Best place to treat yourself to a fantastic upscale Montana dinner and a nice glass of wine in town: The Whitefish Lake Restaurant (yup, at the Golf Course in the authentic log dining room)
Best place to pamper your body and soul: The Whitefish Lake Lodge Spa. Talk to the Spa Director Criswell about setting up a massage or facial with a mimosa
Best place to get an awesome salad: Backslope Brewery in Columbia Falls. (The creamy peppercorn dressing is delectable)
Best place to get a Christmas Tree: FREE in the Lolo (Western Montana) National Forest (see link) https://www.fs.usda.gov/detail/flathead/passes-permits/forestproducts/?cid=fseprd842819
Best place to get great craft beer: Tamarack Brewery in Lakeside (I like the Apricot Beer called ‘Sip and Go Naked’)
Best place to get a cheap beer and a decent burger: This one is a toss-up, either-The Northern’s bacon double cheeseburger with a side of fries (1$ PBRs on Wednesdays) -OR, for 10 dollars Piggy Back BBQ has a pulled pork sandwich with one side (I like the side of mac ’n cheese) and a PBR
Best dive bar: Stillwater Bar in Olney, where you can fly fish steps from the outdoor deck with a whisky, literally, 'on the rocks’ beside the river
Best place to adopt a dog: The Humane Society on Hwy 93 (that’s wear I got Kip and my two cats Alice and Katie)
Best Radio Station: 600am (golden oldies music, great morning show on weekdays and old western/cowboy songs Sunday mornings from 9-10am)
Best footwear for a wet fall, cold winter and muddy spring: Boggs ( pick up a pair at Sportsman Haus at the Whitefish Mountain Mall when you drop your skis off to get waxed for the season)

Newspapers you want to get:

Daily Interlake (get the digital one it comes out at 5 a.m. every morning)

Whitefish Pilot (get the hard copy so you also get the weekly deals grocery store specials at Super 1, Safeway and Smiths (every once in a while large avocados go on sale at Super 1 for .88 cents each or Safeway has Peet’s Coffee for 5.99 a bag). Generally, Smiths in Columbia Falls has the best deals on produce. Try to time your visit to Columbia Falls on a Sunday because everything at the thrift store across the street is 50% off!

Hungry Horse News (has interesting articles about Glacier and the surrounding communities)

Drive Slowly, Smile at People and Say Hello when you pass them on a walking path… Acknowledge people. Always accentuate the positive and provide a smile to anyone that might need one.

- Patrick & Kip

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My Top Ten Favorite Perks of Living in Whitefish

10) The Hugh Rogers Dog Park.

9) Stillwater Bar in Olney.

8) Crystal Lakes Vintage Air Museum ( see recent photos of my trip here).

7) River floats with Kip down the Whitefish River from City Beach on the lake to Riverside Park.

6) The caesar salad at The Whitefish Lake Restaurant (The Whitefish Golf Course) with several giant grilled shrimp in the main dining room and a glass of house red.

5) Sunset with a mojito (ask for it in the chilled copper mug) on Casey’s Rooftop Deck.

4) Weekly 1$ Beer nights at The Great Northern Bar and Grill (Miller Monday; PBR Wed; Rainier on Thursdays.)

3) Vaqueros Mexican Food aka Los Caporales in Columbia Falls.

2) The peppercorn dressing on the house salad at Backslope Brewery.

1) The happy hour and grilled tenderloin at the Grouse Mountain Lodge on the patio overlooking the golf course.

Bonus 5:

The Tiki Bar at the Whitefish Lake Lodge
Yuletide Affair (holiday show) by The Alpine Theatre Project.
The top ten rated Whitefish Ski Resort.
Glacier National Park.
Sticking googly eyes on my dog’s butt and walking around town!

Another Bonus 10:

11) Winter Carnival.

12) The Farmers Markets all summer.

13) Polebridge Mercantile (get a bear claw, then check out Bowman or Kintla Lake).

14) Huckleberry pancakes at Jerry’s Saloon in Fortine.

15) Trego Pub, pay it forward.

16) The Humane Society of Northwest Montana where I got my dog Kip and his two cat sisters Katie and Alice.

17) Murdochs in Columbia Falls (where I get my baby chickens).

18) Sunset Roost Farms where I got the incubated eggs I put under Kellyanne when she got broody this summer and hatched 6 of 12 eggs into the gaggle half-feathered little dinosaur-looking hatchlings roaming around my backyard so far only named:

The Montucky 6.

19) The Skyles Overlook on the Whitefish Trail System.

20) How knowledgeable the people in the fly fishing section are at Sportsman Haus. This is also where I bought my snow skis and my Boggs!

Extra Bonus 3:

-Fly fishing for Grayling at Red Meadow Lake.

-The drive from Grave Creek to Polebridge.

-Second Street Pizza (1 James III Pizza, 4 ranch Dressing, 1 House Salad, 1 Second Street Wings).

If there’s 1 perk left to share it is that people here look you in the eye, smile and say hello when they pass you in the street and we wave when passing on country roads because we all share the common bond of appreciation for nature and one another.

Whitefish is a beautiful place to live. Make your investment in a dream home today!