If you’re heading to Whitefish, you’re going to enjoy yourself no matter what time of year. Winter has fantastic skiing, summer offers outdoor activities galore, and year-round you can quench a thirst at some downtown Whitefish watering holes. The Great Northern Railway passes through Montana and stops in Whitefish, and has lent its name to a number of establishments.
The Great Northern Brewing Company, also the tallest building in town at three stories high, is located on the corner of Railway St and Central Ave. There’s a smaller taproom on the ground floor and a larger restaurant space on the second floor. They brew good beer, have a friendly staff, and excellent views of the mountains.
Now, a few doors down and across Central Ave is The Great Northern Bar, a place that apparently has nothing to do with The Great Northern Brewery but everything to do with the train. It’s confusing, but they’re easy to differentiate as the Great Northern Bar is a local dive bar serving beer from a number of breweries, local and national, has pool tables, gambling machines, and a claim to fame for being in business since 1919. We suggest stopping in for a beer. The decor in this bar features signs on Whitefish businesses that have closed, so it’s a museum of Whitefish, in a way.
Across the street from The Great Northern Bar, you’ll find Craggy Range Bar and Grill. This is a good place for dinner or just popping in for a drink. It’s also THE spot to get a Bloody Mary in town, and though we didn’t order one as it was later in the evening, the menu says it all:
A snow ghost, by the way, is the term used for the trees at the top of the mountains out there. They’re frozen to the core and covered in frozen fog.
Craggy Range has an interesting way to keep your beer cold as well, an inlay of ice on the bar to rest your beer atop rather than a coaster. We asked our server about this and she said it automatically thaws and dries every night and refreezes every day. That’s a first for us!
A few doors down from Casey’s is The Palace Bar, a bar that has no website for linking, and where we suggest only drinking, because they have a B+ posted from the health inspector.
That’s something we certainly don’t see in Colorado. It’s an interesting concept you’ll find in some states- grading restaurants’ adherence to health code.
Anyway, the serve food there, but it’s just a place to go for a beer (and gambling if you so desire). It’s a really old wooden bar, and a popular with locals.
If you’re looking for a more spirit forward tipple and craft cocktails, head to Spotted Bear Spirits, a most carefully curated tasting room located at the distillery, connected to a boutique. Spotted Bear Spirits celebrates the outdoors in decor, design, and in what they distill. We suggest you enjoy a flight of their spirits before picking a cocktail. They bottle vodka, gin, coffee liqueur, an agave spirit, and some cellos.
Spotted Bear spirits also serves craft cocktails in unique glassware featuring house-made syrups, tonics, shrubs, and bitters. It’s a must visit in our book!
Cheers!