the shores of the lake – no doubt greatly contributing
to the growth of Whitefish.
It is
during the winter months, though, that Whitefish really
stands out. The Big Mountain
ski area, which is patently
obvious from anyplace in downtown, lies just 7 road miles
away – although the road leading up to it is less than
pleasant when it is snow or ice covered. The Big Mountain
ski resort has been a big contributor to the growth in Whitefish
recently – with even more development occurring up
at the base area of the mountain as well.
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| Big
Mountain in the Summer |
If cross
country skiing is more your style, fear not. Big Mountain
has a small network of cross country ski trails.
Better (and free) ski trails, though, will be found up in
Glacier
National Park and in some trails maintained by the
Flathead National Forest about 10 miles outside of town.
Snowmobiling
is another popular sport in and around Whitefish. While
Whitefish doesn’t get outrageous amounts of snow
(about 70 inches per year), the mountains just outside of
town can receive well over 300 inches. Just outside of Whitefish
lies the Whitefish Range. This mountain range has miles and
miles of forest service roads, a good portion of which become
snowmobile trails during the winter months (many of which
are actually groomed). If you don’t mind the noise,
these trails also make for good cross country skiing too.
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