Regional Guide

Take the kids for a spin down McDonald Creek Bike Path in Glacier National Park. Located close to the Apgar Visitor Center and the park's western gate, this gentle two-mile route is a good way to get the blood moving after spending a few hours cooped up in the car.

For a longer, family-friendly bike ride, try the 23-mile out-and-back from Columbia Falls, just 15 miles west of Glacier. This road ride runs along Route 486, with Flathead National Forest to the west and the Flathead River's wild and scenic North Fork to the east.

Stretch your legs in Glacier National Park on an easy 3.4-mile hike to Grinnel Lake—a turquoise, glacier-fed body of water. For an even easier day, take a scenic boat cruise across Swiftcurrent Lake and Lake Josephine before beginning the hike (about one mile).

Just 35 miles west of Choteau, Montana, in the Lewis and Clark National Forest, Teton Pass Ski Area offers affordable family fun. This Rocky Mountain ski hill doesn't draw the big crowds, so you'll find more untracked snow and faster lift lines. Little ones will enjoy special ski workshops on racing, moguls, and powder.

Thirty-five miles north of Libby in the Purcell Mountains, you can take the family on a gentle hike to two trout-filled lakes. The well-maintained Hoskins Lake Trail in Kootenai National Forest can be done as a one-mile out-and-back or a 2.8-mile loop. Once you reach the lakes, keep an eye out for deer, moose, and cutthroat trout.