18 Best Shopping in Kalispell, Missoula, and Northwest Montana, Montana

Take a break while touring downtown Missoula and have a cappuccino or chai shake at Butterfly Herbs, or try the Butterfly Ice Cream Coffee Soda—a cold drink with multiple layers of sweetness. The shop sells herbs and spices in bulk, candies, soaps, candles, china, and other odds and ends.

Find country fabrics in Deer Country Quilts, as well as thousands of bolts of flannels, batiks, and cotton in the store's lovely log lodge studio. Ask about receptions for quilters and the classes they offer all year long.

The owners call it the West's most whimsical store, and Electric Avenue Gifts doesn't disappoint. It carries unique Flathead cherry designs in everything from dishes to napkins, vintage and custom wood signs in Western themes, and a multitude of unique gifts.

While you peruse this huge gallery full of beautiful paintings, sculptures and carvings, you can also watch award-winning artist Eric Thorsen at work in his studio. A rare treat not to be missed.

You can pick up a tiny jar of huckleberry jam or flavored honey at Eva Gates Homemade Preserves, or have one of the family-size jars of various treats shipped back home. You can also order and send gift boxes online.

The Flathead Indian Museum and Trading Post has an extensive collection of authentic artifacts from local Native American tribes. On sale are blankets, arts, crafts, local beadwork, books, maps, and gifts.

Beaver pelts, furs, blankets, and painted buffalo and elk hides hang from walls in the Grizzly Claw Trading Company. Other one-of-a-kind items also are available, including pottery, jewelry, clothing, wood carvings, and furniture.

Huckleberry Patch Restaurant & Gift Shop has been the huckleberry headquarters of the state for more than 50 years, selling the purple wild berry native to the region. It has an excellent selection of jams, candies, coffee, fudge, barbecue sauce, and huckleberry-scented lotions . Don't miss their outstanding huckleberry pie or milkshakes.

The largest toy shop in northwest Montana, Imagination Station has myriad fun, educational, and creative toys and gifts in all price ranges. It also has shops in Kalispell and Missoula.

There are no less than three outdoor Saturday morning markets held downtown in the summer. The oldest and biggest is the Missoula Farmers' Market, which boasts 100 local vendors selling an amazing array of flowers, fresh fruits and vegetables, locally baked breads, and other handmade goods. It's held adjacent to the old train depot at the north end of Higgins Street every Saturday morning from mid-May to mid-October, as well as Tuesday evening from July through mid-September. You can even view what's available on the market's website before you go. You can also check out the Clark Fork River Market under the Higgins Street Bridge and Missoula People's Market on East Pine Street, not far from the farmers' market.

The Missoula People's Market showcases more than 80 local artisans, featuring unique Montana arts and craft. Stop by to check out fine pottery, metalworks, fine woodworking, photography, leather work, clothing, jewelry, and functional and whimsical art---and the artists who created it. Open Saturday morning from mid-May to mid-October.

Situated in a lovingly restored turn-of-the-20th-century building, Noice Studio and Gallery features ongoing exhibits of paintings, pastels, sculptures, fiber arts, and photography by Montana artists such as Rudy Autio, Russell Chatham, and Marshall Noice.

Old West Gallery and Antiques is a huge shop selling gifts, collectibles, Native American and Western art, and furniture. The kids are likely to be enamored of the Old West Candy Store inside, which features fudge and hand-dipped chocolates. The entire family will enjoy player piano and other music machines.

A nonprofit artist cooperative, Sandpiper Gallery shows the work of local and regional artists and holds workshops throughout the summer. Don't miss their annual art show on the county courthouse lawn the second Saturday in August.

If you need outdoor equipment of any kind, this well-equipped sporting goods store probably has it. They can also tune your skis and bikes, and rent you either if you didn't bring your own. There's also a store in the Whitefish Mountain Mall off Highway 93.

Dick Zimmer is a local legend who has been fishing the Flathead Valley for decades. He makes his own lures and jigs and can set you up with all the gear and information you'll need to catch fish of all kinds, from 20-pound lake trout and pike to smaller perch and kokanee.