Accommodations

$50–100: The friendly Seeley Lake Motor Lodge (406/677-2335 or 800/237-9978, www.seeleylakemotorlodge.com [1], $50–81), on Highway 83, is one of the better deals on Seeley Lake, located convenient to recreation and to services in the little town center.

The nicely remodeled Whitetail Cabins (3806 Hwy. 83, 406/677-2024, www.whitetailcabins.com [2], $75 and up) are just above the highway north of town; these kitchenette cabins are one of the best deals in the valley.

North of the town of Seeley Lake, on the lake, the Montana Pines Motel (mile marker 16 on Hwy. 83, 406/677-2775 or 800/867-5678, $60 and up) is a motel complex built on the original town site of Seeley. The Elkhorn Restaurant is adjacent to the motel, right near the highway.

Over $100: The most attractive and upscale resort in the Seeley-Swan is the Double Arrow Resort (406/677-2777 or 800/468-0777, www.doublearrowresort.com [3], $150 and up), a gem of a Swan Valley [4] hideout. The lodge and cabins sit on a bluff overlooking a stream and a meadow filled alternately with golfers and browsing deer; the old lodge and dining room, built in the 1930s, are extremely welcoming and idyllic; you’ll want to curl up with a book or watch the sunset from the veranda. The food here is also top-notch. Choose from a room in the lodge, a homey cabin, or a larger log lodge that’ll sleep up to eight. During the off-season rooms are deeply discounted. Breakfast (with the best coffee for miles around) and use of a large indoor pool, hot tub, and tennis courts are included. None of the rooms have a TV or telephone.

The Double Arrow is also a good base for recreation. The nine-hole course is a real beauty, shaded by ponderosa pines and cleft by a chattering stream. The resort offers a full range of horseback activities, as well as mountain bike, canoe, and fishing gear rentals. In winter the Double Arrow is the center of a series of cross-country trails and also rents snowmobiles; you can even arrange for horse-drawn sleigh rides.

The rustic log cabins at the Lodges on Seeley Lake (Boy Scout Road, 406/677-2376 or 800/900-9016, www.lodgesonseeleylake.com [5], $120–303), just west of Seeley Lake town site, were favorites of local writer Norman Maclean. These 1930s-era cabins have been joined by a handful of modern ones, and there’s a central lodge with games and easy chairs. Cabins all have fireplaces as well as full kitchen and bathroom facilities, and canoes, rowboats, and bikes are available for guests’ use.

On the north shores of Seeley Lakes [6] is Tamaracks Resort (milepost 17 on Hwy. 83, 406/677-2433 or 800/447-7216, www.tamaracks.com [7], $119–450). The resort consists of a central lodge and lakefront cabins with kitchens (the least-expensive cabins sleep two people; the top-of-the-line cabin sleeps 10). The resort is right on Seeley Lake, and canoes, fishing boats, and mountain bikes are available for rent. There’s also an area for RV and tent campers.