Strawberry Lake Trail #5
Flathead National Forest Trails
Kalispell, MT
Map: https://www.fs.usda.gov/Internet/FSE_DOCUMENTS/stelprdb5324815.pdf
Know Before You Go: There are mosquitos depending on time of year so bug spray is a good idea. Bears frequent this area, so keep your bear spray handy.
Length: 6 miles out and back.
Time: A little over 3 hours.
Difficulty level: Moderate – the first two miles of the trail have steep uphill with switchbacks.
Terrain: Grass, dirt and small rock.
Dog-friendly: Yes.
Kid-friendly: Yes, depending on how much hiking your children can handle. The trail is well-defined and, aside from a few sheer drops, feels safe to navigate.
Flathead National Forest Trails
Kalispell, MT
Map: https://www.fs.usda.gov/Internet/FSE_DOCUMENTS/stelprdb5324815.pdf
Know Before You Go: There are mosquitos depending on time of year so bug spray is a good idea. Bears frequent this area, so keep your bear spray handy.
Length: 6 miles out and back.
Time: A little over 3 hours.
Difficulty level: Moderate – the first two miles of the trail have steep uphill with switchbacks.
Terrain: Grass, dirt and small rock.
Dog-friendly: Yes.
Kid-friendly: Yes, depending on how much hiking your children can handle. The trail is well-defined and, aside from a few sheer drops, feels safe to navigate.
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This popular trail in Flathead National Forest offers a terrific reward at the end of a moderately challenging hike up a steep hillside. Located less than an hour away from Kalispell, Montana, this trailhead offers a huge challenge at the very beginning: parking. We finally found a spot in a pull-off a quarter mile away from the parking area.
Every inch of this hike is gorgeous. You start out hiking steep, tree-shrouded switchbacks, catching glimpses of Flathead Lake, several mountain ranges, the verdant Flathead River Valley, and brilliant yellow canola fields near Kalispell. This hike gives you a huge bang for your buck. If you don’t have a lot of time, it’s a terrific way to sample the best that western Montana has to offer. The trail offers a little bit of everything. Gorgeous granite hillsides, dark green stretches of pine, fir and spruce, riotous color bursts of wildflowers, and even a couple of waterfalls on the way up to the lake. Our German Shepherd loved this hike, especially the icy waterfall spilling into a clear, cool pool. Strawberry Lake is framed by evergreens, wildflowers, wild strawberry plants and grasses, punctuated by a few well-placed rock formations to create a hilltop vista that looks like a Jon Crane painting. The lake feeds a waterfall that’s picturesque as well. If you like to fish, a folding rod could net you decent-sized lake trout. Hiking back down the mountain seemed like a different hike, even though it was an out and back. The perspectives change enough that your landscape is always changing – and always a treat. 
THE HIKING DOGGIE TAKES A MUCH-DESERVED SWIM IN STRAWBERRY LAKE.
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WATERFALL BELOW STRAWBERRY LAKE
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