SYNOPSIS: A family travels from Seattle to Kalispell, Montana and Glacier National Park by Sprinter Campervan for a winter adventure skiing, ice skating, and dogsledding. 

By Line: Words and images by Josh Steele

Partners: Johnson RV, Discover Kalispell, Vanlife Diaries

Location: Kalispell, Montana

It’s the heart of winter, and the family is anxious for adventure. The shorter (and rainier) days have us eyeing the weather reports and considering a trip into the Rockies, Kalispell, and Glacier National Park.

Last week’s rain means snow to the east, so we load our gear, ski-equipment, and provisions into the van (an Approach from Outside Van), and set out.

It’s the kind of beginning that feels like adventure: keys changing hands, kids circling the van, gear and food loaded up, and finally a double check that seatbelts are secure.

Once we pull back onto the road, the city falls away quickly. The van settles into a quiet rhythm, and so do we. With the Cascades ahead and Montana somewhere beyond them, the trip stops being theoretical. We’re no longer planning a winter vacation; we’re taking one.

The Cascades rise quickly, white at the shoulders, gray in the middle, their weather undecided.

By afternoon, the Flathead River appears: wide, cold, patient. We camp nearby as light drains out of the sky. The river moves without urgency, dark water slipping past ice shelves at the edges. Dinner is simple. The cold sharpens everything.

At night, the kids fall asleep fast, the kind of sleep earned outdoors.

Morning frost coats everything. We pack slowly, hands stiff, breath visible. The drive north bends through timber and open valley before Kalispell comes into view.

Our cabin sit quiet under snow, its roof heavy with it. Inside, warmth feels earned.

That evening, we walk to Bias Brewing, the cold pressing in from all sides, and settle into the dome. Glass walls hold back winter while light and conversation build inside. The kids sip sodas. We eat well. Outside, snow keeps falling.

We spend the morning wandering downtown Kalispell. Shops open slowly. There’s time for browsing without intention. At Mary’s Mountain Cookies, warmth and sugar reset everyone’s mood.

Later, we head out for dog sledding. The dogs know exactly what’s coming: energy exploding the moment their harnesses appear.

Once we’re moving, everything quiets. Runners glide over packed snow. The sound becomes breath, paws, and wind. The kids sit still, wide-eyed, taking it in.

We camp by the lake, taking a moment to feel grateful for the life unfolding around us.

Breakfast at Sykes Market & Diner is necessary and unpretentious. Coffee is strong. Plates are full. There’s a shared understanding that the trip is already becoming memory.

On the drive home, we stop at Kootenai Falls. Water roars through ice and rock, louder than expected, unbothered by season. We stand longer than planned. No one rushes us. 

Winter simplifies travel. It narrows choices and sharpens attention. There’s less to do, which makes what you do matter more. With kids, this feels especially true. The road becomes the activity. Cold becomes the shared challenge.

Your vehicle becomes your sanctuary & your home.

As John Steinbeck wrote, “People don’t take trips, trips take people.”