In through the outdoors

Northwest Montana has hiking, rafting, incredible huckleberry milkshakes

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A cabin at North Fork Hostel in Polebridge, Mont.

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By Laura MacNeil

updated 4:47 p.m. ET Aug. 21, 2008

DAY 1
Glacier National Park, the vast protected wilderness area in northwestern Montana, has always loomed large in my imagination — the dizzyingly steep mountain peaks, the glaciers remaining from the last ice age, and the mountain goats, bighorn sheep, and, of course, bears. The thought of coming across a bear on a hike is actually petrifying. My friend Ellie and I will be arming ourselves with plenty of bear spray.

But we have some exploring to do in the towns before we get to the park. In Whitefish, a historic railroad community, we stop for lunch at the Bulldog Saloon, which is decorated with dozens of wooden plaques depicting bulldogs (the local high school's mascot). Neither of us knows what to expect from the sour-cream-and-chive fries Ellie orders along with our burgers, but after one bite, she's hooked: "You need to taste these fries. Now."

A block away, Mrs. Spoonover's ice cream shop looks like a grandmother's home, with its doilies, denim tablecloths, and teapots lining the shelves. The friendly owner, Judy Scallen, whose silver hair is piled up in a bun, serves us Montana-made ice cream that she says contains the highest percentage of cream possible. I have a scoop of huckleberry — a berry native to the Northwest — and it would satisfy even a 5-year-old's sweet tooth.

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Although we're pretty full, we can't resist a free sample in the tasting room at the Great Northern Brewing Company, especially when the beers have names like Buckin' Horse and Hellroaring. Since there isn't a tour — you just look at the tanks and pipes through a glass wall in the tasting room — we go down the street to split a beer at the Great Northern Bar & Grill (which has no affiliation with the brewery). We contemplate spending the day there, listening to a guitarist and drinking microbrews, but the annual Northwest Montana Rodeo awaits in Kalispell, 20 minutes to the south.

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Slide show: Road trip through Northwest Montana

On our way out of town, we stop at Cowgirl Coffee. Ellie is delighted by all the souvenirs, particularly a T-shirt that says ONE SINGLE TALL COWGIRL, PLEASE. Outside, she sets the timer on her camera to take a photo of us on a bench with COWGIRL HEAVEN painted on the backrest.

The real-life cowgirls racing their quarter horses around barrels are the highlight of the rodeo, although we're also impressed by the bull-riding and cattle-roping competitions. After a huckleberry milkshake, we leave to find our hotel. The Kalispell Grand Hotel, which was built in 1912 and recently renovated, retains an old-fashioned ambience, right down to the plate of cookies left in the lobby for guests to snack on.

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