The Kalispell Grand Hotel

We arrived at the Kalispell Grand Hotel 102 years after its first date of opening.  By no means did we arrive late.  In my estimation, we timed this perfectly.  The hotel is high-ceilinged and offers a perfect blend of old and new.   

According to a brochure I picked upon checking in, the hotel was renovated in 1939 and 1989.  The latter renovation converted 51 “bath down the hall rooms” into modern rooms with a private bathroom in each.  Most rooms are smallish, but pleasant (see photo).

During the early years, the Kalispell Grand Hotel charged travelers $2.00 per night.  This was more than the completion charged.  Nonetheless, travelers were drawn to amenities such as running water, door locks and wake-ups.  On occasion, the famed artist Charlie Russell might be found sitting in the lobby.

Today, the amenities are even better.  The rates are reasonable.  Best of all, I can walk from here to where I am instructing a class later this morning.

To get to the Kalispell Grand Hotel, we (that girl and my sister included) drove through the Upper Blackfoot Valley and the entirety of the Swan Valley.  The mountain peaks are still crowned with snow but the valleys have come alive with the sounds of prancing creeks and flowing rivers.  The deer-crossed parks and the forest understories have populated with spring wildflowers.  Birds constantly flash through the skies.

No single word is powerful enough to describe a drive though such places.

I am posting two photographs from our drive.  One is of Holland Lake.  The other is a paddock washed purple by wildflowers.

I highly recommend the Kalispell Grand Hotel.  And a drive through Montana’s mountains.

--Mitchell Hegman