NW Montana Questions

[Grassstrippilot]

Hey everyone,

It's that time of the year again. We are getting ready for our summer trips and I'm hoping that some of you have done some flying up in the Kalispell area and can answer some questions for me.

We are planning on camping at either Meadow Creek of Schafer. For those who have camped there, which do you prefer?

From where ever we camp, we are going to fly over to Kalispell, where we will pick up a rental car for a day in Glacier National Park. With two young ones in tow, we will probably only drive the Sun Road to Logan Pass and enjoy the views. Anything else that is a "don't miss" in this area?

We are planning on checking out a handful of strips in that area. Are there any that are "don't miss" strips?

Any intel you might have on the area is appreciated. From there we'll move over to Cavanaugh Bay for a night, then make our way down to JC.

Thanks,
GSP

[hardtailjohn]

Stop by on your way to Cavanaugh... Hanson (pvt) on the sectional. Cabin Creek has the cheapest (self serve) gas in the area.
John

[Bonanza Man]

I go to those places all the time. Schafer is the better destination. It is an easy and short walk to the river, virtually no elevation change. Meadow Creek, though not in the wilderness area, may as well be as the nearest road is across the river. The airstrip is a couple hundred feet above the river and is a hike to get there. You can take a path off the south end of the strip for about a mile to go fishing, there's also a pretty cool looking gorge that you can see, it's on the topo map. At Schafer you can have one of the rangers based there show you thru the Forest Service buildings, they are pretty cool. Bring the rangers a newspaper and some magazines. These people are a long way from civilization and like stuff like that. An apple pie and especially a gallon of ice cream goes a long way too. Where ever you go take a trip to the other ones too, at least to walk around. Stop at Spotted Bear, cool views over the river. Take the family to Seeley Lake, grab a courtesy car(one of which is actually a short school bus) and take the family to Lindey's restaurant for either lunch or dinner. As long as you have the car at Glacier take a trip to the Hungry Horse Dam, they have a little museum there that you can go thru.

[Grassstrippilot]

Thanks guys! This is the kind of info I was looking for. I think we will camp at Schafer and definately plan on visiting the others. Good idea on goodies for the rangers. That will be easy since we will be day tripping out to Glacier from there.

Hardtail, thanks for the invite. I'll see what I can do and let you know if we will drop in. Thanks for the tip on fuel. Cabin Creek is shown as private and one website says that permission is required. I guess it is ok to land there (private but open to the public). It's not listed on Airnav's fuel finder. What is fuel going for there and what is the best way to get an update? Call? Do you have a number for them by chance? Anything I need to know about your place or Cabin Creek?

We originally had planned to fly up to Whitefish and rent a car out of there. But for a bunch of reasons, we decided to rent out of GPI (car was cheaper, more convenient to load the kids, etc.). Car was cheaper, but, as I guessed, they charge a $30 ramp fee if you don't buy fuel. That is why I usually avoid places like this. I asked them if there is a minimum amount of fuel to buy to have the ramp fee waived. She said no...which doesn't make sense to me. I guess they figure that if you are going to pump any fuel, you'll bother to pump more than a gallon. If it is a significantly less over at Cabin Creek, then we'll pump the minimum at GPI and use Cabin Creek as our fuel stop when we leave the area.

Thanks again for the info. Please keep it coming if anyone has more.

[doth]

GSP,

I would recommend going to Ryan airfield. You have to contact the RAF to receive an airstrip safety briefing prior to landing there. Go to there website and find some contact info. www.theraf.org and get permission. It is located at West Glacier and they have great camping facilities and a courtesy car.

There are many courtesy cars in the area. There are three in Polson; great for a grocery run and fuel, Seeley Lake; great for a Lindey's Steak House meal, and more located at Ronan and St. Ignatius. I'm not sure what is available in Kalispell, etc.. It is FREE to use them, just replenish the fuel supply...

Polson airport also has a room for rent with a full kitchen,etc. for pilots. I don't know exactly what the price is but I want to say $50/night.

Schafer is surely the preferred camping. It has bear boxes for food and water right at the camp grounds.

[once&futr_alaskaflyer]

Why not S27 instead of GPI? Access to rental cars, cheaper fuel, no ramp fee and the FBO actually appreciates the business. The drive isn't that much longer to the park (maybe ten minutes further or so), and the FBO has good 411 on the forest service strips because they have a business flying folks into them.

[hardtailjohn]

Yup, Kalispell City (S27) is the much preferred airport. GPI wants big business, not us little guys. Ben Ryan's place would be a great picnic/camping spot! Lindy's in Seeley is great for supper, and should have the Bay Burger stand up and running soon. You can land at Cabin Creek to buy fuel. I'll try to find out what the price is now.
John

[Grassstrippilot]

GSP,

I would recommend going to Ryan airfield. You have to contact the RAF to receive an airstrip safety briefing prior to landing there. Go to there website and find some contact info. http://www.theraf.org and get permission. It is located at West Glacier and they have great camping facilities and a courtesy car.

There are many courtesy cars in the area. There are three in Polson; great for a grocery run and fuel, Seeley Lake; great for a Lindey's Steak House meal, and more located at Ronan and St. Ignatius. I'm not sure what is available in Kalispell, etc.. It is FREE to use them, just replenish the fuel supply...

Polson airport also has a room for rent with a full kitchen,etc. for pilots. I don't know exactly what the price is but I want to say $50/night.

Schafer is surely the preferred camping. It has bear boxes for food and water right at the camp grounds.

I had originally thought that I would find a place with a courtesy car so I wouldn't have to rent one. But I didn't know if they would appreciate the car being gone all day. Also, if only one was available, I couldn't take the chance that it wouldn't be available, so I decided a rental was the better way to go. I know of Polson, and that was the original plan, but that would be a long day of driving just to get to and from the park. That is good to know about the room there though, thanks.

I probably should have given Kalispell (S27) a closer look, but none of my searches for car rentals would bring it up as a rental location, even though the AOPA directory says that 4 different agencies rent out of there. For now fuel shows to be cheaper at GPI than S27...we'll see if it holds. Regardless, I imagine we'll top off else where.

Thanks for the info on Ryan. I had seen the video on the RAF site. I didn't know about the breifing though, so that is good to know. Had I not already secured a car at GPI, I might even be tempted to gamble on their car being available. Regardless, I'd still like to check it out.

Again, thank you to you all for the input. John, thanks for checking on the fuel over at Cabin Creek.

[scout]

Hungry Horse Dam just a short hop from Glacier
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hungry_Horse_Dam
Bigfork is a cool town (lots of shops)

[Grassstrippilot]

Can anyone fill me in on the firewood situation at Schafer and Cavanaugh Bay?

Thanks,
GSP

[hardtailjohn]

Dunno about firewood, but bring your raincoat........and maybe a snorkel! Along with that, some sunblock.... one thing about the weather here is that if you don't like it, you don't have to wait too long for it to change.
JH

[Grassstrippilot]

Yeah, I've been watching it. It looks like there is supposed to be a break for us next week. We'll keep our fingers crossed. I called Russ over at Cabin Creek and he said he'd email me with the fuel price there, as well as an update on Schafer and Meadow Creek if he could find out. For now we'll cross our fingers for good wx.

[66skylane]

There's enough firewood at Schafer but one usually has to walk a little ways to find it. The easy stuff gets picked over pretty quick. The host at Cavanough bay usually has some wood pre cut and stacked in the camp area but not sure about this year. If there isn't any wood waiting for you one would have to borrow a truck and go get some since the ground around the camp area is all private. The restraunt at Cavanough is closed due to a change in ownership and I am told it won't open again until into July but haven't talked to anybody official to confirm.

[Bonanza Man]

Yeah, I've been watching it. It looks like there is supposed to be a break for us next week. We'll keep our fingers crossed. I called Russ over at Cabin Creek and he said he'd email me with the fuel price there, as well as an update on Schafer and Meadow Creek if he could find out. For now we'll cross our fingers for good wx.

Next weekend is the work party at Meadow Creek. I will be there Friday morning. It's also the same weekend for the fly in at Ryan Field at West Glacier. I will stop in there Saturday afternoon for dinner and then go back to Meadow Creek.

[Airshofoto]

I'm planning on spending a few days at Glacier in July at Ryan Field. When I leave to return to points east, I'm curious if anyone has flown the valley that Rt 2 and the Amtrak line are in from East Glacier to West Glacier and then on to points east. The comments I've seen all refer to flying I-90. Thanks for any input.

[Centmont]

Airshophoto: Over Marias pass makes perfect sense from Ryan and is the way most of us approach from the east. Just one long deep ditch through the Rockies out onto the prairie. Scenery is beautiful around the Bottom of Glacier NP. Winds can be real....but like anywhere in the Mountains...suggest an early start. R