Missoula to Whitefish via the Bison Range and Flathead Lake

Route description

Leave Missoula north on US-93 and climb over Evaro Hill onto the Flathead Reservation, home of the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes. After about 65 km, stop at St. Ignatius Mission, with its painted interior and the jagged Mission Mountains behind it. The People’s Center in Pablo, further north, has exhibits on the tribes’ history.

For the Bison Range, turn west at Ravalli onto MT-200 and then MT-212 to Moiese. Red Sleep Mountain Drive is a 30 km gravel loop that climbs over the hills with views of the valley; it is one-way and closed from November to April. Vehicles over 30 ft and trailers are not allowed on it or on the shorter Prairie Drive, which is open all year.

Return to US-93 and drive north to Polson at the south end of Flathead Lake, the largest natural freshwater lake west of the Mississippi. Take MT-35 along the east shore, a narrow, winding road past cherry orchards and roadside stands in July and August. Several state park units on the lake have campgrounds, but most are small and not suitable for large RVs.

Bigfork is a small village at the north end of the lake, with galleries and a summer theater. Wayfarers State Park is just south of town. From Bigfork, MT-35 continues to Kalispell, where the Conrad Mansion shows how the town’s founder lived. Whitefish is 25 km further north on US-93, and Glacier National Park is 40 km east.