Nov
19

Trip Recap: A Weekend in Whitefish

People will tell you that a vacation with young kids is a contradiction, but I beg to differ. Some of my favorite vacations have been with our kids, and not in spite of them, but because of them. It's all about having the right expectations, planning for extra stops, building in kid-friendly activities, indulging in lots of good food, and staying in a fun hotel or vacation rental. This is especially important if you have little kids that still nap or go to bed early, since you'll be spending lots of downtime in your accommodations. Obviously, it sucks to be stuck somewhere lame...but if your hotel is awesome, then those quiet downtimes may end up being some of your favorite memories! It also helps to go with friends who have kids around the same age as yours. The kids get to run around, build forts, and play games together...and you can actually have uninterrupted adult conversations once they're in bed. Back in October, we spent a long weekend in Whitefish, Montana with some friends of ours, and we had so much fun together. With four kids under four! I wrote about our experience on trivago magazine, but I also wanted to share a quick trip recap here. All the photos are from my friend Corlana of Lana Jenae Photography.

Whitefish is a 4.5 hour road trip from Spokane, along one of the prettiest stretches of highway you'll ever see in the fall. After a lunch stop in Wallace, Idaho (a darling old mining town with picturesque brick buildings), we hit larch country. Larches--or tamaracks, depending on who you ask--are these amazing trees that blend in with the pines until October, when they burst into golden flame. It's so cool to see conifers turn yellow. And not just one or two, but entire hillsides of them! This was our view for the majority of the drive...STUNNING.

Then we arrived in Whitefish: an outdoorsy, Western-style resort town tucked into the mountains, a mere 40 minutes away from Glacier National Park.

We stayed at The Lodge at Whitefish Lake, and we could not have picked a better place. It was so relaxing! In addition to the rooms in the main lodge, they have luxury homes and condos you can rent which are perfect for multiple families. We lucked out and got an incredible deal on the Averill Suite (a two-story, top-level, three-bedroom corner condo complete with a tall stone fireplace and four balconies facing Whitefish Lake).

This was the view from the hotel's private beach (just down the stairs from our condo). See what I mean about picking a great place to stay?? No one's complaining about being stuck here!

You can read about the activities we did in my trivago article, but suffice it to say Whitefish was full of opportunities to get our kids outside and in nature.

We also ate reeaaally well--the restaurant scene was impressive for such a small town!

Whitefish Restaurant Recommendations:

- Tupelo Grille (I looooved Ben's chicken & dumplings)
- Pescado Blanco
- Ciao Mambo (kid-friendly, with paper tablecloths you can draw on--but make reservations, they're small and deservedly crowded!)
- Sweet Peaks (amazing ice cream with creamy, creative flavors)
- Loula's Cafe
- Piggyback BBQ
- Montana Coffee Traders
- Abruzzo Italian Kitchen
- Uptown Hearth & Azul Coffee (well worth the stop on the way to Glacier!)

And of course, Glacier National Park was a highlight! You can't be that close to one of the most beautiful places in the country and not take a day trip.

October is a beautiful time of year to visit Glacier. Not only did we see fall colors, but there was even a dusting of SNOW on top of the trees! The combination was magical, and the kids were delighted (especially Ian).

West Glacier Recommendations:

- Trail of the Cedars (easy loop hike on a stroller-friendly boardwalk)
- Lake McDonald
- Going-to-the-Sun Road

I'll end with a photo of our cute little crew. It was a true pleasure seeing them play together and become closer friends.

Have you ever been to Whitefish or Glacier? We want to go back in the summer and winter, to experience it in different seasons! Whitefish is so cute, and I know we only scratched the surface of Glacier.