Montana
Montana’s Underrated Beach State Park Has Sandy Shorelines, Swimming, And Birding – Islands
Imagine a long expanse of pristine sand slipping into calm, lapping, crystal-clear waters. The occasional chunk of driftwood juts out as mountains cut an elegant outline in the distance. Forced to guess which state you’re in, you might draw a blank — the mountains are a bit of an anomaly. Yet such a place exists in Montana. It’s called Somers Beach State Park, an underrated gem sitting on the northwest shore of Flathead Lake. Its sandy shorelines and wide-open space provide plenty of room for swimming, birding, and a few trails.
The 106-acre beach rests along Flathead Lake, one of the largest freshwater lakes in the U.S. The 200-square-mile blue gem has been lauded by visitors and sites like Lake.com as being the 10th-cleanest lake in the country, earning a spot on the list of U.S. lakes that are unbelievably clean and clear. The surroundings aren’t that bad either. Visitors who hit the beach often relish its view of the Swan Mountains stretching across the horizon. The park is still evolving: Montana acquired the property in 2021, opened the beach a year later, and has been building up its facilities and amenities ever since.
The key to visiting Somers Beach State Park is timing. Because its size changes with Flathead Lake’s water levels, many visitors have come away confused, underwhelmed, or plain old angry to find a rocky, windy stretch of shoreline. Fair enough, since Somers Beach’s sandy shores have a knack for disappearing in the summer. Instead, they emerge when Flathead Lake’s water dips between fall and spring, only to rise up with the temperatures.
Swim, hike, bird, and scope out the surroundings
For those looking to take a dip in Somers Beach’s waters, there comes a compromise. You can have warm waters — or you can have a sandy shore. You can’t have both. How much swimming you actually get done while there will depend on when you visit. During the summer, the shallow portion of the beach can stretch for several hundred yards, leaving you wading through waist-deep water for an interminably long time. “It’s fun because the lake isn’t as high and there’s quite a long stretch of beach to play in the water or just bask in the sun,” one local wrote in a Google review. “It’s a beautiful place to see Flathead Lake and the mountains.” Visiting outside the summer carries its own set of issues, as Flathead Lake’s water temperature tends to plummet. Bring hiking boots and binoculars instead.
As a relatively young state park, Somers Beach doesn’t have a formal trail system. All the better, as you then have a chance to just wander about. The nearby town of Somers contains plenty to see to the west, while to the east are wetlands and a grassy area north of the shore. Birders will have plenty to enjoy as well. The Flathead Lake Waterfowl Production Area east of the beach provides habitat for over 200 species of birds. (Authorities close off access to the area during nesting season, between March and July.) If you time your visit right, you can spend a day with sand between your toes. The drop in water level creates a half-mile expanse of sandy shoreline worthy of a peaceful stroll.
The logistics of visiting Somers Beach State Park
Flathead Lake’s proximity to Glacier National Park makes Somers Beach accessible by several modes of transportation. Glacier Park International Airport is only half an hour’s drive away. While the beach alone may not justify a long-haul flight, it pairs well with other destinations around the lake. That includes Yellow Bay State Park, a crowd-free paradise surrounded by cherry orchards. Together, they can fill an entire weekend with adventure.
Unfortunately, you can’t pitch a tent right on the beach; the state park is day-use only. Fortunately, finding a place to sleep nearby isn’t much of a hassle. A ring of accommodations orbits Flathead Lake, including luxury cabins costing several hundred dollars per night. The highly-rated Somers Bay Cabin Lodging is minutes away as well, with log cabins that have lake views, ranging in size from studios to two-bedroom units. Despite the rustic exterior, the interiors still have all the modern conveniences you’d expect, from Wi-Fi to heating.
The beach’s home alongside Flathead Lake makes it adjacent to several must-see areas, chief among them Flathead Valley. The unexpectedly up-and-coming wine region — yes, a wine region in Montana — with its excellent wineries and nearby orchards, provides an ideal bookend for a trip to Somers Beach. If you visit during the warmer months, be sure to bring bug spray to keep the mosquitoes at bay. If you plan on hauling a boatload of supplies with you — inflatables, coolers, or chairs — bring a wagon. The jaunt from the parking area to the beach can be longer than it looks.
For many Montanans living in rural communities, accessing specialized healthcare isn’t as simple as booking an appointment. It can mean hours on the road to cities like Great Falls. But a growing outreach effort from health care like Benefis Health System is changing that reality by bringing providers directly to patients.
Brianna Juneau reports – watch the video here:
Providers travel to bring specialty care to Montana communities
Instead of requiring long-distance travel, Benefis doctors and advanced practice providers are hitting the road, delivering care in towns across North Central Montana. The goal: reduce barriers to access and ensure patients receive timely treatment closer to home.
“In this geographic area, sometimes some of the more medically complex children are seen by pediatricians,” said pediatrician Rachel Amthor. “It can be an opportunity to try to reach some children with medical complexity who do live in a rural area.”
That access can be especially impactful for young patients. In some communities, clinics are located near schools, allowing children to attend appointments without missing an entire day of class.
“There’s very much a community atmosphere with the clinic,” Amthor said. “I’ll have some patients walk from school during the day to come to their checkup and then walk back. They don’t have to miss a lot of school because everything is so close.”
But for many adults, particularly those working in agriculture, traveling for care can be a major obstacle.
“They either have to arrange transportation or they don’t drive at all—it’s an ordeal,” said Elizabeth O’Connor, a cardiothoracic nurse practitioner. “Some of our patients travel for a whole day to get here and back, or they have to spend the night. A lot of farmers and ranchers just can’t leave their property for that long.”
By bringing services into rural towns, providers can catch health issues earlier and make critical adjustments before conditions worsen.
“We’re able to make some simple adjustments in their medications that may prevent heart attacks, strokes, heart failure, admissions,” O’Connor said. “Providing access can certainly improve—if not longevity—the quality of their life.”
Benefis’ outreach clinics now serve a wide range of communities, offering specialty care that would otherwise require travel:
Choteau: Cardiology, OBGYN, Podiatry, Pediatrics
Fort Benton: Pediatrics, Cardiology, Podiatry, Dietician/Nutrition services, Diabetes Education, Functional Medicine and Hormone Replacement Therapy
Conrad: Cardiology
Cut Bank: Women’s Health
Havre: Nephrology and Neurology
Rocky Boy: Women’s Health and Nephrology
Shelby: Orthopedics
White Sulphur Springs: Women’s health
Lewistown: Orthopedics and Dermatology
Browning: Nephrology
Many of these services are critical for managing chronic conditions, ranging from heart disease to kidney disorders, where consistent follow-up care can significantly impact outcomes.
For providers like Amthor, the outreach effort is deeply personal.
“I became a pediatrician because I wanted to treat kids in underserved areas,” she said. “I was not expecting to be working in rural Montana, but that has been different and very good.”
As the program continues to grow, Benefis leaders say they hope to expand services even further, reaching more communities and reducing healthcare disparities across the state.
In places where distance has long defined access, these traveling clinics are helping ensure that quality care is no longer out of reach, but right down the road.
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