Great Drive Series – St. Ignatius to St. Regis, Montana

While exploring northwest Montana with a friend this past September, we tried to chart different routes as we covered a loop over a 4-day visit to the area.  We started in and finished in Spokane but wanted to minimize taking the same route twice.  We succeeded in that effort save for the stretch on the interstate between Coeur d’Alene, Idaho and Spokane, Washington.  After leaving Bigfork by Flathead Lake, we drove south via Polson to the town of St. Ignatius on Route 93.  We had some options to get back towards Coeur d’Alene and we choose a back route to minimize time on I-90.  This route would take us from St. Ignatius to St. Regis first on Route 200 and then on Route 135.  It was a great choice!

The approach to the town of St. Ignatius was impressive!

St. Ignatius, Montana

St. Ignatius was a mission initially established around the mid-19th century in the Flathead Indian Reservation in this part of Montana (the original log cabin still stands).  The current Catholic church dates from the 1890s and is quite impressive in this town of less than a 1,000 residents or so.

House in St. Ignatius

The church was undergoing renovations when I went and we got to meet the pastor who was assigned a few years ago to oversee the restoration efforts.  He greeted visitors on the day I went and explained the efforts right up until a family arrived for a baptism when he put on the right gear and proceeded to welcome a little one into the faith.

The Road to St. Regis

After leaving St. Ignatius with its beautiful reminder of times past, of faith, and of those who served selflessly the latter in the former, we got on the road to St. Regis.  It was a beautiful road with many amazing landscapes and photo opportunities that I share here so you can have a glimpse of the beauty of this not-often-visited part of our country.  I leave you with those images and wish to return!

Along the Flathead River

Along the Clark Fork River