Smoke isn't slowing tourist visitation

The thick soup of wildfire smoke that has settled into the Flathead Valley hasn’t dampened the spirits of Kathleen and Robert Bradish.

The couple travel here this week from their home in Munster, Ind., with the intent of exploring Glacier National Park for a week. On Monday, they were strolling Central Avenue in Whitefish, still upbeat about their trip despite a wildfire haze that reduced visibility to less than a mile at times.

“It hasn’t slowed us down at all,” Robert said. “You don’t come all the way here from Indiana and let a little smoke bother you.”

They hiked above the smoke at Logan Pass in Glacier Park last weekend and plan to hike the open portion of the Syieh Pass trail later this week.

“Hidden Lake was beautiful,” Kathleen added. “It was a little hazy, and maybe our photos won’t be as pretty.”

And the smell reminded her of a campfire.

Their upbeat attitude about the smoke and wildfire is echoed by those keeping tabs on the local tourism industry.

“We’re not seeing an effect to visitation other than some isolated hotel cancellations,” said Whitefish Visitor and Convention Bureau director Dylan Boyle. “There’s nothing to suggest a significant drop-off.”

He points to July visitation numbers for Glacier Park, which were near record levels despite the Reynolds Creek Fire temporarily shutting down the Going-to-the-Sun Road.

“Even though we’ve had challenges with some things this summer like the Sun Road closing and wildfires, July visitation is second highest ever,” Boyle noted.

Marlene Havens, travel counselor with the Whitefish Chamber of Commerce, says most visitors she’s talked to are simply looking for more information about the fires.

“Most people ask when the smoke is leaving or they ask what they can do here when it’s smoky,” she said. “Some don’t even mention it. They know it’s coming from Washington and there’s nothing anybody can do about it.”