Me and my wife of 46 years are discussing making the escape to the other side of the Berl ... uh ... Washington Wall. I've seen some properties near here that interest is.

What I think I already know.

I know it's cold. I've been to Montana in the winter. It's frikkin' cold. Check.

It seems to be surrounded by stuff we like to do. Four-wheeling, ATV off-roading, hiking, hunting, wildlife photography, star-gazing, and so on. Plenty of nation forest for gathering firewood.

How's the summer growing season? I imagine it's short but if the skies are clear all summer, we can make it work.

Kalispell looks to be about 20 miles away and from what I remember, is big enough to have what we'll need; stores and health care.

We're thinking about a scouting trip. What else should we know before heading for the Flatheads??

Thanks!

Marion is a nice area.

If you don’t have to get into town every day, it’s a great place to be.

Really scout any property you’re looking at.  Generally, it’s a good place, but there are definitely some sketchy tweakers around.  

If you have a green house, you can likely grow from March/April to October/ November.

If you come up with specific spots or neighborhoods, holler.

Thank you, Sir! I'll take you up on your offer to holler after we've made our scouting trip.

@Eagle_19er is out that direction.

We looked at lots of properties in Kila in 2020. 5-10 acres was still $100-$150k at the time. There was one 20 acre property for $100k, but it was mostly the side of a gulch. If you aren't in the valley or close to it, you will likely have crappy road conditions during winter as they are all dirt and windy going up. If it is raw land, wells tend to be very deep in that area (800-1,200 feet). I ran into a guy I knew out there that was on the drywall crew working on a project for me in Glacier. His neighbor's well was 1,200' deep and produced 3 gallons per minute

Marion may be a little better, but I suspect very similar. It is all gorgeous, but as knightschneider said, it's getting out there if you had to come into town often.

Thanks! We're largely self-sufficient and not much on towns. Thanks for the heads-up, though. Even a once-a-month trip to town can be a real pain if it includes 10 miles on a sketchy road/trail.

I was wondering about well depth, so thanks for that too. 3 gallons per minute won't keep my tomatoes happy in the summer.

You can check well depths here:

https://gis-data-hub-mbmg.hub.arcgis.com/apps/d226763591a0433285c0057031d22d60/explore

This is the well record entered by the company who drilled the well for a Vera Roberts in Marion.

Good to know, thanks! Today I learned that our well is in our landlord's son's name and is only 22' deep.

Very good. I did a lot of dirt biking last summer in the Ashley Lake area which isn't too far from Marion as the crow flies. There are a bunch of 4x4, ATV, and dirt bike roads/trails around Marion as well, and it looks like the Wild Bill OHV area on Blacktail Mountain can be easily accessed from there. Let me know if you want to hook up and do stuff. I'm in Kalispell.

Very cool! Thanks!

LOL thought I was responding to OP, but an invite goes out to you as well!

@spyderboy03

@Cascade-Dude

If/when you make the move, let me know if you want to explore.

A few glimpses of the Ashley Lake area.

What is to like about Marion? Pretty much everything, IMO. Wife and I looked at a few properties and a good buddy just bought a chunk of land in Marion. (He’s moving from elsewhere in the valley).  

That said “Marion” is a big place and quite varied in lifestyle, climate and population density.

First, it’s not really ‘in’ the Flathead. Rather it’s around 4000’ ASL whereas Kalispell proper is around 3000’. Your elevation increases as you leave town. Not really noticeable until you hit the curves after Kila Hill and then come upon Idaho Hill a few miles later. Idaho Hill can be downright treacherous in the winter, but the plows are out in that area first. People die on that “small” mountain pass many winters. The land leading to Marion is quite varied as you pass through Kila. Off the beaten path in Kila you’ll find quite a few offshoot roads and homes anywhere from around 3150’ to over 4000’ in elevation.

Because of the elevation of most of Marion, winter lasts longer than “in the valley”. It usually starts sooner in fall and ends 3-4 weeks after the rest of the area. You’ll need AT LEAST an AWD vehicle with snow tires to navigate. At least one 4WD truck is a bonus, but almost necessary imo in order to haul your trash to the county container site, which is below Idaho Hill on Ashley Lake Rd and Hwy 2. Plan on some decent snow removal equipment as well.

The “town” of Marion is becoming more busy and more developed as the years go on. There are a couple independent restaurants, a gas station that’s $$$, a post office (Joe’s a good postmaster, though a bit short with people sometimes), a fire station and a K-8 school. Not much else there. Rumor is someone’s putting in a small grocery store adjacent to the gas station, but who knows.

With the development of the town is coming crime. There have been a few shootings, mostly centered around Moose’s Crossing  RV Park (just west of town). They have been drug related, to my knowledge. One was fatal. I’ve met the guy killed and his mom is the neighbor of a widow I help out. Other than that there’s the general property crime and a few sex offenders around. The other area I know of that isn’t great is the Wildebeest Rd/Ave/St? area off of Gopher Ln.

Just north of town is Bitterroot Lake. Bunch of snoots live in that area. They HATE the peons using THEIR lake. Certainly, there is a public access but you’d better not operate a boat or make ANY noise measured over 75db from shore or they’ll sick the “game warden” on you. At least that’s what the signs say.

Further north and a bit west of town is Lost Trail NWR. I’ve seen about every critter Montana has to offer except grizzly (they’re there), rams and mountain goats (they’re not). A true wilderness area and quite awesome. Herds of elk roam the countryside, mule and whitetail deer abound. I’ve seen bull and cow moose, black bear, mountain lion, wolves, coyotes, bobcat and a suspected wolverine (could have been a badger, it was a ways out).

West on Hwy 2 there is a spattering of homes and small rural roads. Some of that land is being parceled up and sold in 10-20ac parcels with people building on them. Just past a “waterfowl production area” (I call it a mosquito production area) is McGregor Lake. Roughly in the middle of that is McGregor Lake Lodge, a decent restaurant with live music, a winter fishing tournament and other events throughout the year. Paul is the owner. He lost his wife last year but he’s keeping on keeping on. Genuinely nice guy.

Towards the west end of the lake is a road called Lost Prairie Rd. It goes up and turns to gravel at the top. The backside is a virtual mud hole in the spring with a 10-100’ drop off in many places. You’d best keep all 4 on the road as you go 5mph down the backside. The area opens up to an awesome little valley that is it’s own little community. If you buy in that area just be prepared for the road. It’s downright gnarly for a couple months and fairly dangerous in winter.

So ya, Marion’s a cool place where people generally look out for each other. It’s not perfect and you don’t get the world class views afforded other places in the valley (some in Kila, West Valley, Kalispell and Creston) but if being “in the woods” is your thing you could do much worse.

ETA: I forgot about this…It’s VERY busy in the summer months, relative to the rest of the year. Lots of recreation and VRBO type accommodations around keep the area hopping. I’ve been close to accidents a few times at HWY 2 and Pleasant Valley Rd “in town”. Tourists not paying attention. It doesn;t help that the speed limit on the highway stays 70 through the whole area.

I’ve met Vera

This well was drilled in an area with a massive underground aquifer. Not typical for Marion, at least the more rural parts out of town.

Lol. Your pics are making me miss my 300XC! I'm hoping to start exploring around here more as my son gets older!

You bet. We love to explore.

Looks great! Thanks!

Wow, great information. Thank you! Sounds like a nice area, all in all.

You could do a lot worse. If house bids would have worked out differently I’d be on the plateau above Idaho Hill myself.

Do it!

Hi there, I live here in Marion and love it. If you are freedom loving folks you are welcome here. If not, stay the fuck out. Both of those statements are genuine and come from my heart.

Growing season is short but with a greenhouse you can extend it enough to grow things pretty well if you choose your plants carefully. I am looking at some apple and pear trees and found some good zone 5a options.

Yes it is cold, it hit -40 at my house early this year, then 3 weeks later it was 60. Summer's get to around 100 so not too hot. They highways stay well plowed and if you get winter tires and don't drive like you have an extra chromosome and you'll be fine.

Water well depths vary A LOT. My neighbor's well is 305' and 3 gpm so they put in a 1000 gallon cistern. The next neighbor's well is 800' and 5 gpm. I'm right in between and 1/4 mile away my well is 255' and 17 gpm.

We love freedom. Thanks for the great information. We'll be visiting the area some time this summer.

I love to hear that. Welcome!

One other thing now that I’m thinking of it. There’s a disconnect between “valley” people and “mountain people” (for lack of better terms) around here. Nothing sinister or anything, just when you mention you live in Kila or Marion people in town seem to take note of it. Many people seem a little jealous if they’re “in town”, some people think it’s cool to live rural but don’t do it themselves and yet other’s body language conveys that you live on the dark side of the moon.

I’m in and out of a lot of houses due to my work as a small remodel contractor all over the west side of the valley including Kalispell. Kila and Marion folks are more cagey, more recalcitrant and definitely more prepared for hard times than folks in town or the west valley area. I see big pantries sometimes stocked with “survival” foods, book shelves full of survival themed literature and reference material, freeze dryers, large gardens with green houses, backyard poultry flocks, offgrid solar and wind setups and lots more things the more rural I get out in the county. Conversations with rural folks are usually interesting as well.  Hardly any of that in Kalispell and the parts of West Valley I’ve been in.  

It’s good to establish relationships in my community with my neighbors though. If hard times hit I already know lots of them. Doctors, retired navy seals, heavy equipment operators, other veterans, a nurse, etc.  

Wonderful information! Thanks. The quoted part describes what you'll find at our place once we get settled, wherever it is. Plus goats, a mushroom farm, and maybe a steer-a-year. Sounds like our kind of rural community.

You comments on community are well-taken. We live in such an area now. Law enforcement, paramedics, heavy equipment operators with equipment, at least one doctor, a half dozen hard core hams with monstrous antennas and towers, and a lot of vets. I totally get that and would want to find it wherever we end up.

Our wish is that the SC does something to eliminate state bans on magazines and ARs so we can stay here in our beloved Washington. We love everything about this state except the cities, politics and the restrictive laws.

Yep, Anywhere from Kila to Marion and out west toward’s Libby you’ll find a LOT of like minded folks. Part of it’s the lifestyle, part of it is who this lifestyle attracts. Exceptions always occur but they’re pretty infrequent IME. They’re mostly around the big-buck homes with lakeshore on the various small lakes in the area (Ashley, McGregor, Bitterroot, the Thompson chain, etc). I’m positive there’s more than just this area in Flathead and Lincoln counties but my personal experience is the west side of Flathead and into Marion.  

Don’t hold your breath that SCOTUS is going to do anything, or that a state with a government like WA will abide by their ruling anyway.

After leaving MN almost 3 years ago with a pretty similar Democrat make up of government, my family couldn’t be happier. MN is also closing the noose on gun owners and freedom loving people. I see it now through friends but I’d be living that nightmare if we hadn’t sold or given away most of our things and made the 1250 mile move.