11 years ago on June 21, 2008, Bryan and I got married. Now here we are, eleven years later, in the middle of a big move, and have three kids to wrangle. How on earth will we celebrate?!
Enter a well-timed email from The Lodge at Whitefish Lake. We were lucky enough to stay in one of their luxury home rentals for the week. Immediately upon arrival, we were greeted with the most vibrant double rainbow I’ve ever set my eyes upon, and eight beautiful bucks (male deer) in the yard munching on the wild grasses. I mean, this is the stuff dreams are made of.
The Lodge has great amenities, one of which is access to kayaks right on Whitefish Lake. It quickly became one of our favorite memories from our stay. The kids even had a turn at paddling their own kids kayaks and caught on quickly. I see a lot of paddling in our future! We also enjoyed the nature trails surrounding the property with numerous trees, plants, and animals to discover. The Lodge at Whitefish Lake is truly something special.
Since Whitefish is located at the base of Glacier National Park, it serves as a great basecamp to explore the area. The beargrass is out in full bloom this year (apparently they bloom every 7 years or so). Treat them with care and go see them in person. The Going-to-the-Sun Road opened the day we were there and it is definitely on our “top 5 drives ever” list. Who else has done it? When you are planning your next trip to Glacier, try to book it when the road is open. There are heaps of hikes both big and small right off the road.
Check out Lake MacDonald at sunset. It’s the most peaceful place and it is also where you can see the iconic clear Glacier water without needing to commit to a big hike. What to skip: rocks. 😉 But seriously, there are more flat rocks here than any other shape. The kids caught on quickly and we (of course) became a little competitive to see who could get the most skips. I proudly came in fifth place.
Plan a hike to Avalanche Lake (5 miles roundtrip, 750ft elevation gain). Bring your nice camera on this hike – you’ll want to take so many photos. This is a more popular hike, however, so time it right by going early morning or later evening if you can.
The lakes in the Whitefish area along the Whitefish Trail are also worth exploring. We found several pristine lakes where we had it all to ourselves. The kids were psyched when we surprised them by bringing a flamingo floatie toy to paddle around in the lakes with. Thanks Bryan, for hiking all the way out with the flamingo propped up around your waist. My cheeks still hurt from the laughs.
Words ultimately fall short to describe such a place – take a look below and let the rest of the photos tell the story. Enjoy.
