Kalispell, MT artwork
The Family Vacationer

Kalispell, MT

  • S1E55
  • 23:46
  • September 21st 2021

Kalispell is about 34 miles from Glacier National Park, making it a place to stay if you're visiting the area, the town sits among several mountain ranges in a valley with crystal Clear Lakes. I like the state of Montana itself. Kalispell is known for its outdoor culture. The city offers that old West Charm due to its history as a railroad town forming in 1891 where the railroad quickly made this talent boom with tourists, pioneers and businessman. Today, downtown Kalispell offers up some really cool museums, local restaurants and boutique stores with unique items made in Montana.


The area has something to do in all four seasons and ample opportunity to responsibly explore the beautiful outdoors joining us today to talk more about Kalispell is Diane Medlar. Diane grew up in the hospitality industry. So the importance of uniqueness of place and promoting its special attributes was instilled at an early age, Diana and her family settled in Montana in 1995, which was, and continues to be a great place to raise a family while being surrounded by stunning natural beauty and an abundance of outdoor recreation. Diane has a 30 year career in hospitality and marketing, Including as the executive director of Discover Kalispell a role that she's had since 2010.


In addition to destination marketing, discover Kalispell serves the critical role of destination stewardship, working closely with community stakeholders to maintain the cultural, environmental and aesthetic integrity of the community and the region helping to protect the qualities that make Montana a special place to visit and live. Diane. Welcome to the show, Thank you for having me, glad to be here. So Diane for families looking for places to visit. What makes Kalispell Montana a family travel destination. Well, there's so much to offer a Glacier National Park flathead Lake basin hiking area.


They all provide a fantastic natural playground for families, but we also know that with kids, sometimes it takes more than a nature hike to keep them enthused. So we also, our area has plenty of other fun activities, horseback riding. Whitewater floats, hands-on activities that are museums in the downtown arts center, bouldering wall at a city, local city park stargazing in our abundant dark skies, and summer and winter adventures at Whitefish Mountain resort just to name a few. I want to ask you about the dark skies, You have any, you know, they're, they're actually certified dark sky areas.


So I'm imagining in Montana, you guys probably have several of those. Am I correct? We do. And in our area actually, Glacier National Park is a designated Dark Sky Park, one of the few in the United States, actually, that's a partnership with Waterton Lakes National Park across the border, so we're very close to the border, so that's an excellent place to see the dark skies and also some northern lights occasionally. And then there's some, there are some state parks, not too far out of downtown Kalispell, that also offer that viewing as well, so we can dispel being so close to Glacier National Park.

For more, listen to Episode 55 with Rob and Danny and special guest, Diane Medler.

The Family Vacationer

A podcast dedicated to families that travel. So many of our memories come from time spent with our family. We want to help you make the most of your family vacations. We do that by covering travel destinations, travel apps, and gadgets, and talk to travel experts for ways to make family travel less stressful. Who doesn't want that?

Meet the Hosts

Rob Jones avatar
Rob Jones
Co-Host

Growing up, Rob Jones mainly traveled to Florida for vacation. Those family trips to Orlando and the Gulf Coast are cherished memories that influence him to this day. His entire professional career has involved travel. From working in the music business to event marketing, Rob has traveled to 46 states and five countries. Rob has been married to his wife, Traci, for 16 years and they love to travel with their three children: Ruthie, Nash, and Chase.

Danny Evans avatar
Danny Evans
Co-Host

Dr. Danny Evans is a 23-year veteran language teacher and world traveler. He has been traveling the world since the age of 16 and loves studying language and culture, but most of all, Danny loves making memories with his family. He has been married for 28 years and has two daughters, Gracie and Zoe.

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