Wayfarer's Park - Beautiful Access to Flathead Lake

Park Information

Wayfarer’s Park is located in Bigfork, Montana. It is part of the Flathead State Park. It is gorgeous in the winter and summer. During the winter, the day-use areas are still open, but unattended. You can travel to the lake, waging through feet of snow if you wish.

Photo of Wayfarer's Park. Includes part of Flathead Lake with the Mission Mountains in the Background.

Wayfarer’s Park is 67 acres and has an elevation of 2,923 feet. There are 30 campsites available, including a hike-bike campsite with 9 tent pads. The park can host trailers and RVs up to 40 feet. (Wayfarers).

Day-Use Areas

Day-Use One: Playground with Harry Horn Native Plant Garden

There are two day-use areas. Reach one area on the first left in the park. There is a small playground with slides, climbing equipment, and swings. This is also where the Harry Horn Native Plant Garden is. During the spring season, there are a variety of flowers for viewing! You can see beautiful orchids, heartleaf arnica, silky lupine, Indian paintbrush, arrowleaf balsamroot, shooting stars, Alberta penstemon, death camas, and more (Harry Horn Native Plant Garden).

I haven’t been to the garden yet, but I will attach some photos of the flowers once the spring season begins!

Day-Use Two: Boat Dock with Flathead Lake

You can reach the second day-use area by driving up the hill and down to the lake. By visiting this place, you can see a whole other side of Bigfork! This bit of Flathead Lake is guarded by the back of Bigfork homes and restaurants on the right. You can even see traffic cross a bridge off in the distance! You can travel by boat to this side of the town if you want to. While there is a boat dock at Wayfarer’s State Park, there are a few other places to launch your boat along the Flathead River and the Flathead Lake.

Image of Wayfarer's Park. Includes piece of Flathead Lake with the backside of Bigfork, MT in the background. There is a lot of snow on the ground.

The Mission Range, a part of the Rocky Mountain Range, is visible across the lake. In the winter, you can get beautiful photos of the snowy scenery. These photos of Wayfarer’s Park were taken towards the end of the winter season in March:

Photo of the lake at Wayfarer's Park with a lot of snow and ice on the foreground with footprints pressing into the snow. There is a jet stream in the sky and some mountains in the background.

Photo of snowy foreground with a little strip of Flathead Lake in the center and lots of trees and small houses in the background. There is a deep blue sky with very few clouds.

Campground

Available Amenities

“ADA Accessible
Bear Resistant Storage Lockers
Boat Launch
Camp Host
Dock
Firewood for Sale

Grills/Fire Rings
Hike-Bike Campsites
Parking
Pets Allowed
Picnic Shelter
Playground

Public Restroom
RV Dump Station
Shower
Toilets (Flush and Vault)
Trash Removal
Water” (Wayfarers)

The campground is open between April and October

Unfortunately, the campground is closed in the winter, so I will be revisiting the park when it opens for some great summer photos. I have camped in the park before with my family. It can be a little noisy, but the scenery is gorgeous and it is nice having a nearby place for a spontaneous camp trip or day trip. Each campsite has its own large fire pit and picnic table. Some spots are slightly more in solitude than others, but I believe they all are first-come first-served.

We were fortunate to get to camp in a slightly secluded spot with access to some small hiking trails. I love being enclosed by trees when we camp. Even though we didn’t travel very far to come here, it gives us the impression that we are far away from home, off in nature. The campsite was clean when we arrived. Dogs are allowed if they are on a leash and there are trash cans for waste.

As the summer season begins to close, the campground is still open in October, but may not have running water. The water gets shut off close to winter, so the public bathrooms will not have water in the sinks. However, the park can be a little quieter towards the end of the season!

I will add some photos once the campground opens for the summer season!

Activities

Spring/Summer

There are many activities to do year-round at Wayfarer’s. During the spring and summer season, you can camp, hike, bike, swim, picnic, and boat. The second day-use area includes many picnic tables in the forest that have a splendid view of the lake. There is a boat dock here with plenty of nearby parking. Often people enjoy making a day trip for a day at the lake with a picnic and a bonfire.

Flathead Lake is huge! It is almost 200 square miles! There are many, many places to launch your boat across the valley to explore the lake, but Wayfarer’s Park is one of the great locations to do so. There are plenty of spots to park your truck or trailer after launching your boat. During the summer, Wayfarer’s Park is one of the places to be if you enjoy boating, picnicking, or camping.

I will add some photos once the summer season begins in a few weeks!

Winter

The day-use areas are fun even in the winter! If you enjoy playing in the snow, the playground and day-use area near the lake are still open. You can trek through several feet of snow to get some fantastic photos, just be wary of how deep the snow may be near the lake. When I went to get these winter photos, I sank well past my knees walking towards the lake. And this was in the middle of March!

Photo of several picnic tables at Wayfarer's Park in the snow. There are lots of shadows and trees nearby.

Photo of one picnic table and a fire pit in the snow at Wayfarer's Park. There are lots of deep green trees in the background with brown tree trunks on the left of the photo.

You can still picnic in the snow and bring your dogs if you want. The second-day use area has plenty of tables and fire pits for your convenience. Even in the outskirts of winter, you can see locals skip rocks or go for chilly walks. I love stopping by the lake for some photos and some fresh air! It is a very serene place to take a break during the day.

Image of the boat dock on the left and a piece of Flathead Lake on the right two-thirds of the picture. The water and sky are a deep blue and some sunshine rays shine in the sky. There are two people walking along the water's edge in the very back of the background.

Wayfarer’s Park is great for photos and adventures year-round!

Works Cited

“Harry Horn Native Plant Garden.” Flathead Core, https://flatheadcore.org/local-resources-links/harry-horn-native-plant-garden/.

“Wayfarers.” Montana FWP, 18 Nov. 2020, https://fwp.mt.gov/wayfarers.

Wayfarer’s Park – Beautiful Access to Flathead Lake