Flathead Lake Lodge

Here at Flathead Lake Lodge, we’ve hung our hats in Bigfork, Montana, since 1945. While there are several guest ranches throughout the United States that offer traditional Western experiences – like horseback trail rides – we’re the only place that combines a traditional dude ranch experience with a lake vacation. Our nearly 2,000 acres of Montana sit on the shore of Flathead Lake, which is the largest natural freshwater lake in the West. With our location on the lake, our guests have easy access to abundant water activities, from sailing to water sports and boat cruises.

And as Flathead Lake can play a large role in your ranch vacation (if you want it to), here are five things to know about our ranch’s backyard, Flathead Lake.

1. It was carved by ancient glaciers. 

Just like Glacier National Park was named for ancient glaciers that created its hanging valleys and jagged peaks, Flathead Lake was also carved out by massive glaciers that moved through the area known today as the Flathead Valley. What they left behind: a lake with an average depth of around 165 feet and a deep point that is just under 371. It’s 27 miles long and 15 miles long.

2. Flathead Lake rarely freezes. 

With its massive depth, length, width and constantly moving water, the lake rarely freezes in its entirety. However, it still does! 2019 was the last time the lake was completely frozen.

3. You can sail in Montana on Flathead Lake. 

While sailboats may not be the first thing that comes to mind when you think of Montana, when you drive around Flathead Lake you’ll see sailboats cruising its waters. Due to the lake’s size and location, it creates its own ecosystem which includes winds that lend well to sailing. Here at the ranch, we’re fortunate to have two historic Q-class racing sloops – the Questa and Nor’Easter – from the late 1920s. Captain Scott is at the helm of our sailboats; see him in action here.

4. The water is CLEAN. 

One of the reasons our sailboats are in such amazing shape is because of the lake’s clean waters. Fed be glacial melt and snow runoff from the Flathead and Swan rivers in  Glacier National Park and the Bob Marshall Wilderness Complex, the lake fully flushes its water approximately every 2.5 years. In comparison, the waters of Lake Tahoe take 650 years to fully flush.

5. It has dozens of islands. 

Due to its size, it’s no surprise that Flathead Lake is home to a variety of islands. Some are public lands, while others are privately owned. The largest island on the lake is Wild Horse Island. In addition to some private properties, the island has a day-use state park. Wild Horse Island State Park encompasses 2,160 acres and has hiking trails, a beach and – you guessed it – a herd of wild horses. It’s accessible by boat or kayak.

If you’re ready to come play on our lakeside guest ranch, let us know. You can also learn more here or call our office at 406-837-4391.

Happy trails,
Chase

We’ve always been big believers that people need to get away, have time to decompress and soak up moments with the ones they love most. And while family vacations with kids are fantastic, we also know that sometimes grown-ups need getaways that don’t involve the kids.

Meet our 2022 adults-only Montana Adventure package.

This package is available twice this fall: from September 2 – 7, 2022, and September 12 – 15, 2022. 

The first package – which takes place over Labor Day – is longer than our previous adults-only getaways, which gives guests even more time to experience all we have to offer at Flathead Lake Lodge. A five-night package, it’s all-inclusive and includes on-property activities like horseback riding, touring the elk preserve, mountain biking on our trails, taking a morning dip in our lakeside pool and heading out to play on the waters of Flathead Lake.

The second package is a tad shorter at three nights and four days, while still giving guests the chance to soak up fall in Montana.

If you’ve stayed with us before, you’ve also tasted the culinary offerings of Chef Rob. And while he whips up great meals all summer long, for our adults-only packages he creates mouth-watering multi-course tasting menus with wine pairings. 

If you’re interested in reserving space in our 2022 adults-only getaways, get in touch with us here or call us at 406-837-4391.

Until next time,
Chase

If you’ve been to Flathead Lake Lodge, you know that we sit on the shore of Flathead Lake — the largest natural freshwater lake in the West. And while we often make mention of how lucky we are to have our guest ranch on Flathead Lake, we may not tell you enough about this place.

At 28 miles long and about 15 miles wide, Flathead Lake covers nearly 200 square miles and has 185 miles of shoreline.

Here are 12 things you probably didn’t know about Flathead Lake...

1. Flathead Lake is the 79th largest natural lake on the planet.

2. The water quality of Flathead Lake is one of the cleanest in the world. This can be credited to the lake being fed by waterways that are full of snowmelt from Glacier National Park and the Bob Marshall Wilderness Complex.

3. Much like its friend to the north Glacier National Park, Flathead Lake was carved out by massive glaciers that moved through the area during the Ice Age.

4. Due to its sheer size, Flathead Lake often creates its own weather patterns and during storms, you’ll see whitecaps form on the lake as winds rage across it.

5. Flathead Lake is home to HUGE fish. For example, the lake trout caught on Flathead Lake average about 8 pounds, but many of them tip the scales at larger weights.

6. You can drive all the way around the lake. It will take a few hours, but is hands-down one of the most beautiful drives around. You’ll largely take U.S. Highway 93 and Montana Highway 35.

7. There are public access sites all around the lake, including state parks, fishing access sites and parks.

8. Abundant recreation takes place on the lake. A few of note: sailing, kayaking, jet skis, boat cruises and fishing.

9. Here at the ranch, we take about 550 sails a year on the waters of Flathead Lake, most often on our two historic 51-foot Q-class racing sloops — the Questa and the Nor’Easter. They were both built in the late 1920s and are an important part of the Flathead Lake Lodge family and history.

10. Due largely to its sheer volume, Flathead Lake rarely freezes over during the winter, although you will find ice along the shorelines and in various bays around the lake. The last time the entire lake froze all the way was more than 30 years ago.

11. Flathead Lake creates an ideal environment (that is a bit milder that other places in Montana) for growing fruit. As you drive around the lake, you’ll see all kinds of orchards along the shoreline that grow cherries and in the summer, you can pick local cherries up at a roadside stand.

12. Flathead Lake is home to numerous islands, including Wild Horse Island. The largest island on the lake around 2,160 acres, Wild Horse is a day-use state park that’s home to all sorts of wildlife, including wild horses.

Learn more about our guest ranch on the shores of Flathead Lake at FlatheadLakeLodge.com.

Until next time, happy trails and adventuring.

-Chase

 

 

Summer is almost here, and with the long sunny days bringing everyone out of their winter slumber, the picturesque village of Bigfork is coming to life for another great summer.

 

Although it is hard to leave the ranch during your vacation, (Often we have to remind guests to save some time for some R & R) the quick walk to downtown Bigfork is a great way to spend some time away from the ranch.

 

Aside from the great galleries, shops and restaurants, there are many exciting events happening throughout this summer that just might coincide with your stay!

 

Here is the schedule of some the big events! For more events visit www.bigfork.org

 

36^th Annual Bigfork Whitewater Festival

May 26^th & 27^th

Watch local and regional professional and armature kayakers take on the ‘Wild Mile’ as it flows through Downtown Bigfork.

 

National Wildlife Federation Fundraiser w/ special guest Jack Hanna

June 29

Join special guest Jack Hannah for a entertaining and fundraising night to bring a wild her of Bison back to Montana

 

July 4^th Celebration

July 4th

Famous and recognized nationally for it’s small town spectacle. The Bigfork celebration and parade is something to see.

 

Saddle Up and Paint

July 17th

Join local and regional artists as the create lasting works of art for charity.

 

34^th Annual Festival of the Arts

Aug 4^th – 5th

Downtown Bigfork hosts Artisans & Musicians Sat. & Sun. Over 160 arts and craft booths, food, entertainment and children’s activities.

 

Swan Lake Huckleberry Festival

Aug 10^th – 12th

The Swan Lake Huckleberry Festival is an annual celebration of the elusive wild huckleberry. Visitors can enjoy music, kids’ games, raffles and a silent auction, and sample the fruits of the baking contest, locally made huckleberry pies and ice cream.

 

 

Chris Hillman, founding member of the Byrds and Herb Pedersen from The Desert Rose Band will be joining us as Artists in Residence for the 2012 workshop and festival and round out this years great line up!

Following the hugely successful sold out 2011 guitar workshop and festival, we want to let you know that Lee Ritenour, Julian Lage, Sonny Landreth, Chris Hillman, Herb Pedersen, Dennis Koster and Patty Larkin will be joining us as Artists in Residence for this year’s event. www.cocguitarfoundation.org

 

This week long event includes 6 days of workshops, master classes, playing with professional rhythm sections, jamming, and nightly concerts. Being held at the Flathead Lake Lodge workshop participants and their family members have access to all the lodges’ amenities, plus more.  Also available for family members during the week is a watercolor workshop taught by renowned western artist Nancy Cawdrey.

 

There will be eleven workshops offered in seven guitar genres with leading faculty from the National Guitar Workshop:  Jazz featuring Lee Ritenour and Julian Lage, Classic Rock featuring Chris Hillman and Herb Pedersen, Blues featuring Sonny Landreth, Classical featuring Dennis Koster, Singer-Songwriter featuring Patty Larkin, Acoustic featuring Doug Smith, and Beginners with Susan Mazer.  A new course has been added this year for Bass players featuring Melvin Lee Davis and Jorge Roeder.

 

Jazz pianist and composer, Dave Grusin (recipient of one Academy Award and twelve Grammy Awards) and drummers Sonny Emory and Tupac Mantilla will be special featured artists.

 

In addition, Lee Ritenour’s 3^rd Annual Yamaha Six String Theory International Guitar Competition will be held during the workshop week on August 29th. The six finalists will be awarded a full scholarship to attend the workshop.

 

This is a unique opportunity to study with the masters and share a passion for guitar with fellow participants in an intimate and personalized setting.  All surrounded by our famous western hospitality.

 

The 2011 workshop was a sell out and the 2012 workshop has limited availability, so early registration is advised! 
 REGISTRATION DISCOUNT! Register by April 30, 2012 and get a $250 discount on the Workshop fee.  For more information and to register go to www.cocguitarfoundation.org or call (406) 837-2574.

 

 

 

It looks like Kid’s Rodeo is no longer going to be the biggest competitive event held at Flathead Lake Lodge! Next September the Kalispell Chamber will be hosting the 1st Annual Montana Dragon Boat Races at Flathead Lake Lodge. This is going to be an awesome event for the entire Flathead Valley, and is expected to draw around 3,000 people and 600 competitors! Teams of 20 paddlers will race traditional 46′ Hong Kong dragon boats along the shore of Flathead Lake, just in front of Flathead Lake Lodge. Want to race? Learn more? Or are thinking about attending? Find all the information at: http://montana.racedragonboats.com

We hope to see you all here next September! It is going to be a blast!

 

For the first time in a long time, Flathead Lake Lodge was still shaking in its boots after a memorable Averill wedding celebration. Chase Averill and Kate Verhey tied the knot on the shores of Flathead Lake, surrounded by the old growth fir trees and family and friends from across the country. It was a 4 days extravaganza filled with the usual FLL favorites like steak fry, barn dance, mouse races and much more. Enjoy the photo’s below, and thanks to everyone who helped pull off this great weekend!

 

 

One of the most rewarding aspects of working in the hospitality business is helping provide families with an amazing vacation. We take it personally, and truly feel that each guest of the Ranch should feel like they are at home… if their home was a 2,000 acre playground! It is always bittersweet at the end of each week to say goodbye to the families we have become friends with (sometimes with the kids crying and clinging to the closest tree, not wanting to leave) and the same day welcoming the new families as the children jump from their airport shuttle practically before it has parked.

It is these memories and friendships over the years that has made the Lodge such a special place. The list of characters is endless, and each year there is no better reminder of that than over the holiday season. Aside from skiing, hunting and playing hockey, browsing through the annual Christmas Card basket is a winter past time here at the Lodge. Each year the Lodge receives hundreds of holiday cards from past guests. Some families just visited us last year, some haven’t visited since the 50’s, and all are equally appreciated. It can literally take hours to go through the ‘card basket’, and when you are done, it is more clear than ever that for the  65+ years it is not the location, facilities, amenities, cuisine, or recreation that makes Flathead Lake Lodge special, it is the people.

So thank you for all the support…and some really hilarious Christmas cards, it is always appreciated.

This fall, Flathead Lake Lodge received the honor of being one of the main live auction items at the Children’s Cancer Research Foundation’s (CCRF) 30th Anniversary Gala in Minneapolis. With over 1,000 attendees, the evening was truly an event to remember. The two week vacation at Flathead Lake Lodge raised $34,000 for CCRF’s many great causes. It is not every day you get us dude rancher’s cleaned up into a three-piece tux! The Gala night included many highlights, including trips to Dubai and sideline passes to a Monday Night Football game to name a few.

All in all, the vacation at the Lodge went toe to toe with a week in Dubai, and it looks like the great people of Minneapolis are pretty excited about dusting off their old cowboy boots and hat. By the end  of the night the CCRF raised close to a million dollars to fight childhood cancer. A pretty amazing accomplishment for a great foundation.

We are proud to have been a part of it. For more information visit CCRF’s website at: www.childrenscancer.org

We know you have all seen the pictures of the monster pike caught by Lodge staff over the last couple of years. A few years back, Sous Chef Zach hauled in a 49 inch 28 lb monster. Then last fall Chase Averill landed a 46″ 31lb hog on an 8 weight fly rod out of Flathead Lake. What we didn’t know until recently is that Chase’s fish would have most likely been the North American record for a Pike caught on a fly rod.

Check out this article in the Daily Interlake about another local angler.

Well…Chase’s lack of smarts to have his fish properly weighed and recorded probably cost him the North American record for pike on a fly…but he did get the picture of the Month, so we’ll consider it a second place prize.