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Folkshop at St. Ignatius
Nonprofit thrift store employing adults with disabilities
Series One · The Mission Range
A Field Guide for Curious Travelers
No. 001
Visit Mission Valley Montana
Between the lake and the MissionsA western Montana valley between glacial lakes and the mountain range that named it. Pull off the highway. Stay a while. The Mission Valley keeps better the slower you go.
7
Places to Stop
all worth the time
all worth the time
28
Miles Long
Flathead Lake
Flathead Lake
9k
Foot Peaks
in the Missions
in the Missions
200
Bird Species
at Ninepipe
at Ninepipe
A field guide for the slow traveler.
Made in the valley, free to everyone.
We catalog the diners, the lake docks, the trailheads, the produce stands, and the people who keep them. Updated by locals. Open to all. No outside ads; the only sponsors are valley businesses.
Wander, Eat, Rest, Repeat
Four ways to explore.
Four ways in. Everything behind them is locally owned.
For Residents · Need-led
Local services.
Trades, healthcare, professional, auto, home. The people who keep the valley running, sorted by what you need.
From the Field Scouts · Issue 1
Five places we can't stop talking about.
Shop
Shop
Lavender Lori
Lavender farm at the foot of the National Bison Range
Food
Glacier Brewing Company
German-style ale house pouring craft beer and house-made sodas
Food
Country Foods
Montana-made homemade-style egg pasta on Highway 93
Lodging
KwaTaqNuk Resort & Casino
CSKT-owned lakeside resort and casino on Flathead Lake
Mark the Calendar
What's coming up in the valley.
Three from the calendar this week.
Sep
16
'26
Outdoors & Rec · Free
Fall 2026 Mission Valley Conservation Speaker Series
Ninepipes Lodge, Charlo · 6:00 PM
Sep
16
'26
Sep
16
'26
Evergreen · 5 min read
The Quiet Months: Visiting the Valley November Through April
The Mission Valley in winter is a different valley. Fewer cars on 93, lake views without the boat noise, snow on the Missions, the cold-stretched daylight of late northern winter. A guide to coming in the months everyone else skips.
Evergreen · 5 min read
Eat Where the Valley Eats
The Mission Valley doesn't have a celebrated dining scene. It has restaurants. Bakeries, bar grills, diner counters, a steakhouse, a few cafes you would drive an hour for if you knew. A working guide to eating in the Mission Valley.
Practical · 3 min read
Twelve Hours in St. Ignatius
St. Ignatius is the kind of town that fits a day. Small enough to walk most of it, dense enough with mission-era history and mountain-front trails that twelve hours go somewhere. This is one way to spend them.
The Centerfold
An illustrated map of the valley.
Two lakes, a refuge, a range, and the Mission Valley between them. Highway 93 stitches it together. The towns are where it stops.
Series One · Plate I
The Mission Valley & Surrounds
Scale · 1 in. = 4 mi.
Town
Water
Range
Route
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Where you are
This valley is the Flathead Indian Reservation.
The whole Mission Valley lies within the Flathead Reservation, homeland of the Séliš, Q̓lispé, and Ksanka peoples. The Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes govern from Pablo, run the college, the power utility, and the Bison Range, and put on the biggest events of the valley's year. The Three Chiefs Culture Center in Pablo is the place to go deeper.