If you’ve been following along with CWJL for a while, you know that my grandparents have a house in Montana and my family loves to visit every summer and every winter if possible. Well, last summer I did not visit, and this past winter I did not visit, so this summer was my first time to Montana in about two years!! It was crazy to see how much had changed, but the town still has its northwestern charm: complete with incredible weather, unique restaurants, and beyond friendly people. It was good to be home.
Last summer when I visited Montana, I was only there for five days, which at the time was the shortest amount of time I had ever gone. However, because I did that last summer, when I planned to only visit for five days this summer too, I knew it was possible and we started planning as much as we could.
DAY ONE
My mom, sister, and I arrived early around noon MST and my grandparents greeted us at the airport! We headed straight into town for lunch at one of our FAVORITE spots, Casey’s. The weather was warm, but with ZERO humidity, and it was gorgeous. With a huckleberry mule in hand, and amazing weather on tap for the next five days, it didn’t matter what we did the rest of the trip, I was already in Heaven. We spent some time exploring the new shops that have popped up Downtown (there are quite a few!) and then we headed home to relax because our 3am wakeup call had started to catch up with us. We had dinner at home, enjoyed each other’s company, great food, and great conversation. I will forever cherish nights like those♡
DAY TWO
The next day we really got to enjoy the definition of vacation, because we just relaxed allllll day long. My sister and I slept in, made some iced coffee at home and enjoyed it on the balcony because it was 64 degrees. Then we headed downtown to meet up with our grandparents and mom at the newest hot spot in town, the Firebrand Hotel, for a leisurely brunch. We enjoyed many a cocktails, and some incredible Togarashi Crusted Ahi Tacos. Afterwards, Jen and I went home to change, and then headed to the clubhouse pool to enjoy some sun. We treated ourselves to some pina coladas and once it got too hot to bear, we retreated back home to rinse off and get ready for dinner.
Once we changed and were ready to go, the entire fam headed to dinner at our absolute favorite dinner restaurant in Montana, called Latitude 48 Bistro. We dined on the most extravagant food and shared incredible bottles of wine, and ended the night with a sweet little dessert.
DAY THREE
The next day we had plans to “play golf” with my grandparents, which really just means hang out on the golf carts, eat snacks at the course watering holes, and enjoy the stunning views of the mountains. We finished around late afternoon and headed home to relax and change for our big evening ahead. We were attending the Tuesday Night Wine Tasting at the country club and then staying for dinner (another one of our favorite spots!) We enjoyed trying many different wines, and then indulging in the summer seasonal menu that Iron Horse offers in the dining room.
After dinner, my mom and grandparents headed to the airport to pick up our cousins Ben and Anne who had just flown in, and Jen and I went downtown to enjoy some drinks on a beautiful rooftop bar.
DAY FOUR
Wednesday was our earliest start of the week. We woke early, made some quick breakfast, and headed to the local Whitefish Mountain Resort for our Zip Line Tour. It was so fun to do with our cousins, and it was such an incredible feeling to fly from mountain to mountain with wind in my hair! We met up with my grandparents up in at the Summit House for lunch, celebrated a great day, and headed home to wash up and change.
That night was our final dinner out, at Abruzzo’s, a PHENOMENAL Italian restaurant that opened last year and stole our hearts in one night. Once again, the delicious wine flowed, unique pasta dishes dotted the table, and wonderful conversation was enjoyed by all.
DAY FIVE
Last day, best day! This day was actually MY earliest start, as I woke up extremely early to have an interview at 8:30. (This was for the marketing coordinator role at Artis, and I received a call an hour later that I got the job!!) After the interview and celebrating a LOT, we headed downtown to shop a bit before meeting up with Ben and my grandpa at the Boat Club for lunch, before our lake day. We got to enjoy two hours of wave running and it was amazzziiing. Jet skiing is one of my favorite things. We had such an incredible afternoon, and then played board games at home, made dinner, and said our goodbyes.
Whitefish, Montana will always hold my heart and I will forever be grateful for the incredible trips we have had the opportunity to take. If you ever have the chance to visit, you definitely should. Always feel free to check out the restaurants and entertainment listed in my blog posts about MT, and you can always reach out to me for recs as well! If you go in the winter, check out the post about how dreamy Whitefish is when it snows.
