Glacier National Park’s epic displays of glaciers, carved valleys, sparkling lakes, hundreds of miles of trails and towering Rocky Mountains are world-renowned and attract millions of visitors each year.
Summer is high season to experience Glacier and surrounding Western Montana, but the shoulder seasons offer more lodging, less crowds and beautiful scenery, from the wildflowers and rushing waterfalls of spring to autumn’s supreme color shows. Winter, too, offers its own kind of magic, with abundant opportunities for skiing and other snowy activities.
While the region has been captivating tourists and outdoor adventurers for many years, another category may stand to benefit from a visit to Glacier Country.
Western Montana spans 22,000 square miles, but three hub communities offer the best amenities for group meetings, retreats and corporate incentives: Missoula, Kalispell and Whitefish.
All three locations have distinct personalities, but a few common threads weave through them all.
Creativity abounds; artists, writers, chefs, musicians and even television shows (ever heard of Yellowstone?) flock to this region for the inspiration the grand scenery provides. Relaxation inevitably strikes anyone who spends a few days in Western Montana—after just 24 hours on the ground, I felt more at ease, my hands stopped twitching for my phone and computer and those big gulps of fresh air gave me a sense of renewal.
In such a state of mind, it’s no wonder that creatives settle in Glacier Country, even if for a short while. New ideas and innovation strike easier in such an environment, which also makes it an ideal destination for small- and mid-size groups searching for similar inspiration.
Access is getting easier and easier. Both Missoula Montana Airport and Glacier Park International Airport are in the midst of expansions, adding more nonstop routes from major hubs across the country. The airports are both 15 minutes or less from the nearest downtown hubs, and the highway system in Western Montana is well maintained and scenic.
During a fam tour with Western Montana’s Glacier Country in mid-June, I experienced all of these benefits and more, leaving with a newfound appreciation for the captivating wonders of this great pocket of the U.S., a refreshed idea of wellness and digital disconnection, and inspiration for new approaches to both the professional and personal parts of life.
Missoula
Home to 77,500 people, the University of Montana and Missoula Montana Airport, Missoula is Western Montana’s cultural epicenter. Our home base in town, the Residence Inn Missoula Downtown (175 rooms; 1,500 square feet of meeting space) and adjacent AC Hotel Missoula Downtown (105 rooms; 935 square feet of meeting space) are integrated into the hum of the city, steps away from attractions like the Wilma Theatre, Clark Fork River and many boutiques, restaurants and cafes.
A new cultural attraction in town is the Montana Museum of Art & Culture, which opened on the University of Montana campus in September 2023, housing 12,000 pieces of art, including everything from works by famed artists like Andy Warhol, Pablo Picasso and Salvador Dalí to projects from students at the university. Local and international art abounds and can be experienced via daily docent-led tours, as our group enjoyed. Groups can work with the museum to organize personalized, private tours and can enlist the UM Conference & Event Services team for any events at the museum or throughout campus.
Local ingredients like huckleberries, Flathead cherries, elk, bison and more frequent the menus of Missoula restaurants and others throughout Western Montana. The dining experience is increasingly new and refreshing, taking these native flavors and merging them with global ones, exemplified in outlets like Pangea, where I enjoyed the Ethiopian Berbere Wat dish—an Ethiopian twist on bison stew. We enjoyed these unique eats in the restaurant’s private 800-square-foot event space, The Barrel Room, which pays homage to the 1896 Garden City Bottling & Liquor Company—the original building—where The Barrel Room was used to store whiskey barrels.
Other treats in town include 1889 Steakhouse, one of the finest dining establishments in Missoula, located in the same building as the Residence Inn by Marriott Missoula. It also has a private dining room for small groups of up to 14.
[Related: Fun Outdoor Activities for Groups in Montana]
The Resort at Paws Up
One of Missoula’s major benefits is its ease of access. Downtown is mere minutes from the airport, making arrivals for events a breeze. Luxurious hideaways are within reach, too, like The Resort at Paws Up in nearby Greenough.
This award-winning resort and ranch is situated on a whopping 37,000 acres and is an increasingly popular incentive destination.
From luxe cabin-style homes and glass treehouses to glamping tents on the banks of the Blackfoot River, accommodations run the gamut.
Much of the property feels untouched, though. As we drove around to the various campgrounds and attractions, we were told the resort was at almost 100% capacity, and yet, I hardly noticed any guests walking around. For groups looking for a truly secluded experience in nature, the resort checks all of the boxes.
Luxury is taken to the next level at the green o, which is the new adults-only accommodations that opened on The Resort at Paws Up's grounds in 2021.
Every accommodation at the green o comes with a complimentary Lexus vehicle, and guests have exclusive access to Social Haus, the onsite restaurant from 2024 James Beard-nominated finalist, Executive Chef Brandon Cunningham.
Buyouts of the entire resort grounds are possible, and do happen, though small incentive and retreat groups will find privacy and seclusion even without a buyout. All activities—from horseback riding and ATVing to hiking, fly fishing and more—take place on the expansive acreage of the property.
Special event spaces, like the Saddle Club, for example, provide ample square footage for a true Western experience like rodeos, wilderness games or any other sort of large event. Smaller spaces like Great Angus Hall at the Bull Barn, with its rustic farmhouse aesthetic and contrasting chandeliers, are ideal for special meals and cocktail hours.
Kalispell
The drive north from Missoula to Kalispell clocks in at just over two hours, but the journey feels short thanks to unparalleled views of mountains and Flathead Lake.
Nearly 30 miles long and 15 feet wide, this crystal-blue body of water is the largest natural freshwater lake in the West with 185 miles of shoreline. Stay for a while and you can explore Wild Horse Island, only accessible by boat, which is home to wild horses, bighorn sheep and other wildlife. Boating, kayaking, paddleboarding and other water sports are possible in the warmer months on Flathead Lake. From my window, it was awfully tempting to hop out of the car and paddle away.
Kalispell awaited, though. Home to 31,000 people and just nine miles from Glacier Park International Airport, 32 miles from Glacier National Park and 10 miles from the tip of Flathead Lake, the city is a perfect home base for groups seeking outdoor adventure. The historic downtown holds its own charm, too, giving off an Old West vibe, lined with early 20th-century-era facades.
Tree-lined streets beyond downtown give way to more history. We stopped by the circa-1895 Conrad Mansion, the home of the founder of Kalispell, Charles Conrad. A docent-led tour gave insight into the city’s founding and the inner workings of the Conrad family, while also showing off 90% of the original furnishings. A lovely landscaped front lawn and deck provide a unique setting for special seated events, where we enjoyed our lunch catered by local provider Waters Edge Winery & Bistro.
Whitefish
While it’s only home to 8,500 people, the secret is getting out about the mountain town of Whitefish, just shy of 30 minutes by car from Kalispell. This community’s nearby world-class ski resort (Whitefish Mountain Resort), walkable downtown brimming with independently owned outlets and proximity to Glacier National Park make it a favorite basecamp for tourists.
Averill Hospitality’s The Lodge at Whitefish Lake is a premier group property in town, sitting on the shores of Whitefish Lake and harkening to the grand lodges of the past. The lodge has event space for groups of up to 300, from its 6,000-square-foot Grand Ballroom to 2,100-square-foot Lakeside Pavilion & Lawn for waterside gatherings and private the dining room at onsite restaurant the Boat Club. Our group had the chance to dine in the Boat Club for our last meal of the week, and I couldn’t pass up seconds on the huckleberry mud pie—made up of huckleberry ice cream, chocolate cookie crust and fudge topping—a personal favorite of my daily huckleberry consumption in Montana.
The hospitality group also owns and operates The Firebrand Hotel, our group’s home for our stay in Whitefish, which is a nice overflow option for visiting groups. Its location is hard to beat, sitting around the corner from charming downtown Whitefish’s best boutiques, restaurants and dive bars.
[Related: Western Montana’s Glacier Country Is a Bucket-List Meetings Destination]
Glacier National Park
You can’t bring a group within miles of Glacier National Park without providing the opportunity to visit its majesty. Consisting of 1 million acres, 734 trails and 25 glaciers and framed by towering, snow-capped mountains, the breathtaking beauty and size of the famed national park is hard to describe. Whether for a day together or pre- and post-meeting activities, attendees will revel in the chance to see the park with their own eyes.
Resources are readily available to help groups tackle the park’s wonders. Our group enjoyed two: a guided hiking tour with Glacier Guides, which also offers biking tours, and a ride aboard a historic wooden boat from Glacier Park Boat Company’s fleet on Lake McDonald.
Other tour providers include Sun Tours, a local Blackfeet tribal business operating on the Blackfeet Reservation and a National Park Concessionaire, which offers daily Blackfeet interpretive tours. Bike rentals are available through a number of outfitters for the famous ride on the Going-to-the-Sun Road in the spring, as well as for horseback riding tours, whitewater rafting outings and more.
