Things to do in Polson in January

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Overview

January is a good time to visit Polson. The weather is usually freezing cold and humid but cool, with temperatures ranging from 13—27°F (-11—-3°C).

Polson has plenty to offer for visitors of all ages and interests. In this article, we tell you the top things to see and do for your January trip to Polson. Get inspired by the events, activities, attractions, and experiences unique to January. We’ll let you know where to explore events based on your interests, whether that’s food, culture, art, music, sport or others.

We’ll let you know everything you need to prepare for the weather in Polson in January. Learn about what to wear and pack for your trip, the average temperatures throughout January, temperature changes from morning to evening and much more.

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Best events and things to do in Polson in January

Top experiences in January
We couldn't find any experiences in January
Holidays in Polson in January
January
  • New Year's Day (January 1)
  • Martin Luther King Jr. Day (January 19)
Other notable holidays
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Weather in Polson in January

Temperatures on an average day in Polson in January

The average temperature in Polson in January for a typical day ranges from a high of 27°F (-3°C) to a low of 13°F (-11°C). Some would describe the temperature to be freezing cold. humid but cool

For comparison, the hottest month in Polson, August, has days with highs of 80°F (27°C) and lows of 52°F (11°C). The coldest month, February has days with highs of 28°F (-2°C) and lows of 12°F (-11°C). This graph shows how an average day looks like in Polson in January based on historical data.

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Historical temperature average in January
27°F
highs
13°F
lows

General weather summary

Freezing cold, humid but cool
Feels like
31%
Chance of rain
0.122 in
Amount
8.8 mph
Wind speed
100%
Humidity
8.9 hrs
Daylight length
8:18 AM
Sunrise
5:12 PM
Sunset
25%
Cloud cover
Thick winter coat with gloves
What to wear
What to wear in January
With an average high of 27°F (-3°C) and a low of 13°F (-11°C), it generally feels freezing cold and humid but cool. There might also be a small chance of rain. With that in mind, most people would dress in something toasty like a thick winter coat with gloves
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Best attractions for Polson in January

Besides the array of exciting events and activities Polson has to offer for travelers in January, we want to remind you of the classic attractions in Polson that are great to visit at this time of the year as well! You can’t miss these iconic landmarks, local favorites, and places rich with cultural heritage. We hope to give you insights and inspiration into the best things to see and do to make the most of your visit. Here is a list of our top attractions in Polson for January.
Flathead Lake
1. Flathead Lake
4.8
(610)
Lake
Nature & Parks
Large freshwater lake featuring several small islands & a variety of native & non-native fish.
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This is one of the most beautiful places in the world. We wish we could have spend more time here. All of the people living in this area are lovely as well.
I forgot how much costs to enter but I do know it wasn’t super expensive. I suggest bringing snacks and watch out for ants and other insects or animals. The water is super clear and the bottom is rocky. A good pair of swim shoes is much needed or your feel will hurt or you risk hurting yourself. But all in all a great spot to relax whether you’re in or out of the water. The views are simply amazing.
It really is so clear here! Very peaceful and beautiful place to visit and even my small baby boy loved it here!
August 2022 went with the family to Flathead Lake in Polson Montana #flathead #lake #polson August 2022 Annabelle and I out on the boat at Flathead Lake with the family, then we took a break and went back out with those who wanted to go tubing and it was hot tamale! You can also see the Elmo Fire in the back. August 2022 went out on the boat with the family and went to look at rocks since you can see them through the clear Flathead waters. August 2022 on are last day at the Lake took the boys out to the lake in Polson Montana #flatheadlake
Stayed here for a week and I absolutely loved it. This is one of the best lakes I’ve ever been to. We stayed in a lake home just outside Lakeside and it was great. The lake is relatively warm in the summer, (still pretty cold) and the scenery is amazing. The snow on the mountain tops never leaves even in the summer. You’ll love your stay here. Make sure to go to Wild Horse Island!
Beautiful and calm lake for kayaking. We enjoyed our trip to Bigfork MT. This lake has so much to offer. We only wished we rented jet skis for the day. Was chilly at the end of June but that didn’t stop us from taking a dip after kayaking.
Long overdue post. But we stayed here in an airbnb on the lake the week of the 4th of July 2019. The water was crystal clear. It's absolutely an amazing getaway vacation spot!!!! The only thing I wish we would have done was rent a boat to further check out the lake or do a fishing tour. We have wanted to go back but continue to pick somewhere different every year. 1 day I wouldn't mind buying a house on or very near the lake!!!!
Flathead Lake in Montana is an amazing sight to see as you're cresting the hill heading towards Polson on its southern shore. The valley and this lake were formed by the glaciers that covered this area. The receding glaciers and the massive ice jambs that formed and broke on more than one occasion left us with this awe-inspiring, extremely majestic landscape. The lake sits to the south of Glacier National Park and is 27 miles long, 15 miles wide, and 370' deep with a gravel bottom and crystal clear waters. Wild Horse State Park is located on an island only accessible by a guided boat tour. It is home to a wild herd of horses and remains relatively untouched by humans. Cool place to visit if you are in the area. I have watched storms cross this lake that kick up the waves and leave a distinct line in the surface of the water you can see when you come out of the storm into clear blue skies. The lake covers enough surface area that you might have storms on one area of the lake and sunny and hot in others. It's hard to believe this valley was once under a large body of water known as "Lake Missoula." When the ice dams broke on this massive body of water it caused the "Missoula floods"; a huge wall of water, mud, rocks and trees that stretched into Washington and Oregon thousands of years ago. This is what is left of that event, a place for us to explore and enjoy. A landscape that only mother nature could come up with. As always, leave it better than you found it. It literally took thousands of years to make...... Enjoy 😉!.
Miracle of America Museum
2. Miracle of America Museum
4.7
(817)
Museum
Exhibit
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This is such a unique museum with literally something for everyone! There were things to read on the inside portion, but this is definitely not a boring "read-only" museum. Especially the outside portion is very interactive and would be interesting for kids. We chatted with the founder and he is so sweet! My only suggestion would be to carve out at least a couple hours to get to everything as there is so much to see! You certainly get your money's worth.
Our family has gone every year since the kids were little, during the July heritage days, however, we sadly missed last year. When we went this weekend, we all had a great time, and were impressed with the further restoration and new exhibits. The love for our state and nation’s history shines through whenever we get to visit. I especially love how much hands on stuff there always is for the kids; my boys have gone from playful toddlers to inquisitive and info absorbing adolescents, and the museum continues to see us through the phases of growing up!
Our 1st time coming to the museum with our 5 and 2 years old kids, and we all enjoyed it. It was so fascinating to see all the vintage stuff from long ago. They also have a playground for the kids to enjoy.
This place is an endless treasure trove of interesting artifacts. Bikes, toys, guns, sculptures, military vehicles, cars… the list goes on. We went during their Live History Days, when they fired up many of their vehicles and did demonstrations. It was simply amazing. We were there for hours. Do not miss!
The Miracle of America Museum was a super interesting experience during our stay in the area. The full catalog and scale of the museum is intimidating - to really see everything would likely take multiple trips. The sections we were able to get through during our visit ranged across tons of time periods and artifacts throughout American culture/history. It's not all the most engaging stuff to see, but there are some gems for sure.
What an unexpected gem of Americana of all sorts and lots of veteran info. Had no idea what to expect and ended um spending hours walking around and exploring all of the nooks and crannies. So much history packed in and we loved it. My hubby is a former active marine and appreciated all of the stories, letters and memorabilia from the USMC.
This is an incredibly fascinating and impressive museum. Family owned, and the man who started this as his personal collection, and turned it into a museum can still be found here today, with his wife and grand daughter at reception. We stopped as the displays roadside caught our attention while passing through town, not being sure what to expect, we wandered on in to be welcomed with smiles. For only $10 admission, you will be blown away, almost overwhelming collection of historical artefacts of all types, shapes, sizes and preferences. You could spend days here exploring all of the exhibits if you had the time!! I'm generally not a big museum person, but I genuinely e joyed our time here, and grew the utmost respect for the time, effort, work and commitment that's gone into building and preserving the entire collection. What impressed me more so was the amount of working displays and machines you could try/use. It is 100% worth a visit, I cannot recommend highly enough.
This museum was very interesting. Had a large building with lots of history and a lot of outbuildings. Also had a large wooden boat they used for logging. A definite must see
Kerr Dam
3. Kerr Dam
Dam
Nature & Parks
Glacier Brewing Co
4. Glacier Brewing Co
4.7
(192)
Brewery
Food & Drink
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Great beer and sodas, chill atmosphere, and the food looks real good. The sound system outside is excellent (nice stereo separation), and the music selection is great. The food cart currently opens at 2 from what I understand. If you're looking for a unique ceramic growler, they have all sorts of colors.
Some of the best beer we have ever had, excellent service, food truck food also amazing.
Great local brewery with fun vibes and pretty tasty options on tap. We visited during bingo night and had fun joining for a few rounds. Would come back next time I'm in Polson.
Great beer. Great location and atmosphere. Fantastic outdoor seating. Lots of shade. Clean and comfortable inside. Beer is excellent. Great variety. Food cart (Devnstwist) is on premise and serves some awesome food. Super friendly and fast service. Place is dog friendly inside and outside!
Polson Mt - gem is Glacier brewery. Best stouts and awesome food truck with the biggest fried chicken sandwiches we have encountered. And did I say the stouts here were the cream of the crop? Found another t-shirt to wear and reluctantly moved on. Friendly, knowledgeable bartender & family, dog friendly place. Restrooms are easy accessible & ADA compliant.
We had the 10th ave Amber, it had chocolate notes, one of the better Amber's I've had! We are seasoned brewery frequenters. We've been to breweries across continents! This has outside seating and dog friendly. Unfortunately there isn't food.
I really surprised by how high the ratings are for this brewery. If you take a look at my reviews we visit lots of breweries and for us, this one did not impress. We were excited to try it because it had a dog friendly outside beer garden and dog friendly always gets a thumbs up from us. The theme inside is ok, and old saloon feel, but we did not experience a friendly warm welcome here at all. Not even from the server behind the bar. We went out to the garden area since we had the dog and then went back in to order a sampler tray. The server didn't tell us anything about the beers, the brewery history.... zero. I asked for our sampler tray to be split in half, lights first so that they wouldn't get warm before we finished in the outside hot sun. She poured them starting at one end of the taps with no regard to lighter beers first.... maybe she didn't hear me. I didn't complain because I was on vacation and I really like to keep to mood light on vacation. Tasting the beers nothing really was good to us. In fact we thought about just leaving after the taster. But we decided to have one pint and since the Cherry Ale was so unusual I went with that.... I can't even remember what the Mr picked. Outside in the garden the area is very rundown. It could be a great outside area since it is so big, but they hadn't even trimmed weeds with a wacker, tables were all wobbly, etc. And the final turnoff has nothing to do with the establishment, but 2 smokers came outside and literally sat right next to us to smoke..... a completely empty garden and they sat down right next to us. Overall we just did not enjoy our visit as much as we hoped. Probably would not stop again.
Great Bartender-knowledgeable of all beers. I had the Cow in a Cole Mine. Yummy and creamy. Husband had the Down River Dunkleweizen-very smooth. Food truck was a BBQ. Had the pulled pork, cole slaw and potato salad. Would definitely order again.
Polson Flathead Lake Museum
5. Polson Flathead Lake Museum
4.5
(28)
Museum
Specialty Museums
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Went before when I was a child and remember it being much different. Has been reorganized and laid out so you can really get a up close view of everything. Things I remember as a child are still there and much more. Staff was very nice and personable.
We were visiting the area for vacation and decided to use the rainy day to visit this museum. We came on a Friday morning and when we first came in, there was no one else besides me and my husband. We walked in and were greeted by a very friendly and kind individual at the front desk along with the cutest dog. We were given a map and told to have fun. I loved the ability to walk around at our own pace, seeing all of the donated items, and learning about the history of the town. There was so much history in such a small space, we absolutely loved it. Probably one of the coolest museums I've been to in a while. There were vintage cars, carriages, clothing from men in WWI and WWII, year books from over a hundred years ago, kitchen appliances and house hold items from the 1800 and 1900's. I feel like the layout of the museum was really cool. I do think with all of the cool items they have, they could be in a location double the size and still fill it up. I told my husband I would totally go there again. I believe it was $10 per person so very reasonable for everything you get to see and learn.
Stopped on our way through the area on a family roadtrip in the summer thanks to Google reviews. Very nice museum full of interesting items and stories! Fun for kids too (firetrucks and old toys!) Had a nice chat with staff who were very friendly and helpful. Thank you for the great visit!
First I would like to say I have been here many times with a grand experiences but this particular time has made us not wanting to come back again. We live close, but we enjoy the amount of items and knowledge there is here. I came with my 4 children 16,10,9,7 one middle child needed a bathroom break which my 16 year old guided. They were told to resume back with the group and we’re not allowed to leave. I was able to hear the conversation, i was not far away. Then We were observing outside, my 16 loves war/old things and takes longer than the young can handle so I walked with the littles so he could continue. He was told that Apparently his mother and him didn’t understand we had to stay close together. We were not touching nor being disrespectful but feeling like you are being run out of somewhere due to children being different age groups is extremely frustrating. We homeschool and need to be able to provide age appropriate space to learn. Very frustrating trip and unfortunately we will not be returning. We will need to take our museum trips where we can balance age differences while not being on top of each other. If you are age gapped as we are this may not be the place to be able to enjoy.
I loved this place since I can remember!! Flathead lake monster, lots of historical stuff and they’ve even got a class photo with my Grandfather in it as a young boy!!! 🍒
My wife and I really enjoyed our visit. You really should take some and visit.
Met by a wonderful lady who shared history of the reservation and area. Could use a little updating, but generally a nice local museum.
Neat place to explore the history of the town. We got a combo ticket to both museums and spent a lot of time exploring. It's all self guided and you can take as much time as you want.
Sandpiper Art Gallery & Gifts
6. Sandpiper Art Gallery & Gifts
4.8
(14)
Art gallery
Shopping
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All the different styles of art are so lovely. I took a class here as well which was very fun.
An excellent small art gallery with a wide variety of art! Excellent craftmanship and many local artists as members. Stop in and shop a bit!
Local artist work at a reasonable price served with a smile. We bought a painting and had a lovely conversation about rescue dogs with the gallery host. Fantastic work and low prices. We would’ve bought more if we didn’t have to fly it home. Check it out!
We have found some great pieces of art at Sandpiper. The owner is knowledgeable and expert at framing.
Great place to stop by and enjoy the creativity of local artists.
Great place to find one of a kind gifts and art.
Beautiful assortment of art and gifts from local talent.
Great place to shop local artisans
Finley Point Unit - Flathead Lake State Park
7. Finley Point Unit - Flathead Lake State Park
4.7
(189)
State park
Nature & Parks
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An amazing place. We spent a evening here while we visited Glacier National Park. The state park is dog friendly so its perfect foe your furry friends. We enjoyed this great sunset while sitting and enjoying out dinner at the lake shore. Also the Flathead lake brewery is 5 min away from here which is must visit spot for their amazing beers and views of the lake from their Patio.
Bit of a gravel drive off the main road. Beautiful a well-maintained campground. Rocky beach with lots of driftwood.
We were able to book one night in the paintbrush cabin and it was so cute. It doesn’t have a great view of the lake but it’s nice and secluded. We also saw so many deer. The campsites looked cute but not very private at all. Gorgeous sunsets down at the beach!
Park staff were super nice! She told us all about the lake and said we could let the pups play in the lake. The water is unbelievably clear and the we loved our time there.
We used the Day Use Area and had a wonderful time. Loved the lake and the views. I would come back again. We did go on a weekday, so no crowds.
This park was awesome and we did kayaking and swimming. A must visit….
The renovations are so nice! So many great spots and cabins. Clean campground and amazing and friendly staff! Thanks again for everything!
Great staff and very well maintained. The staff was awesome to work with. Only nit pick I could come up with. The rv spots by the lake are a bit tight to each other.
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