Page 66 - Flathead Living Fall 2014

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A home for sale in Lakeside with spectacular views to the north across the Flathead Valley to Glacier National park.
Living at 3,400 feet on Big Mountain, residents enjoy sweeping views of the valley and Whitefish Lake, and a short drive next door to Whitefish Mountain Resort. Add to that the nearby pres- ence of both Flathead Lake and Glacier National Park and you have an enviable lifestyle.
“It’s all very exciting right here in this area,” Schmidt said. “We’re not in the middle of nowhere. That really is our selling point.”
A decade ago, the town of Whitefish remained more of a secret, but today it’s a small town with a big reputation, Schmidt says.
“If you travel the country and you talk to people about Whitefish, you don’t have to explain where it is anymore,” he said. “They know all about Whitefish, Montana.”
Down the road, along the north- ern shores of Flathead Lake, the grow- ing community of Lakeside is gaining ground as one of the premier places to enjoy the mountain lifestyle.
The Lakeside Club is surfacing as the latest high-end subdivision on the scenic outskirts.
Sitting among 2,300 acres adjacent
to national forest land, the club’s new luxury homesites and cabins overlook the town of Lakeside and the pictur- esque view of Flathead Lake. Perhaps most unique, the subdivision features a 3,400-foot paved runway for planes, an amenity rooted in the Lakeside Club’s founders, who are pilots who served in the U.S. Air Force.
More than 30 lots are available in the current phase of development, and this year activity has picked back up after quieting during the economic downturn, according to company managers.
“It’s definitely one of a kind,” said Mark Dana, sales and marketing agent with the club. “(The founders) played around with different parts of the valley. But they ended up in Lakeside because it has so much value. You get so much more for your money. And they saw the potential of it. The views are spectacular. It really is a special place.”
Of course, there are varying degrees of the mountain lifestyle in this valley.
David Fetveit, a real estate broker with Trails West and the president of the Lakeside and Somers Chamber of Commerce, often finds himself being a pseudo ambassador of the Flathead
64 FLATHEAD LIVING | FALL 2014
pHoto By treVoN BAker