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Blacktail Mountain is an affordable family-orientated resort, with childcare facilities and a professional ski school with personal and group lessons for children and adults. The staff is friendly and helpful, and lift lines are non-existent, while the newly-built lodge provides a range of dining options. Conference facilities are located nearby.

Blacktail Mountain caters for beginner and intermediate skiers, with wide, gentle, well-groomed trails dominating the slopes. Fifteen per cent of the pistes are rated easy, 70 per cent intermediate, and 15 per cent difficult; the trails extend over an area of 81 hectares. There are four lifts serving 24 trails, with a longest run of 1,890m.

The ski season runs from December through to mid-April, with cheap lift prices throughout. Glacier Park International Airport is a 90-minute drive north of Blacktail Mountain and services several daily flights to and from Salt Lake City, the nearest major international airport.

Skiing in Blacktail Mountain

Blacktail Mountain is an inexpensive and family-orientated resort nestled in the mountains lining the western shore of Flathead Lake in northwestern Montana. It boasts a variety of wide-open, well-groomed trails and a friendly, down-to-earth atmosphere.

Blacktail Mountain consists of 24 trails serviced by four lifts, with a longest run of 1,890m. The runs are spread over 81 hectares of skiable terrain; 15 per cent cater for beginners, 70 per cent are rated intermediate, and 15 per cent are difficult. Snowboarders are also welcome, while various cross-country trails are located nearby.

The ski season runs from December through to mid-April. Glacier Park International Airport is situated 1 hour, 30 minutes by road north of Blacktail Mountain, near Kalispell, and offers daily flights to and from Salt Lake City International Airport. There is an express shuttle service from Kalispell to the slopes.

Après-ski in Blacktail Mountain

A wide array of lodging options can be found in the nearby towns of Kalispell, Lakeside, Big Fork and Somers. A restaurant and café are located slope-side, while a staggering number of restaurants, bars and shops can be explored in Kalispell.

The mountainside lodge offers fine dining at Muley’s restaurant and quick meals in the café. Numerous other restaurants, bars and pubs can be found in surrounding townships.

Blacktail Mountain is the state’s newest ski resort and boasts very affordable lift tickets, a great family atmosphere, few crowds, and a lot of runs catering for beginners and intermediates. Childcare and conference facilities are available, while the professional ski school is highly regarded.

To the north of Blacktail is Glacier National Park, a designated UNESCO World Heritage site famous for its spectacular glaciated landscape dotted with pristine forests, lakes and alpine meadows. Hot Springs, situated to the west, is named after its natural mineral hot springs; while the National Bison Range to the south is another popular tourist attraction.

Transportation to Blacktail Mountain

Blacktail Mountain is situated in northwest Montana, an hour’s drive south of Kalispell along highway 93, up from the western shore of Flathead Lake. Glacier Park International Airport offers car hire and taxi service, while a daily shuttle service runs from Kalispell to the resort.

If you are driving from Kalispell, take highway 93 south and turn west at Blacktail Grocery, once in Lakeside. The trip distance is 56kms, which takes about an hour to complete. If driving from Missoula, take I-90 northwest until you reach the turnoff for highway 93, which will take you north to Lakeside. Trip time is around 2 hours, 30 minutes. Amtrak offers a daily rail service between Chicago and Seattle, stopping at Whitefish, which is 1 hour, 30 minutes by road north of Blacktail Mountain ski resort.

Glacier Park International Airport is situated north of Kalispell; from there, Blacktail Mountain resort is about 1 hour, 30 minutes by road. The airport offers numerous daily flights to and from Salt Lake City International Airport, which services flights to and from all major US cities as well as direct transatlantic flights to and from major European destinations, including London. There is car hire and taxi service at Glacier Park International, and a shuttle service from Kalispell to the slopes.

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