Sweet Valley High

There are few things better on a hot Montana day than donning a pair of hipwaders, waltzing into an icy stream and casting a few choice lines at the Kalispell area’s famed westslope cutthroat trout.

THE FLATHEAD VALLEY has led Montana’s "New West" transformation, where arts, tourism and culinary creativity are starting to be infused into the old ranch-hand ethos. In practice this means you can get organic field greens and Vietnamese fritters with your flatiron steak-and, after a day riding trail on a quarter horse, settle in for orchestra seats at an Alpine Theater Project production of The Tempest.

Explore
Rimmed by the Rocky Mountains, the Flathead is a lake country of small towns-Bigfork, Whitefish, Kalispell, Polson-near the southern entrance of Glacier National Park (406-888-7800, nps.gov/glac). One of the largest intact ecosystems in the lower 48 states, the park is a wild paradise of alpine meadows, mountain lakes, hundreds of kilometres of trails-and dozens of mammals, including wolverines, bighorn sheep and lynx. And serious grizzlies. If you’re not going to camp or take a pack-horse trip into the back country, leave your car behind and tour the park on one of the newly restored "Reds": convertible canvas-topped motor coaches custom-built for the park circa 1936 and now painted to match the exact shade of mountain ash berry (403-236-3400, glacierparkinc.com). On Red tours you can see mountain goats sampling the salty cliffs at the Goat Lick, stand with your feet on either side of the Continental Divide and hold your breath as you descend (or ascend) the precipitous Going-to-the-Sun Road-one of North America’s great drives.
This is Montana, so fishing is part of the landscape (both literary and actual). Three forks of the Flathead River flow into the valley, offering the kind of iconic fly-fishing experiences made famous by A River Runs Through It. One of the Valley’s top fly-fish guides, offering gear, trips and even lessons on a private lake stocked with cutthroat, is Lakestream Outfitters (406-862-1298, lakestream.com). At the centre of the valley is Flathead Lake, the largest natural lake west of the Continental Divide, bigger than Tahoe by a smidgen. You can swim, sail or kayak-or, with help from Mo Fisch Charters, troll for monstrous 14-kilogram Mackinaw lake trout (406-755-4414, mofisch.com).

For rainy day culture, the town of Bigfork has over a dozen galleries featuring local artists. One of the best is the Sacred Dancing Gallery (573 Electric Ave., Bigfork, 406-837-7273, sacred dancinggallery.com), which features Hamilton Aguiar’s crepuscular trees and Michael Coleman’s Turner-esque landscapes. At Paint Metal and Mud (16 1st St. W,
Kalispell, 406-755-8886, paintmetalandmud.com) look for Kelly Apgar’s work. A great-great-granddaughter of original Flathead Valley homesteaders, Apgar does most of her expressionist miniatures using "cattle markers," bright oil paint sticks originally used to sort range livestock.

Eat & Drink
Flathead Valley restaurants are some of Montana’s best, offering New West cuisine that keeps it resolutely local. Pescado Blanco (9235 1st St., Whitefish, 406-862-3290, pescadoblanco.com) serve up "mountain Mexican fusion" accompanied by an eclectic and wickedly affordable wine list. Pheasant enchiladas with hand-pressed white-corn tortillas and mole sauce are delicious, as is it’s local elk chorizo with caramelized onions, roasted sweet chilies and Mexican crema.

The East Shore Smokehouse (35103 Hwy. 35, Polson, 406-887-2096, eastshoresmokehouse.com) is pure Montana rustic with chunky wood tables, clapboard walls, and a dozen microbrews. Try the smoked prime rib or it’s slow-cooked beef brisket doused with Flathead cherry barbecue sauce. Along with hand-cut flatiron steaks and buffalo rib-eyes sourced from local ranches, the Winchester Steakhouse (2205 Hwy. 93 S, Kalispell, 406-257-8188) offers elk steaks (and burgers) raised on the owner’s ranch in the lower valley. If it’s all too much meat, Wasabi (419 E 2nd St., Whitefish, 406-863-9283, wasabimt.com) will give you a break with fresh sushi in a modern atmosphere of pale green walls and high mirrors to watch the chefs prep your nigiri. There’s local action here too-the Montana Roll pairs smoked rainbow trout with cucumber and whitefish caviar.

Huckleberries are a western Montana staple. Try them in a milk shake at Mrs. Spoonover’s (533 E. 2nd St., Whitefish, 406-862-9381, mrsspoonovers.com), which also serves fresh-baked pies with "mostly Montana made" ice cream. If you want lunch and are looking for more vegetarian fare, order a Dirty Stinkin’ Hippie Burger (a black bean patty with blue cheese and sweet potato fries).

Stay
The old Kalispell Grand Hotel (100 Main St., 800-858-7422, kalispellgrand.com) has small, affordable rooms in the old town. Smart, friendly staff and fresh-baked chocolate chip cookies all day; no pool, but it’s close to two great swimming holes on nearby Foys Lake. Sperry Chalet (888-345-2649, sperrychalet.com) in Glacier National Park perches in the clouds at 2,000 metres. To earn one of its spectacular rooms-built in 1913 of rock from the surrounding hillsides-you hike 10 kilometres of hemlock forests, streams and alpine meadows. Meals are included, and the open dining room makes quick friends of footsore travellers. wl

For events, activities and accommodations, visit fcvb.org.