LSR Travels: Montana. | Ashley from Le Stylo Rouge

LSR Travels: Montana.

Hello, Montana: land of snow-capped mountains and glacier-carved valleys.

My boyfriend and I recently spent a long weekend in the Kalispell/Whitefish area of Montana. I know– at first blush, Montana doesn’t seem like a super hot vacation destination. But this place is a gem.

Growing up in the (mostly) flat Midwestern prairie, mountains have always fascinated me. Geologically, I understand how they form, of course, but we just don’t have that type of land in KC. Our hills are rolling, subtle, and the part of the city I call home has been painted in broad strokes by Suburbia. (This is not a slight; I love my hometown.) The Montana landscape is just so incredibly different: wide valleys sprawl to the base of the northern Rockies, which rush upward from the flatland, capped by bright white snow.

LSR Travels: Montana. | Ashley from Le Stylo Rouge
Credit

The Flathead Valley area is completely surrounded by mountains; it’s like being bordered by the world’s biggest and prettiest fence. Pristine, green space everywhere, be it flat valley or wooded as you get closer to the mountains. There is room, land, acreage between developments. So much space. The sky seems bigger; the only thing not dwarfed by the Rockies.

We stayed The Lodge at Lake Whitefish, which was situated right on the lake. It had everything we needed, while still maintaining a rustic feel. (Yes, it had wifi. I’m allergic to places that don’t have it.) Spa, bar, restaurant, bike rentals, coffee bar, room service, indoor and outdoor pools, steam room– The Lodge was perfect.

LSR Travels: Montana. | Ashley from Le Stylo Rouge
A view from The Lodge’s deck. // London Jacket (old; almost exact here and here) // A&F jeans // Steve Madden sandals

We kicked off the trip with drinks + apps at the Lodge’s bar. After a day of travel, it was nice to unwind with a glass of rosé and some good eats.

LSR Travels: Montana. | Ashley from Le Stylo Rouge
Duck nachos + elk meatballs… When in Rome!

My boyfriend and I each had an objective in Montana: for him, it was running a Spartan race that weekend, and for me, it was finding a place to do a trail ride on horseback. I grew up riding, and it was something I hadn’t done in ages. My great aunt had a farm just south of the city, so many of my childhood summers were spent hanging out in the paddocks, climbing the hay mountains in the barn, and riding as much as I possibly could.

I had found the Dream Haven Ranch online after a pretty extensive search (I didn’t want anything too basic; I wanted the True Montana Horseback Trail Experience). Dream Haven promised a ride tailored to our needs by a guide who knew the mountain like the back of her hand. We showed up for 10:00 a.m. ride with bells on. (Bells = brand new cowboy boots I had purchased for myself before the trip. Yes, that’s a rookie move– but I didn’t want to ride in sneakers and I’ll be damned if the Ropers I had when I was 9 fit anymore.)

LSR Travels: Montana. | Ashley from Le Stylo Rouge
Horseback selfie!

Even though it had been years, I felt right at home on Deek. He was ornery– in the best way– and loved running up the steep hills, which made it more fun. I’d never climbed or descended mountain-grade hills on horseback before, so it made for a fun time. Dave and Shadow were a great pairing; she was easygoing and made his first ride ever a breeze.

We wound upward through the trees, following trails and logging roads. View after view, sight after sight. Soon, we felt pretty high up. The marshland below glittered in the sunshine, the morning fog clearing a bit.

LSR Travels: Montana. | Ashley from Le Stylo Rouge
Taking in the sights with Shadow and Deek. Shop my jacket (on sale!) here.
LSR Travels: Montana. | Ashley from Le Stylo Rouge
Mid-hike cheese. // North Face jacket (more here) // Ray-Ban sunglasses

Covered in dust and horse hair, my new boots properly dirty, we headed back into town for lunch. Downtown Whitefish proved to be quite the spot for food + drink; lots of bars and restaurants, all unique, all local.

Pizza was on the menu post-pony, as we were starving.  A beer flight seemed like an appropriate form of celebration.

LSR Travels: Montana. | Ashley from Le Stylo Rouge
A flight at the MacKenzie River Pizza Company. // Hunter x Target sweatshirt
LSR Travels: Montana. | Ashley from Le Stylo Rouge
If this were scratch and sniff, I’d smell like a horse. Shop my look: Hunter x Target sweatshirt  // Alo leggings // Ariat boots // Forever21 bag // Ray-Ban sunglasses

On Saturday we hit Glacier National Park. This park is on many a bucket list for its trails, lakes, and amazing mountain views. Much of the park was still closed for the season (most of GNP doesn’t open until mid- to late-May), but we still had the chance to see Lake McDonald in all its crystal-clear glory and do a quick-but-grueling 4-mile hike on the Sperry Trail.

LSR Travels: Montana. | Ashley from Le Stylo Rouge
Not a bad backdrop. Shop my outfit: Kuhl jacket (wearing Dave’s; similar here) // Zella leggings (similar here and here) // Nike sneakers (old; similar here) // Ray-Ban sunglasses

LSR Travels: Montana. | Ashley from Le Stylo Rouge

We hiked straight up and through snow (for part of the way) to get to this river, one of the many streaming down the mountain carrying melted snow. The water was freezing; so cold that the temperate dropped 15 degrees as you approached it.

LSR Travels: Montana. | Ashley from Le Stylo Rouge

LSR Travels: Montana. | Ashley from Le Stylo Rouge

LSR Travels: Montana. | Ashley from Le Stylo Rouge

LSR Travels: Montana. | Ashley from Le Stylo Rouge
Lake McDonald showing off those mirror skills.

We ended the night with drinks downtown at Casey’s, where we got sucked into a NHL playoff game.

Sunday was Spartan race day. Dave was running the Elite Sprint wave (a 5-mile course), so it meant waking up early to prep and drive the 50 minutes down to the race site for the 7:30 a.m. start. The course looked pretty tough– but all Spartan courses seem like torture to me. Dave checked in, warmed up, and then trotted off to the gate. I grabbed an Americano from a coffee truck (bless Montana and their fondness for good coffee) and then found a good spectator spot at the last big obstacle. I would be able to see Dave run up to complete it, and then could cheer him onto the finish.

 

LSR Travels: Montana. | Ashley from Le Stylo Rouge

The race started with the National Anthem and the traditional Spartan chant. From my place on the hill, I could see everyone take off from the gate. I could also see everyone immediately slow down when confronted with the massive, super steep hill they were forced to run right away. Yikes, talk about a wake-up call. Dave looked to be in good position (it’s easy to spot his man bun in a crowd), soon disappearing over the ridge and into the trees.

LSR Travels: Montana. | Ashley from Le Stylo Rouge
Spectators queuing up to watch the start.

The leaders started trickling in, breathing heavily and wincing as they picked their way through the Twister, a tricky take on the monkey bars. But instead of uniform stationary bars spaced evenly apart, Twister has different types of grips to grapple and the bars rotate when you grab them, making it really tough to hang on, much less get any sort of momentum. I watched one top ten guy get disqualified on the rig, which meant he had to complete 30 burpees before he could move on. Ugh. It was painful to watch; he was so gassed by the end, I thought his legs were going to give out.

Dave’s man bun bobbed up the hill several minutes later; holy shit, he was in the top 25. Twenty-fourth, to be exact. I was really excited– that was a damn good showing– but he still had to make it through the Twister. I had no idea how he had fared on the other 10-15 obstacles on the course; missing even one meant 30 burpees, which can completely zap your energy for the rest of the race. Was he going to be able to hold on? Was his grip strength shot?

There wasn’t anyone right on his heels; when he started the Twister, he was the only Spartan on the rig. Everyone was shouting at him, cheering him on. I was a nervous wreck (my usual, “Hey, Insta story this!” instinct totally froze), offering a just few loud words of encouragement as he worked through the obstacle. He cleared one row, then another (I think I held my breath the whole time), and then boom! A flawless finish with a ring of the bell! At that point, I shouted he was in the top 25 and to run like hell.

LSR Travels: Montana. | Ashley from Le Stylo Rouge

He ended up finishing 24th, his best showing of the racing season so far.

We were back in Whitefish by 10:00 a.m., so we grabbed some brunch at The Boat Club before renting bikes to ride around downtown.

We peddled over the bridge and into town. It was the perfect day for a ride– the sky was clear, the sun was shining, and the temps were in the low 70s. We had a few beers on the Great Northern Brewing Company balcony, enjoyed the mountain views, and then shopped a bit.

 

LSR Travels: Montana. | Ashley from Le Stylo Rouge

It was a great way to spend our last full day in Montana. We will definitely be back! There’s so much we didn’t get to do: Lake Whitefish beach, hike more of Glacier National Park, white water raft… And of course, I need to come back and ride ponies!

Shop the look:

Linking up with Elegantly Dressed and Stylish, I Do DeClaire, Straight A Style + On the Daily Express, Get Your Pretty On, Rosy Outlook + Seeking Sunshine, and Pumps and Push Ups.

76 Comments

  1. Ahh…I am so jealous of this trip! Montana has been on my must-see list for awhile and this post is making the craving even stronger. The scenery is amazing and bonus points for the food! Duck nachos and elk meatballs?! Right up my alley. Thanks for putting this together!
    Gina || On the Daily Express

    1. You would love Montana, sister! And the food at The Lodge (and everywhere we went, really) was awesome! The nachos + meatballs were super tasty!

  2. Montana has actually been on my bucket list for years so this would be a dream vacation for me! I will be pinning this post for future reference. We’re you concerned at all about running into a grizzly on your hike?

    1. I’m so glad you liked it, lady- Montana is BEAUTIFUL. And yes, the bears had just come out of hibernation, but I guess it was early enough in the season that they were still at the tops of the mountains. But it’s a very real danger on some of the more remote trails!

  3. Great post, loved all the pictures of beautiful Montana! When reading the Spartan race portion of the post I was literally holding my breath as I read about Dave going through the Twister obstacle. Great finish for him, yea!!! All the food looked delicious, duck nachos (I’m intrigued). Glad you both had a memorable trip. ☺

  4. Wow! Your boyfriend did AWESOME for his race. I have been running for a long time and not these obstacle type races and I’ve never made it in the top 25! That is just amazing! I bet he was beyond thrilled! I am sure the horseback riding was nice and relaxing. Such beautiful photos! I have never been to this state!

    Carrie
    curlycraftymom.com

  5. Wow, what a superb report, Ashley! So glad you and the boy had fun. I live on a flat sandbar so, like you, I find mountains exciting and beautiful. And horses are like motorcycles with their own brains! Great post. Congrats to Dave on the impressive run.

    1. I’m so glad you liked it- and thank you for sharing! Horses ARE like motorcycles with their own brains, haha. 🙂

    1. So glad you’re digging the post + recap, babe! Montana was seriously too gorgeous- the pics barely do it justice!

  6. I’ve been to Montana once and it was breathtaking. I would totally go back. I followed your instastory and felt like I was there. Those Elk meatballs look delicious. I love your spandex!

    1. Breathtaking is such a good word for it! And yayyyy! I’m so glad you liked following along! And the meatballs were BOMB! Loved ’em!

  7. There is just something about mountain towns that I love so much! My husband’s uncle lives in Montana and we keep talking about visiting him but have never done it! This post is making me want to go now!!

    Rosy Outlook

  8. Gorgeous pics, and how fab are you while horseback riding?! I’m so sad that even after several trips to Big Sky Country, I still haven’t been to Glacier National Park. Looks like such a fun trip <3
    Green Fashionista

  9. Glad you enjoyed my home state – not to brag but it is beautiful – there is lots more do and see next time try Missoula or Bozeman. Born and raised MT GIRL

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