Hey friends! Thinking of a trip to Montana? I am so excited to share all about our trip and what was our favourite and what was least favourite! This trip had it all.. decent weather, beautiful views and lots of fun things to do! I’ll be dishing on where to stay, where to eat, and some super activities for the whole family! So let’s get started on all you need to know before you plan your trip!
Day 1
First lets start with the personal details. We traveled from the west coast (Vancouver Island) with 2 kids, 5 years old and 3 years old at the beginning of September. We woke up and left the house by 3am to catch the first ferry off the island. Everyone’s advice was to leave early in the morning to allow the kids to continue to sleep in the car for that part of the trip. My kids were wired for sound as soon as we got on the road, whoops!
We caught our ferry and got through the border with little to no wait, good start to the trip! This gave us great time to try and make it to our stopping point for the day, Spokane, Washington. We drove until 4:30pm and stopped for the night, staying at Centennial Hotel Spokane. We made such good time the first day that we slept in a little and made it to Whitefish, Montana in about 4.5 hours.
Where to Stay
Since we had a 15 hour drive to even get to our destination of Whitefish, we had a few places we stayed. On the way to Montana we stayed at Centennial Hotel in Spokane. It took a lot of on road (last minute) research but it looked like it had a great pool for the kids after such a long drive, and nice looking rooms. The pool ended up being an amazing addition, outdoors for the end of summer and an excellent end to a long day in the car. It was also lined along the river, and the grounds were just gorgeous.
In Whitefish, Montana we stayed at The Cabins At Whitefish. The pictures looked great when we booked it but I think it was even better than pictured! We stayed in Good Medicine A cabin and it was so cute and comfy. It really felt like home for our family, the kids loved it! There was plenty of space and everything was clean and updated. I wanted to load it up and bring the cabin home with me! It was a clean, quiet area with wildlife walking outside your door. A golf cart to mosey down to restaurants at the golf course down the road and close driving to the downtown.
On our way home, we wanted to get as far as possible the first day, without going all the way to Seattle. After a little investigation we stumbled across Ellensburg, Washington. I wanted something close to the overpass and a pool. I came across Townplace Suites by Marriot. It looked fairly new, with nice big, clean rooms, big shower and the pool was wonderful! Ellensburg itself seemed like an adorable little place, however we were led to Yakima for dinner by the front desk and let me tell you, I like to think I have great gut instincts and the second we turned off into the city I knew we shouldn’t be there. A little google search on our way back (after a sketchy, rushed dinner) told me I was right.
Last but not least, back in Whitefish, Montana our friends stayed very nearby our cabin at Grouse Mountain Lodge. Right along a nice looking golf course, it had a good size pool and a nice big outdoor hot tub. They have a restaurant and a breakfast buffet as well.
What To Do
Our main purpose for being in Montana was for a wedding, but for the rest of the time we tried to make the most of our time and cover a lot of the Whitefish staples.
Downtown Whitefish
Our first day in Whitefish we checked out the downtown. We took the kids to the Amtrak station to watch some trains. We don’t have trains on the island, so no surprise that it was a hit with them! They had a little museum in the building as well which had some cool history. Then we walked down the streets checking out all the neat little shops, bought some souvenirs and some huckleberry novelties.
After scoping out different restaurants, wine tastings and salons, we drove and found the local City Beach complete gorgeous views with the mountains in the background!
Glacier National Park
Our second day in Montana was our friends wedding. The ceremony took place at Glacier National Park at Two Medicine Lake. It was about a two hour drive from our accommodations but beautiful views along the way!
The weather was threatening rain so it was a bit chilly, but overall great experience. We didn’t do any of the hikes there with the others, we had the two kids, one with a broken toe.
Family Fun
Our last day in Whitefish we decided to do something for the kids. I looked up any fun parks, mini golf etc. I came across Amazing Fun Centre in Corum, Montana. Human-sized wooden maze, mini golf, bumper boats and go-karts were just some of the fun had there! The maze had varying difficulties, but as a group with small children we opted the easy way out. Lots of fun was had by all!
After the fun park, we found what my kids called “tree park”. Glacier Highline was an aerial adventure park featuring a two level aerial course and ziplines. It also had a big inflatable obstacle course (perfect for the 3 year old) and an inflatable water obstacle which looked to be seasonal. The course can do groups, or solo with the help of their friendly crew around the course to assist when needed. My 5 year old completed the whole course!
Where to Eat/Drink
While we were in Whitefish we at a few different places, all great meals and of course our drive to and from Montana we tried to enjoy some places we don’t normally get at home.
Whitefish
• Great Northern Bar & Grill – I’ll be honest, I hesitantly stepped foot into this bar with my children in tow, wondering what I got myself into but the food was probably the best we had all trip! We tried to order out another night there and they were so busy they couldn’t take our order. I think that speak for itself! Definitely call ahead, and give this place a go!
• MacKenzie River Pizza – For pizza night in, we ordered from this local pizza place. We ordered cheese for the kids, Buffalo wing and BBQ for us. All of it was delicious and arrived quickly!
• Logan’s Bar & Grill – This place was located in Grouse Mountain Lodge, where our friends stayed. We ate here a couple times and had some favourites. The fried brussel sprouts were delicious, coated in shaved parmesan and balsamic. Their soups were also delicious and the Truffle Sacchetti Pasta. I also enjoyed a lot of their Huckleberry Lemon Drops.
On The Road
• Jersey Mike Subs
• Outback Steakhouse
• St Regis Travel Centre
• Starbucks
• Sonic
• Olive Garden
Tips For Traveling With Kids
Our kids travel a lot in the car, however they have never been in the car for this long. We definitely gave some wiggle room with timing, expecting to have to make frequent stops but they did amazingly well both ways. One that gets car sick and the other just potty trained, I prepared the best I could!
Firstly, I packed a bag for in the car so I could easily grab things for them. They also each packed a bag of toys, but they were mostly for our final destination, not the car.
In The Bag
• Drawing boards (endless drawing)
• Silly Putty (doesn’t crumble like play-doh)
• Activity books (age appropriate for each child)
• Lollipops (for a little ‘hang in there’ treat)
Games
Trying to entertain two kids for 15 hours of driving each way was not the easiest. We had a cooler and bag of snacks, toys and activities, but honestly what past the time the most (along with naps) was playing games!
Khloe gets carsick so tablet was out, movies were out, we went straight “old fashioned” and played road games. We had a binder of go-to road trip games (get printables here) and we played a lot of them!
On top of that, one of our most played games was to pick a category and list something for each letter in that category. (Foods: A: Apple, B: Banana) We all did each letter and it seemed to last us awhile. Another one that the 3 year old could do with us was word associations. He really enjoyed coming up with things that go with what the last person said! (Car-tire, tire-road etc)
Final Thoughts
I was really unsure what was so special about Montana. At the end of the day, we live at the water, we live at the mountains, I feel we have it all on Vancouver Island and in BC. However it really was a beautiful place. It felt clean and safe, and driving across Washington and Idaho we observed the cleanliness of just the highways and side of the road, the nature. I would totally recommend Whitefish. It sounds like a hot spot for skiing in the winter as well!
