New Somers Beach State Park Officially Open to Public

The new Somers Beach State Park on the north shore of Flathead Lake is officially open to the public after Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks (FWP), Confederated Salish Kootenai Tribe members, local leaders and Gov. Greg Gianforte converged at a May 12 ribbon cutting ceremony.

FWP acquired 106 acres and a half-mile stretch on the lake’s shoreline east of Somers, that has been owned by the Sliter family for generations, last year through a land transfer.

“All the legislators, all the county commissioners in Flathead County, all the city councils – there was unanimous support, and that is unique,” said Jim Williams, the recently retired FWP Region 1 Director. “Everyone cared about protecting the state park.”

The Sliter family permitted public access on the property for decades and the FWP acquisition was a collaboration with the Flathead Land Trust with funding from the Land and Water Conservation Fund grant and Park Earned Revenue funds matching grant to conserve the property and provide public access.

In addition to the land transfer, the Sliter family also matched the Flathead Land Trust and the Montana State Parks Foundation to donate $125,000 for management and maintenance of the new park. 

“We’re going to have a half-mile of Flathead Lake on a state park because of the Sliters,” Gianforte said at the ceremony. “With the transfer to FWP, we’re going to be able to invest and enhance this so people can enjoy this land in perpetuity.”

“Where we have a local consensus, we are committed to increasing access to citizens of Montana in projects like this,” Gianforte later told the Beacon.

At the end of May, crews will begin building a parking lot, which will have roughly 50 to 75 parking spaces and a restroom, FWP Regional Communication and Education Program Manager Dillon Tabish said.

“It’s a park in progress because we’re going to spend the summer doing public meetings and tours,” Tabish said.

FWP officials conducted an initial scoping survey where more than 1,500 people offered ideas about the potential amenities at the new park.

“It’s a blank canvas and we want the public to help us literally shape and design the park,” Tabish said.

Survey results will be released in the coming months, but Tabish says potential ideas currently include adding trails and limiting the park to day-use only.

To address erosion, crews recently completed a dynamic equilibrium and gravel beach project. The gravel beach collects sediments, detritus and coarse woody debris, which are caused by fluctuating water levels and waves, without isolating the adjacent wetlands. The new state park was the last remaining shoreline that eroded at a rate of approximately one meter per year.

Freshwater Map Chief Science Officer Mark Lorang designed the beach and says his crew continues to monitor the project and collect data. 

For more information about Somers Beach State Park, visit www.fwp.mt.gov/stateparks/somers-beach-planning-project.