Driving to Montana to shop

[Regular_John]

Montana is absolutely stunning and worth the visit for the scenery & drive alone. But a shopping destination it is not.

[ken0042]

Originally Posted by GGG

Spokane,

7.5 hrs away,

While I agree that Spokane is much better than any city in Montana for shopping; it adds a different dynamic to the trip. You can hit Kalispell or Great Falls as a day trip. Leave by 6 AM and you are there shortly after 11. Shop until 7pm and you are home just after midnight. For $100 in gas you are able to come home with all sorts of different things that you might not be able to get here.

Spokane adds a minimum of 5 hours to that return trip, which makes it no longer a day trip. So now you are at $150 for gas, and $100 for a hotel for one night. That means you have to spend that much more on clothes to be able to justify that extra $150 in costs.

[stazzy33]

So the girlfriend and I are going down to Whitefish for the long weekend. We are only spending two nights there (which I don't think is enough time but oh well). Besides stopping in Kalispell to do a bit of shopping are there any other must see/dos while we are down there? We are taking the road to the sun to get to Whitefish, but besides that, we don't really have any other plans.

[Ben_in_Canada]

Shout out for Malstrom Air Force Base in Great Falls, has a pretty interesting museum and then you can drive around the country side looking for ICBM silos

[habernac]

Originally Posted by Ben_in_Canada

Shout out for Malstrom Air Force Base in Great Falls, has a pretty interesting museum and then you can drive around the country side looking for ICBM silos

The Lewis and Clark interpretive centre is worth a stop as well. Had a great time there with my family a few weekends ago.

[BigNumbers]

Get a $100 special to SEA and go shopping there - much, much better.

[Mass_nerder]

The days of driving to Montana to visit the outlet malls is long past.
I feel like in the mid 90's it made sense as there were a lot of brands and stores in the US that weren't in Canada.
Now, though, we have most of the same stores and products available in Calgary.

[Displaced Flames fan]

Originally Posted by stazzy33

So the girlfriend and I are going down to Whitefish for the long weekend. We are only spending two nights there (which I don't think is enough time but oh well). Besides stopping in Kalispell to do a bit of shopping are there any other must see/dos while we are down there? We are taking the road to the sun to get to Whitefish, but besides that, we don't really have any other plans.

If you like Mexican fusion try Pescado Blanco in Whitefish. The elk chorizo tacos are awesome.

[bossy22]

Originally Posted by Displaced Flames fan

If you like Mexican fusion try Pescado Blanco in Whitefish. The elk chorizo tacos are awesome.

Yes these are. Also Norm's news in downtown Kalispell if you like floats and milkshakes.

and the Les Mason state park beach is better than the city beach.

[GGG]

Originally Posted by ken0042

While I agree that Spokane is much better than any city in Montana for shopping; it adds a different dynamic to the trip. You can hit Kalispell or Great Falls as a day trip. Leave by 6 AM and you are there shortly after 11. Shop until 7pm and you are home just after midnight. For $100 in gas you are able to come home with all sorts of different things that you might not be able to get here.

Spokane adds a minimum of 5 hours to that return trip, which makes it no longer a day trip. So now you are at $150 for gas, and $100 for a hotel for one night. That means you have to spend that much more on clothes to be able to justify that extra $150 in costs.

I have never considered a 1 day trip to go shopping in the states. To me what you just described is the worst day ever and I like driving. Unless it is to pick up a big ticket item I just don't see it being worth it.

Also with a trip less than 24hrs you have to pay duty on whatever you declare that is made outside of USA/CANADA/MEXICO which is 5% gst plus duty depending on the item. Now you don't have to declare everything but to me getting flagged as a liar at the boarder is not worth the savings as once you are caught once misreporting what you are bringing in at the boarder you will get the detailed treatement every future passing.

[Barbecue]

Originally Posted by ken0042

Another vote for Kalispell, especially in the summer when mountain roads are not an issue. In addition to the stores mentioned, they also have a Best Buy.

And US shopping isn't just about saving a few bucks- for me it's about buying things that we cannot buy in Calgary. It doesn't matter that Calgary is bigger than Montana, MT is part of a supply chain that is 8 times bigger than Canada on a smaller footprint.
(I say this as I take a sip of my Cherry Coke.)

This.

As a fellow fan of Cherry Coke, i say the trip was fun cleaning out walmart and target of its cherry coke, vanilla coke and this (which i fought with another shopper)



and trying this



and this

[ken0042]

Originally Posted by GGG

Also with a trip less than 24hrs you have to pay duty on whatever you declare that is made outside of USA/CANADA/MEXICO which is 5% gst plus duty depending on the item. Now you don't have to declare everything but to me getting flagged as a liar at the boarder is not worth the savings as once you are caught once misreporting what you are bringing in at the boarder you will get the detailed treatement every future passing.

You are 100% correct- always declare everything. I'd say that I'm about 40% where I have had to pay duty. If most of what you are buying is groceries, those are GST and duty exempt. If I spend $300 on groceries and $200 on other stuff, now the border agency people have to go through your receipts to collect $10-20. I've found most of them will waive you through. They have more pressing things to deal with.

I've also found the Alberta crossings are less likely to charge you when coming back. Likely because they deal more frequently with only having to charge 5%- unlike other provinces where you'd have to also pay PST. (It doesn't matter where you enter Canada- you get charged tax based upon your home province.)

[Derek Sutton]

Originally Posted by stazzy33

So the girlfriend and I are going down to Whitefish for the long weekend. We are only spending two nights there (which I don't think is enough time but oh well). Besides stopping in Kalispell to do a bit of shopping are there any other must see/dos while we are down there? We are taking the road to the sun to get to Whitefish, but besides that, we don't really have any other plans.

Bulldog Saloon for wings, mushrooms and a burger, Canadian at par on drinks.

One afternoon shopping in Kalispell is enough. An hour to go through the crappy mall, and then the big box area is all there really is.

[Northendzone]

i really like mckenzie river pizza in whitefish......

[Reaper]

Can you pick me up some Cheez-its?

[Regular_John]

Originally Posted by ken0042

You are 100% correct- always declare everything. I'd say that I'm about 40% where I have had to pay duty. If most of what you are buying is groceries, those are GST and duty exempt. If I spend $300 on groceries and $200 on other stuff, now the border agency people have to go through your receipts to collect $10-20. I've found most of them will waive you through. They have more pressing things to deal with.

I've also found the Alberta crossings are less likely to charge you when coming back. Likely because they deal more frequently with only having to charge 5%- unlike other provinces where you'd have to also pay PST. (It doesn't matter where you enter Canada- you get charged tax based upon your home province.)

This has been my experience as well, I'm always up front on the dollar value and I rattle off any items of concern (liquor) and they just don't seem motivated to enforce the collection of duty fees.

Heck one time landing at the airport from Cuba we were at our limit for Tobacco and over on the alcohol and they just said "yeah you're a little bit over on your alcohol allowances, just keep that mind for next time" and let us on our way.

After that experience I just figure we're due to be dinged for duty fees on of these times, so I'm always honest about what we're bringing back, even if we're over and I've yet to pay a cent in duties.

[undercoverbrother]

Originally Posted by jaydorn

This has been my experience as well, I'm always up front on the dollar value and I rattle off any items of concern (liquor) and they just don't seem motivated to enforce the collection of duty fees.

Heck one time landing at the airport from Cuba we were at our limit for Tobacco and over on the alcohol and they just said "yeah you're a little bit over on your alcohol allowances, just keep that mind for next time" and let us on our way.

After that experience I just figure we're due to be dinged for duty fees on of these times, so I'm always honest about what we're brining back, even if we're over and I've yet to pay a cent in duties.

You are bang on.

I have a buddy that worked CBSA.

In short, they have some wiggle room, much like police and speeding. They are really only concerned with those that are significantly over the limit.

[stazzy33]

Originally Posted by Reaper

Can you pick me up some Cheez-its?

Sure!

[automaton 3]

Grew up near the MT border and have been down to both Great Falls and Kallispell numerous times.

Walmart or Target are similar to what you see here. JC Penny used to be decent but it seems to have gone way downhill.

You are probably not saving much on a casual shopping trip once you factor in gas and hotel. If you've done your homework on a big ticket item it might be worth while. Even then you might consider simply having it shipped to Sweetgrass and pick it up.

Great Falls does not have great shopping. Scheels used to be a store I looked forward to visiting but as of late their prices do not seem competitive. Kalispell is much prettier and has better shopping imo.

[Erick Estrada]

I like Kalispell because it's 15 minutes from Flathead Lake and about 30 minutes to Whitefish. Lots to do in the general area. As far as shopping though there's really no good deals to be had especially when you factor in the exchange rate. Prices are pretty well the same and the only difference I find is you may find a few items there that we don't get here.

I like Spokane/Coeur d'Alene better for a road trip though. Better stores and better weather.