Kalispell, MT, Travel Guide

Downtown Kalispell, Montana

Kalispell, Montana (MT) is a fast growing town located in the Flathead Valley of Northwest Montana, just down the road from Glacier National Park. Since so many people pass through Kalispell on their way to some fishing destination or another, I thought it would be helpful to prepare a Kalispell Travel Guide for our site visitors.

Due to Kalispell's location near Glacier National Park, and the fact that it is the biggest town nearest the popular west entrance, it is probably no surprise that Kalispell can literally be over-run with tourists during the summer. Generally, summer in this part of Montana begins sometime in mid-June and will last up until a week or so after Labor Day. Then, thankfully, the bulk of the visitors return home and I get my favorite national park back to myself again.

A Useless Kalispell Study

Recently, someone in Montana spent some money in a study to determine what drives the economy of Kalispell and the Flathead Valley. The study, in a remarkable conclusion, said tourism, particularly to Glacier National Park, was what drove the economy up here – especially now that much of the resource extraction industries have disappeared.

For someone who lives in Kalispell, it was rather a brain dead conclusion since it’s patently obvious by the out-state license plates and the traffic up to the park what everyone is doing up here and where they are going. Still, governments must be governments, and this rather useless study at least confirmed to everyone in charge of the Flathead Valley what was bringing people here.

Looking Towards Downtown Kalispell, Montana

This is not to say Kalispell, MT, doesn’t have many other redeeming qualities. It does. Kalispell, for a relatively small town, has a staggering amount of restaurants, hotels, shopping areas and related things. The movie theatres, unfortunately, are less than spectacular, but it still a good time to pass away a rainy day. In short, anyone visiting Kalispell won’t be left starving or in want of some forgotten piece of clothing, camping or outdoor gear. And if the proposed Glacier Mall ever takes off, tourists may even have a huge, new mall to wander around in, too.

Kalispell Location

Kalispell, if you haven’t figured it out yet, is found near Glacier National Park. From downtown Kalispell, it is about a 32 mile drive to the West Glacier entrance of Glacier National Park. Allow about 45-50 minutes of drive time to reach it, though. On a map, Kalispell can be easily located by finding Flathead Lake and then looking just a bit to the north. And if you see another big lake (Whitefish Lake), then you’ve looked a bit too far.

Kalispell Population

Kalispell, MT, is a fast growing town that has a small population. Kalispell itself, in the 2003 census, had a population of 15,000 people. If you include the sprinkling of stuff just outside of the city limits (“Greater Kalispell”), you end up with a population of around 32,000+ people. Overall, Flathead County (which Kalispell is a part of), has a total population of 75,000+ people.

Now, that county population figure sounds like a lot of people. And, truthfully, it’s more than I would like to see. But, you do need to remember that Flathead County is a huge county – nearly the size of Connecticut. The county includes a sizable portion of Glacier National Park, various Wilderness Areas, National Forests and half of Flathead Lake for good measure. As such, you’ll find the bulk of the population in the actual valley – while virtually no one lives anyplace else.

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