There are so many fireworks shows, we can’t even begin to scrape the surface… so rather than raise a rash, her’s a summary from one of our previous year’s stories about Whitefish, Montana – which is a pretty great and fun place, even if their chamber of commerce won’t give us the time of day.
Whitefish Montana has enjoyed success for a number of reasons. They’ve got a killer ski resort in Ski Whitefish, they’re right off the highline just a quick Amtrak ride from Seattle, and they really know how to cater to locals and visitors alike. While we haven’t yet taken in the resort, we did spend the 4th on the lake last year, and it was a perfectly solid fireworks display.
It was a down year, the first truly bad year for tourist destinations, so things weren’t quite as they’ve been in the past. Even still, the afternoon we spent on the banks of Whitefish Lake was perfectly pleasant, and we had a wonderful time playing around while we waited for enough darkness to fall for the pyrotechnic show to begin.
There were a handful of great concession stands in the taped-off parking lot, though apparently much fewer than in years past. There was a lemonade stand we must have visited about every 90-minutes for the majority of the day, but there was also an Icee stand and a couple different places to get food. The prices were fair and the food was good.
Most of the people at the beach were locals, though many were vacation-home locals – the people that have vacation property nearby and chose to spend their time by the lake for the celebration of independence. As such, the friends the boys made were warm and welcoming, and treated our boys like they would any neighborhood friends.
Once the sun went down and the fireworks went off, we were in for a treat. I think they might have messed up and blew off the grand finale first, but they still put on a good, long show with nice, high shells blasting off in fantastic form.
If you’re looking for a nice place to take in the fireworks without the usual crowds you might find in bigger cities, Whitefish Lake is a good option. You’re still going to be stuck in traffic heading out afterward, as the roads aren’t meant for thousands of people to all drive out at a single time, but it still isn’t as bad as in any bigger city I’ve seen.
I can’t speak to your experience, but I felt very safe letting my kids wander off to play, and between that and the overall value, we felt this was a solid choice for the fourth of July. We’ll check out somewhere different next year, but that’s likely because we’re travel writers and our appetite for something new is difficult to satisfy.