Sis lives in Whitefish and they tourist trap you pretty well there. Cute little town with high prices, but Amtrak goes there and it is a good way to get there and through GP to get to the west side. Kalispell is way bigger with more traffic issues. Columbia Falls is only 14 miles to the "Park" and closer to the airport than Whitefish. Whitefish, Kalispell and Columbia Falls are all pretty close to the airport and you can rent a car there. Columbia Falls isn't near as touristy as either Whitefish or Kalispell and probably has lower rates for near anything than those other two. The Amtrak "station" in Browning on the east side was laughable. It looks like a bus stop enclosure.
