Category: About

Visitor Information Centers (VICs) offer a wealth of knowledge that helps visitors get the lay of the land. When you stop in to one of ours, you’ll get a warm Western Montana welcome from friendly staff who love to share their expertise. With VICs at Libby Dam, Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation, the Crown of the […]

Spring is one of the best—and most underrated—times to visit Western Montana. The landscape is emerging from winter’s embrace (snow is melting), the daylight hours are longer (sunset is around 8 p.m., and by the end of spring it’s closer to 9 p.m.) and the temperature is rising. Along with being Glacier Country’s shoulder season—meaning […]

Wrapping up our blog series on notable people is the story of Montana’s famous cowgirl, Ramona Holt. Ramona grew up in Montana’s ranching and rodeo scene, participating in youth, intercollegiate and professional rodeo. As an adult, she dedicated her life to promoting the western way of living, and for 30 years Ramona and her husband, […]

We’ve been spotlighting remarkable people who call Western Montana home. Our next notable person is Nancy Cawdrey, whose vibrant contemporary paintings capture the spirit of the West. If you’ve visited Glacier Country you’ve likely seen one of her beautiful pieces. Nancy brilliantly combines texture with vivid colors in her whimsical ink-on-silk paintings, which reflect the […]

Western Montana’s beloved Café Kandahar, located at Whitefish Mountain Resort, is known for “serving thoughtfully constructed cuisine inspired by classic and modern influences.” That’s thanks to chef (and owner) Andy Blanton, who has been turning out delectable dishes at this favorite Whitefish restaurant for more than two decades. Andy arrived in Montana from New Orleans […]

Some pretty remarkable people call Western Montana home. The beauty of our landscape, bountiful recreation, a supportive arts community, and the call of the wild draw folks from far and wide. We’re spotlighting some of these extraordinary people, giving you the chance to get to know them, their work, and their favorite things in Glacier […]

In Glacier Country, small-town America thrives. Our vibrant communities are chock-full of local boutiques, eclectic shops, restaurants and coffee shops dishing up Western Montana flavor, and our locally owned accommodations are always ready with warm western welcomes.

As a guide in Yellowstone National Park and Glacier National Park (GNP) I am no stranger to their beauty, but I am also no stranger to their crowds. With record numbers expected to hit GNP again this year, I knew it was time to explore the surrounding regions. My name is Andy Austin, and I’m a photographer based out of Montana. For the past three weeks, I have road-tripped across Montana in search of spring wildflowers and epic adventures. As my tour starts to come to a close in northwest Montana’s Glacier Country, many of my friends guessed that my trip would take me to the Flathead Valley and GNP, an area I spend a good deal of free time in. But, for this adventure, I had my eyes set on solitude and escaping the crowds.

Western Montana’s Glacier Country spans 22,000 square miles of pure perfection. Boasting natural wonders like Glacier National Park, the Bob Marshall Wilderness, the Bitterroot Valley and Flathead Lake, you’ll never tire of exploring our corner of heaven. This stunningly beautiful region is home to 75+ communities, and each of them deserves to be discovered. We recently visited one of our very favorite Western Montana towns, the storybook village of Bigfork.

The Crown of the Continent. The Backbone of the World. Heaven on Earth. Glacier National Park boasts some pretty apt nicknames. But did you know the epic beauty and unrivaled adventure extend well beyond park boundaries? From charming small towns to pristine rivers and recreation areas, Montana offers a wonderland of discovery.