How to get there
Where is Whitefish?
Whitefish Mountain Resort is located in north west Montana, USA; about two hours drive north of Missoula on Hwy 93 (or two hours south of Fernie in Canada if you prefer that direction). A short 8 miles (13km) north of the town of Whitefish, the local town planners made sure that you can’t miss the ski hill by beautifully aligning the main street with the biggest local natural feature – Big Mountain at Whitefish Mountain Resort.
Glacier International airport between Whitefish and Kalispell is only 20 miles from Whitefish Resort and provides easy access from all major US and Canadian cities.
Other Ski Resorts Nearby
What’s “nearby” when you’re talking powder? To the north,
Fernie in BC Canada is only 2 hours away. Some smaller ski hills include the excellent Montana
Snowbowl near Missoula (2 hours drive south), and the closer Blacktail Mountain (1 hour drive) (note -BYO food to Blacktail as the eating experience there is frightful at best!).
Cat skiing (an awesome activity for powder hounds) with
Great Northern Powder Guides is a hop, skip and jump up the road (they will pick you up from the resort).
Getting To Whitefish
Whether it’s by train (yes, train), plane or automobile, getting to Whitefish is easy.
By automobile, Hwy 93 is the major artery leading to Whitefish from both Canada and the USA. To drive to the resort, head north out of downtown Whitefish on Highway 93 and after 2.4 miles turn right onto the Big Mountain Road and up to the resort.
From Glacier International Airport there are essentially two ways to get to Whitefish Mountain Resort - rental car from all the major chains, or call Flathead-Glacier Transportation (Ph. 406-892 0133). Some of the rental car companies (i.e. Budget) now do one way rentals from the airport to the mountain. With 3 or more people, it’s probably cheaper than a shuttle and allows you do some shopping or whatever you like on the way to the hill.
Strangely, one can even take an overnight train to Whitefish. It leaves Seattle or Portland in the early evening, then you have dinner, some drinks, go to bed in your sleeper and wake up at Whitefish to be whisked to the mountain for breakfast and first lifts – bravo. Now that is a classy way to get to a ski hill. Too bad I don’t live in Seattle. The train also has a full night/day service from Chicago through Minneapolis which arrives at Whitefish at 9.30pm. Check out the ‘Empire Builder’ line at Amtrak.com.
Getting Around Whitefish
There is a free SNOW bus with a total of twelve stops from the town of Whitefish to the ski resort between 7.15am and 11pm most nights (check the
schedule). The bus stops at all the major shopping centres, movie cinemas, indoor pool/waterslides, the town centre, ice rink and several lodges plus the base lodge and upper village at the resort.
Getting around the Resort
Two shuttles run throughout the resort. The first is the base lodge shuttle in the form of either a proper small bus or a cutesy hay ride like covered trailer towed by a truck. Alternatively Whitefish Mountain Resort is compact enough to use the two lower appendages called legs to get around.