About this place
The Mission Valley
A stretch of western Montana between Flathead Lake and the Mission Mountains, in the heart of the Flathead Indian Reservation.
The Mission Valley sits between two of the most striking features of western Montana: Flathead Lake at its north end and the Mission Mountains rising along its eastern edge. The whole valley sits inside the Flathead Indian Reservation, on the aboriginal homeland of the Séliš, Q̓lispé, and Ksanka peoples.
It’s one of the most distinctive landscapes in the Rocky Mountain West, and one of the least documented online. Most tourism for the region gets folded into “Glacier Country” from points east. The reality is more specific. The valley has its own character: working farms, lakefront towns, a tribal cultural center, hot springs, a mission church older than Montana statehood, a bison range, hiking that doesn’t require a Glacier permit.
The towns
The valley is anchored by small towns along Highway 93 and the lake shore. Each has its own character:
Each has its own page in the directory.
The CSKT homeland
The Mission Valley exists on the Flathead Indian Reservation. The Séliš, Q̓lispé, and Ksanka peoples have lived in and around the valley for thousands of years. Today, the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes govern the reservation.
For tribal news and history: Char-Koosta News and cskt.org. For cultural sites: Three Chiefs Culture Center and Salish Kootenai College.
What makes it distinctive
The combination of features here is unusual: a large freshwater lake, an exposed mountain range that goes from valley floor to alpine in a few miles, working agricultural land, a present and growing tribal community, and small towns that have stayed working towns rather than turning into tourist props.
People live here. The valley is not a backdrop.
The seasons
The valley runs in two modes. Each gets its own page with what’s open, what’s happening, and what to expect.
- Summer in the Mission Valley: May through October. Lake activities, festivals, tourism, the full directory at full capacity.
- Winter in the Mission Valley: November through April. Quiet months, the year-round side of the directory, the valley with no one watching.
About this site
Explore Mission Valley
Explore Mission Valley is the valley’s directory and field guide: free for every business, paid for by sponsors, built in St. Ignatius. For who’s behind it and how it works, see About this site.