South end: US 93 in Polson Length 81.54 km | North end: US 2 at Evergreen | |
Counties Lake County, Montana, Flathead County, Montana | ||
Montana Highway 35 is an approximately 51-mile-long (82 km) state highway in the west of the US state of Montana. It begins at U.S. Route 93 in Polson in the Flathead Indian Reservation and ends at U.S. Route 2 in Evergreen, the eastern portion of the city of Kalispell. As well as serving the townships along the eastern shore of Flathead Lake, it also acts like an alternative route of U.S. Route 93 between Polson and Kalispell and is the terminus for both Highways 82 and 83.
Contents
Map of MT-35, Montana, USA
Route description
Highway 35 begins within the Flathead Indian Reservation, in the eastern outskirts of Polson, at an intersection with U.S. Route 93. Initially, the highway heads east in a straight line. After a few miles, the road takes an abrupt turn northwards as it meets the foothills of the Mission Mountains. Passing Flathead Lake's East Bay, it then forms the eastern boundary of the community of Finley Point. Meeting Skidoo Bay of the lake, Highway 35 is then squeezed between the shoreline on its left and the mountain range on its right and is forced by the topography to wind its way northwards between the two. After leaving the Flathead Indian Reservation, the road passes through the community of Woods Bay before crossing from Lake to Flathead County. Very soon afterwards, the highway enters Bigfork and crosses the Swan River, one of Flathead Lake's tributaries. On the northern outskirts of Bigfork, Highway 35 meets the ends of Highways 83 and 82 in quick succession, before continuing northwards amidst farmland. After zigzagging to the northwest, Highway 35 joins with Secondary Highway 206, which allows motorists to shortcut to the communities further upstream along the Flathead River. Highway 35 heads west from this junction and crosses the Flathead River into Evergreen, and terminates at U.S. Route 2 soon afterwards: traffic travelling straight-ahead from this point moves onto U.S. 2 westbound towards Kalispell.