Retiring city engineer Karin Hilding helped make Whitefish walkable

Karin Hilding, who has spent 29 years reviewing plans as a city engineer for Whitefish, is now making plans for her retirement on March 7. Over the course of her years with the city, she’s had a hand in most of the projects around town. 

As a project manager in the Public Works Department, helping to make Whitefish a walkable and bikeable community was one of Hilding’s main drives.  

“There’s hardly anywhere I can go in Whitefish without running into one of my former projects,” Hilding said. “I think I worked on every single bike path in Whitefish.” 

She was involved in the design and construction of the paths and assisted with the 2011 Safe Routes to School plan, the 2016 Connect Whitefish Bike/Pedestrian Plan, the 2022 Whitefish Transportation Plan and the 2025 Safe Streets for All Plan. 

Hilding recalled rebuilding one street each summer and said that sometimes the old roads, which had been built atop stumps, had large potholes and actual stumps poking through. 

“I think the last stump I saw sticking out of the asphalt was on Somers, before we reconstructed Somers Avenue.” she said. 

Hilding was born in Stockholm, Sweden, then her family moved from east to west, from Connecticut to New Jersey and Illinois. The family settled in Utah, where Hilding attended college at Utah State in Logan and graduate school at the University of California, Davis. 

After working as an engineer in Seattle for about eight years, she and her husband, Rob Gordon, moved to Whitefish in 1996. 

“Oh, if we move to Montana, I won’t really have to work because everything’s got to be really cheap in Montana,” Hilding recalled thinking with a laugh. “We discovered it cost the same amount to live here as it did in Seattle.” 

Fortunately for Whitefish, Hilding began working with the city that same year. Her job and her title have changed over time and have reflected her interest in sustainability. 

Her current title, engineering and sustainability project manager, reflects the fact that about a third of her job is concerned with sustainability work. 

“I was able to expand my job into more areas I was interested in,” she said. “Traditionally, as a city engineers you are reviewing and approving development plans.” 

After forming a nonprofit concerned with sustainability, Hilding was the main city staff person working with the Climate Action Plan Committee.  

“Once the city adopted the plan, they created a new committee to implement the plan,” she said. “Working with this committee has been great.” 

Having worked in the community for years, Hilding said she became aware of the wealth of qualified people in town. 

“What makes Whitefish so special ... is its people,” she said. “It really is true. We're very lucky to have a community of amazing people and you can see it through our various committees.” 

She plans to return to City Hall, after enjoying retirement for a couple months, to help train her replacement. 

Meanwhile, Hilding is happy to live in Whitefish and plans on rekindling her love of playing music and traveling. 

“There are not that many places in the world where you can be content to live in one place and have your kids be content to live in that place,” she said, having raised two children in Whitefish. “We're so fortunate this place is so beautiful and there are so many natural amenities.” 

Office work has not been conducive to good health, so Hilding wants to become healthier and continue hiking. 

“My main plan for retirement is not to have too many plans,” she said. “One of the most exciting times in my life is when I've been able to be spontaneous.” 

Soon, she'll head out for a solo trip to the Northwest to visit friends and relatives without a completely pre-planned itinerary. 

Everyone is welcome to a celebration in Hilding’s honor at the Tap House on March 7 at 5 p.m.