A mover, shaker, mama and lover of all things outdoors, Sammi emulates the best of Montana. From adventuring in Glacier National Park to trail running in the Flathead National Forest and soaking up family moments at Flathead Lake, Sammi and her family make the most of living, working and playing in and around Kalispell.
DISCOVERY TIPS
In the summer, we sneak in time for a swim and ice cream with the kids after work. The beaches at Wayfarers’ State Park in Bigfork are great for kids. We love to swim there.
The trail systems at Lone Pine and Herron Park offer amazing access for hikers, bikers and horseback riding.
“Kalispell is a great base camp to go lots of directions, because this valley is very diverse.”
Sammi Johnson
Tell us a little bit about yourself and how you came to Kalispell.
I’m a Montana native but grew up in a small town on the east side of the mountains north of Bozeman. I ventured with my family to a lake on the west side of Glacier National Park as a child on our summer vacations. For me, the hook was set early and I just loved this area, although I only got here once in a while.
Once I went to college, I started coming up to northwest Montana and working at Glacier National Park during the summers. So I just had an affinity for it early and tried to come here as early and often as I could. And, I’m still here. I’m married with three kids who are 2, 6 and 8 years old and we live here in Kalispell. My husband’s name is Ty and he’s very much involved with the park and working on historic boats. He’s been working there for a long time so has lots of legacy projects and we get access to the park through him in lots of cool different ways. While I’ve worked in marketing and production careers in Kalispell, today I own my own business and work in the building construction industry.
What is your insider tip for travelers looking to experience the best of Kalispell?
Kalispell is a great base camp to go lots of directions because this valley is very diverse. If you’re here in the summer, there are lots of ways to have a nice time on water, whether it’s Flathead Lake, Swan Lake, any of these creeks, rivers or ponds, it doesn’t matter. There’s so much water here. Seek it out, ask a couple people where you can find a little private place on the water. It’s really special to northwest Montana that we have this crazy watershed of different pockets of places to recreate. So my insider tip is keep looking, because you don’t have to work that hard to get your private oasis near water in the summer.
