Want to practice your lasso skills roping a wooden horse or gear up your dog for some dog-skijoring? While March means that many of us think of springtime, it’s the time when ski towns make the most of the last remaining days of winter. From snow rodeos to dog skijoring, ice-skating to snow shoeing, these last gasps of winter offer the most fun in the Flathead Valley.
Good old-fashioned winter fun starts in town in the Flathead Valley. Kalispell and Whitefish both have wonderful ice skating opportunities. Gear up the family and hit the Stumptown Ice Den in Whitefish for ice-skating. This indoor rink has full operations—including rentals and lessons—until April 5th. March means hockey tournaments and figure skating shows—something for everyone to enjoy.
In Kalispell, the new Woodland Ice Rink is equipped with stadium lights and comfortable lockers rooms that makes an afternoon on the ice a wonderful time. Several local hockey teams have practices and tournaments here, so you can be a participant or enjoy being a spectator.
If you’re looking for some silly skiing fun—West Glacier, at the entrance of Glacier National Park—has two events that bring added fun to winter skiing pastimes. On March 14th and 15th, the Glacier Outdoor Center will host a dog-skijoring competition. Skijoring, the unofficial sport of the Flathead Valley, is where a dog (or horse or motor vehicle) is harnessed and pulls a skier.
Dogs of all shapes and sizes can enter the competition—though Labradors, Huskies and Retrievers are a favorite in the area. The Glacier Outdoor Center rents harnesses and donates proceeds from the event to the local Humane Society. This event is growing in popularity and is always a wonderful time to the over 100 people who regularly attend.
Down the road, the Izaak Walton Inn has combined a western tradition—the rodeo—with skiing for a truly original event that brings the best of skiing and Montana together for one weekend. For over twenty years, the annual Snow Rodeo has been a mainstay for locals and visitors alike looking to have end of winter fun. Saturday events range from ‘Goat Ropin’ (it’s a wooden goat), to “Bareback Bronc Riding” (a wooden horse that goes down a small hill) to the Chuck Wagon Races. Don’t worry about perfecting the rodeo technique; this event gives extra points for style. Saturday’s competition concludes with a bonfire.
On Sunday, kids are the main event with a treasure/scavenger hunt. All weekend long, bandanas are given away to all guests (admission is free) making this a colorful and fun event for the whole family.
If you’d like some solitude to conclude your winter, snowshoeing is a wonderful way to get some peace of mind in Flathead’s great outdoors. Both the Izaak Walton and Glacier Outdoor Center offer snowshoe rentals—you can bring the snowshoes into the park or stay on the groomed trail system that both outfitters offer. In Kalispell and Whitefish, outfitters offer snowshoe rentals. Surrounding National Forest Service land and state trust lands offer a variety of choices for this quiet but compelling sport.
For a list of outfitters, events and trail systems, visit the Flathead Convention & Visitor’s Bureau on the web at www.montanasflatheadvalley.com. And enjoy these last days of winter!
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