Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
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St. Ignatius Mission:
After more than 120 years, this massive brick Catholic
church is still enormously impressive, with 58 murals painted by Brother Joseph
Carignano (
click here
)
.
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Cherry Picking:
Timing your visit to Flathead Lake for the annual cherry harvest
promises sweet, juicy memories to savor (
click here
).
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Hiking at Jewel Basin:
With 27 lakes, 35 miles of trails, and no motorized
vehicles or horses permitted, this is a hiker's paradise (
click here
).
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Skiing at Whitefish Mountain Resort:
A phenomenal ski area with a view over
Whitefish Lake and perhaps the best après-ski scene in the state, this resort is a high-
light of any winter adventure (
click here
).
Because of harsh winters, unforgiving terrain, and territorial Native Americans, this moun-
tainous and forested land was not as quick to be settled by Europeans as other parts of
Montana. The earliest inhabitants of the area were the Salish, Kootenai, and Pend d'Oreille
people, who fished in the crystal lakes and hunted in the forests and valleys. Fur trappers
and traders—attracted by the abundance of beaver in the lakes—entered the area in the early
1800s. David Thompson, the famous Canadian explorer and fur trapper, set up trading posts
in the area 1807-1812, including Saleesh House, the first trading post established west of
the Rockies.
The Blackfeet Indians were notoriously in conflict with other tribes in the area. When
the Salish traveled through the Missoula valley in search of bison, the Blackfeet would am-
bush them as they entered the canyon. French trappers who passed through the canyon in
the early 1800s encountered the gruesome remains of various massacres and dubbed the
area “Hell Gate.” Not far from Hellgate Canyon, Lewis and Clark met the Blackfeet, who
proved to be of great assistance to the explorers. They introduced them to the main flower
of the valley, a staple of the Indian diet, but Lewis found it bitter and inedible, thus giving
the bitterroot lily, and eventually the valley, its name.
