Current Market SnapshotInventory & Listings More homes are hitting the market: June 2025 saw about 1,290 listings in Flathead County—a 13% increase month-over-month—and pending or sold activity also rose by over 10% year-over-year. Spring surge: Q2 brought a wave of new listings across the region—Flathead County nearly doubled its new listings from Q1, while other markets like Whitefish and Bigfork posted even bigger percentage increases .  Home Prices & Pricing Trends Average sales price rose modestly: Q2 saw a 1% increase from the previous quarter and a 6% year-over-year rise, signaling continued strength in the market’s upper tier. Median sales price, however, declined slightly—down 5% from Q1 and 2% year-over-year—suggesting softer conditions in the mid-price segments . Median home ... 09/07/2025

  Montana is home to a thriving population of black bears, one of the most iconic wildlife species in the state. Despite their name, black bears (Ursus americanus) can vary in color, ranging from black and dark brown to cinnamon and even blonde. These bears are highly adaptable and can be found in a variety of habitats across Montana, including dense forests, river valleys, mountainous regions, and even areas close to human development.Black bears are smaller than Montana’s other bear species, the grizzly bear, with adults typically weighing between 150 and 400 pounds, though some males can grow larger. They are excellent climbers and swimmers, which helps them forage for food and escape danger. Black bears are omnivores with a diet consisting mostly of plants, berries, nuts, insects, a... 09/05/2025

As you may know, I am a woodworker, specifically making wooden utensils while my husband makes wooden benches, tables and most recently, treasure boxes.On most Saturdays between April and October, our Rough Cut Products LLC company (both the table/bench and the utensil divisions) can be found at the Kalispell MT Farmer's Market. We meet a lot of great people, and get asked a lot of interesting questions. One that comes up fairly frequently is whether my utensils are stained. Having stain on your eating and cooking tools could be dangerous. So it's a great question, and one I thought deserved an official response!Utensils:After I finish each of my wooden utensils, I pull out my container of Dark Tung Oil. It's a combination of tung oil and citrus solvent.Supposedly Marco Polo introduced ... 08/29/2025

 Whitefish, Montana, is one of the most sought-after real estate markets in the Rocky Mountain West, offering a unique blend of small-town charm, year-round recreation, and luxury living. Tucked against the backdrop of Glacier National Park and Big Mountain, this vibrant community has become a premier destination for both full-time residents and vacation homeowners looking to invest in a lifestyle as much as a property.One of the most appealing aspects of Whitefish real estate is the variety. From luxury lakefront homes along Whitefish Lake to modern condos within walking distance of downtown, the options are as diverse as the buyers. Mountain-modern estates, ski-in/ski-out chalets, and cozy cabins in the woods are all part of the landscape. Whether you’re looking for a primary residenc... 08/26/2025

I received a call a month or so ago asking me if I’d be interested in filling in at the Kalispell Visitor (Information) Center while the current Visitor Service Coordinator went on vacation. Sure! How fun is that? Of course, I didn’t know exactly what kinds of things happened at the Kalispell Visitor Center so here’s what I found out. The Visitor Center answers all kinds of questions that visitors or relocation individuals would like to know. Things like: Are you interested in information about Glacier National Park? For example, when do you need a special entrance pass, and when don’t you? How long does it take to drive from the West side of the park to the East side? What hiking trails are available, and where are they? Are they easy? Is there a shuttle through the park? What are the ... 07/01/2025

What a wonderful weekend!The Flathead Valley Exchange Club's 2025 Field of Honor® is winding down, but there is still time to honor a loved one with a flying American flag.Monday at 1pm the 2025 event will end, and the 1,000 flags that are flying for personal heroes, will be taken down, folded, and put away for the next year.To all those who made a point of coming to visit the field this year, thank you!To the romantic gentleman who came to the Field today and told us about how he gave his wife a red sports car on Valentine's Day, when she was dealing with serious cancer... a sports car filled with roses, thank you. And for your sharing about your comrades who all died in Vietnam within the first three months of service, 18 and 19 year olds, we appreciate you and your service members. T... 05/25/2025

The Flathead Valley Exchange Club is holding a Field of Honor® from Friday May 23rd at 10:30am to Monday May 26th at 1:00pm. The free event will be held at Glacier High School, 375 Wolfpack Way, Kalispell, MT 59901. The event will officially kick off on Friday May 23rd, with an opening ceremony from 10:30 to 11:30am on the high school grounds. Matt Hegstad, owner of Patriotic American Brewery will be the guest speaker. Matt is a US Army combat vet and a veteran of law enforcement.   The event will include opening and closing prayers, a color guard from Civil Air Patrol, the National Anthem, the Pledge of Allegiance, an overview of the event, introduction of distinguished guests and sponsors and Matt's speech. The ceremony will close with a playing of Taps.   The Kalispell Field of Hono... 04/20/2025

I found an online directory of Kalispell City ordinances and thought it would be intriguing to see what some of the ordinances of the past were. The last post covered a 1938 ordinance that related to regulation and licensing of electric wiring.This time, I'm sharing a 1939 ordinance which officially established a Kalispell police force and police commission.On February 6th, 1939, Kalispell's Ordinance #478 was published. This officially set up the guidelines for the establishment of a metropolitan police force, in concurrence with the State of Montana police law of the time.Specifically:The police department would consist of one Chief of Police and a number of patrolmen as determined to be necessary by the Mayor and City Council.Each member of the police force would get one day off for ... 04/07/2025

I found an online directory of Kalispell City ordinances and thought it would be intriguing to see what some of the ordinances of the past were. The last post covered a 1937 ordinance that related to "Inner Fire Limits" . As I was looking at the 1938 ordinances, I saw the Inner Fire Limits were revoked. So whatever the original reason for them was, the rules were eliminated in the following year.This time, I'm sharing a 1938 ordinance about the regulation and licensing of electric wiring, devices, appliances and materials.Ordinance #473, effective as of June 15, 1938, was not for public telephone/telegraph companies or central stations, power houses or substations but covered all other electrical work. The code indicated the following. General Wiring Rules All conductors for new work mu... 02/24/2025

I found an online directory of Kalispell City ordinances and thought it would be intriguing to see what some of the ordinances of the past were. The last post covered a 1936 ordinance called "Cosmetology and Beauty Shops." Moving ahead to 1937, I found two Ordinances related to each other, #458 and 462 which focus on "Inner Fire Limits." The first ordinance, #458, set the specific boundary within Kalispell that would be known as the Inner Fire Limits of the City of Kalispell. Rather than cutting and pasting the actual verbiage (it's long), the specific area mentioned is outlined in red:For those unfamiliar with the Kalispell area, the highlighted area is the center of town now, although was probably almost the entire town in the 1930s. The Inner Fire Limit of the City as described in th... 01/23/2025

I found an online directory of Kalispell City ordinances and thought it would be intriguing to see what some of the ordinances of the past were. The last post covered a 1933 ordinance called "Montana Beer Act." Nothing very interesting happened during the following few years, so we're jumping ahead to 1936 for the Cosmetology and Beauty Shops ordinance #455.In 1936, the licensing of Cosmetology and Beauty shops began in Kalispell MT. Specifically, it became unlawful to practice or teach cosmetology (specifically "hair dressing" and "beauty culture") for compensation without a license. That included any work that was done to embellish, clean or beautify hair, scalp, face, arms or hands.Each Kalispell beauty shop owner would pay $5 per calendar year for the license and any other operators... 01/15/2025

Rough Cut Products LLC is our family woodworking business, and my husband Anthony has been making wooden tables and benches for the last several years. Specifically, he uses downed trees from our property (Larch/Tamarack, Douglas Fir, and Blue Spruce), cuts slabs with an Alaska mill and his chainsaw, then planes and sands them. He then finishes them by either hand carving designs and/or using epoxy and river rocks as decoration. Finally, he covers most of them with a marine varnish so they can be used indoors and outdoors.For the past few years, we've been selling those tables and benches from May to October at a weekly Farmer's Market here in Kalispell Montana. We would often hear people say, "Wow, I love them and the price is great, but I'm hopping on a plane and can't take them with ... 12/26/2024

So what is a person to do when their weekly stint at the Habitat build site is canceled, and it happens to be a beautiful sunny 70º day in Northwest Montana? Well, go hiking of course!We were looking to do a loop somewhere in the area that included some views, or a lake, or something of interest. So after looking online, we decided to head up to Woods Lake Trailhead, and take a walk around the lake which included some hills, a view and some time lakeside. Online this looked like a 2.6 mile trail which would be quite doable with our time constraints. So off we went.And this is how it went.Access:As with most trailheads in the Flathead Valley, getting to the trail is sometimes the biggest challenge. In this case, we traveled about four or so miles up a one-lane gravel rutted road with min... 09/27/2024

The forecast for Monday, September 16, 2024 called for sun so what better day for some exploring? As it was a Monday, we figured we would have anyplace to ourselves, so off we went to find a new spot for us, Red Meadow Lake.Red Meadow Lake is located near Olney Montana, approximately ten miles from the Canadian border as the crow flies, although it's a lot further if you want to drive it! But back to Red Meadow Lake.AccessTo get to the lake, you need to take Route 93 north through Whitefish. When you get to Olney, you'll make a right onto Olney Crossover Road/Upper Whitefish Road, and you're going to take that about nine miles. At that point, it turns into Red Meadow Creek Road and you'll take that about 11 miles to the lake. Sounds easy, right?How long could that 20 mile drive take? We... 09/17/2024

Yesterday was a beautiful September day in Flathead County, Montana. Sunny, dry, with a high around 80º. It was a perfect day to check out a new trail, Stovepipe Canyon Trail #196. If you're looking for a relatively short hike in the forests of Flathead County, this might be the place for you! Here are a few bits of information about doing so.Access to the trailhead:First, the directions provided by the Forest Service to get to the trailhead are as follows: Take Farm-to Market Road, turn onto Forest Service Rd 913 go 1 mile and turn on Forest Service Rd #2924 travel 3.5 miles and look for trailhead sign.OK, that sounds nice and simple, but here is some more information. First, Flathead Service Rd 913 is the same as Tally Lake Road so you'll be turning off Farm-to-Market Road onto Tally ... 09/09/2024

There are so many hiking options in and around the Flathead County Montana area that there is no way to experience them all! In Glacier National Park alone, there are 162 trails. There are an additional 35 miles of trails available in Jewel Basin, and over 2,200 miles of trails in the Flathead National Forest. Those are only a few of the options available!The Great Bear Wilderness Area is part of the Flathead National Forest, and is located in the Essex Montana area. While nearby Glacier National Park trails do not allow dogs, Flathead Forest has no similar rules. So last week my husband and I and our dog Hercules were lucky enough to be able to experience the Stanton Lake Trail which is about 15 miles east of the West Glacier entrance to the park.As far as trails go, this was a relativ... 07/12/2024

I recently found an online directory of Kalispell City ordinances and thought it would be intriguing to see what some of the ordinances of the past were. The last post covered a 1930 ordinance about salaries for town employees. This one is the only ordinance published in 1933 (not much happened between those two years) and it is all about beer.Ordinance #442, effective March 27, 1933 is all about enforcing the "Montana Beer Act." Surprisingly enough, I cannot find the actual legislation mentioned. Apparently the Montana Beer Act's official title was "An Act to Provide for the licensing and regulation of the Manufacture Sale and Distribution of Beer and other Similar Fermented Beverages, and for the Raising and Disposition of Revenue therefrom." That was evidently too long to remember, a... 06/06/2024

I've written about the Flathead Valley Exchange Club previously, specifically as it related to our 2022 Field of Honor® event. As a reminder, the Flathead Valley Exchange Club is the local chapter (established in 2020) of the National Exchange Club, established in 1911.  Our mission is to focus on helping community non-profits in the areas of Americanism, Community Service and Youth Programs. We provide both volunteer hours and fundraising to help the community become a better place to live.Once a year, we have a Giving party to provide money that we raised from our various fundraising events to selected non-profits. Those non profits are typically groups we met with during the previous year. We have a party to thank them and to give them our donation. The party is free to all attendees... 05/06/2024

I recently found an online directory of Kalispell City ordinances and thought it would be intriguing to see what some of the ordinances of the past were. The last post covered a 1929 ordinance about keeping a disorderly house (which didn't have anything to do with messiness). This one is from 1930 and it is a bit more logical than the last ordinance I shared. Ordinance #424, effective May 5, 1930, set the compensation for various job titles in Kalispell. Ordinance #425 also added a salary for an engineer. Specifically, here is what various city careers paid in 1930. Mayor $300 Alderman $120 City Attorney $900 City Engineer $200 City Treasurer $1200 City Clerk $1500 Purchasing Agent $300 Police Judge $850 Chief of Police $1800 Patrolman $1500 Health Officer $600 Librarian $1500 Assistant... 02/27/2024

I recently found an online directory of Kalispell City ordinances and thought it would be intriguing to see what some of the ordinances of the past were. The last post covered a 1928 ordinance about fire access to basement. This one is from 1929. There were only three ordinances put in place during that entire year. One was the annual appropriations, one dealt with driving rules, and the final one was about prohibiting disorderly houses, which is the one reviewed here. Ordinance #420, effective July 29, 1929, dealt with "disorderly houses." What comes to mind when you hear that term? I immediately thought people were leaving trash outside their homes and that was going to be some kind of misdemeanor. Nope, here's the text of the ordinance."Section 642, Disorderly Houses. No person shall... 02/07/2024