This Winter's Nordic Season at the Golf Course Runs Entirely Inside the Grouse Mountain Lodge Remodel

Logan's Bar & Grill at Grouse Mountain Lodge closes for renovation on October 26 and is scheduled to stay closed through December 2, according to the lodge's renovation notice. Whitefish Lake Golf Club's North Course plays its last day on Friday, October 30, weather permitting. Glacier Nordic Club's shop on the same ground is scheduled to open December 7, or sooner if there's enough snow to groom.

Taken together, those dates put the closure in the gap between golf and skiing on the stretch of Highway 93 West where the lodge and the golf club sit side by side. The rebuilt restaurant won't fit in that gap, though. Its target is mid-to-late spring, which is after Whitefish Mountain Resort's scheduled April 4 closing day. That means every week of the 2026-27 Nordic season will be skied next to a lodge that's still under construction.

What Closes, and When

The South Course already played its last day on October 18. From here through early December, the lodge and the golf course keep shutting down in stages:

1. October 19 to 26: the Grouse pool is closed. The hot tub stays closed through November 2.
2. October 26: Logan's Bar & Grill closes.
3. October 30: last day on the North Course, weather permitting.
4. November 8: last day for early-bird Glacier Nordic Club passes.
5. December 2: last scheduled day of the Logan's closure.
6. December 4: Whitefish Mountain Resort opens for the season, conditions permitting.
7. December 7: the Nordic shop's scheduled opening, earlier if snow allows.

The North Course and Logan's overlap for only a few days at the end of October. By the time the Nordic shop is scheduled to open, the lodge's posted closure will have ended.

Behind all of this is a longer construction schedule. The hotel's notice lists work on the north wing from October 12, 2026, through June 1, 2027. The Whitefish Pilot reported in September that the south-side remodel, which began "last October," was finished, and that Pursuit plans to renovate all 144 rooms while keeping the current mix of suites, lofted rooms and connecting rooms.

Why the Trails Depend on That Kitchen

Glacier Nordic Club runs the Glacier Nordic Center on the golf course, with 12 kilometers of groomed trails and a grooming report posted every day. The club's shop is at 1200 Highway 93, on the north side of the highway.

There's no food on the trails themselves. The club's lesson page tells skiers to bring water and a snack, and it says "there is no water or food at Glacier Nordic Center, but the restaurant at Grouse Mountain Lodge is accessible from the trails." In other words, the place the Nordic club sends people for lunch is the room being torn out.

According to the Pilot, the lodge's plan is to serve the current menu from its event space in December, while the new restaurant is built for a spring opening. The Pilot's report also put the start of the closure "in November." The lodge's own dated notice puts it at October 26, so the notice is the date to plan around.

There's now more than one event space on the property. The Pilot described a new pavilion of about 8,200 square feet at the south end of the parking lot. It holds up to 250 people and has indoor and outdoor space. The Continental Divide, the lodge's existing event space of roughly 15,000 square feet, is staying open. The lodge calls the pavilion The Great Room, lists it at 8,250 square feet, and is taking bookings for October 2026 and later. The Pilot didn't say which space the December menu will be served from.

The Lobby Fireplace Stays

The Daily Inter Lake described the lodge's existing fireplace as a popular place to gather. In its June report on the remodel, Rob Spence said the main lobby fireplace would stay. Spence described the lodge as a place for receptions, post-golf groups and subdivision gatherings, and said the redesigned dining areas would build on that use.

Ryan Tomm, the lodge's new general manager, explained the approach to the Whitefish Pilot:

"We do want to keep that lodge-like feel. But we have to upgrade and evolve."

He told the paper he's most excited about the open-hearth concept planned for the restaurant. The new menu will be built around shareable dishes, and the east-facing patio is being fully enclosed with a better heating system. A covered porte-cochere for cars is also planned, designed to match the existing building. Tomm also told the Pilot that "the lodge isn't going away."

The lodge has sat next to the golf course since 1984, and Pursuit has owned it since 2011. Pursuit first announced the rename to Hotel Whitefish in June with a target of summer 2027. The lodge's current pages say spring 2027 in some places and June 2027 in others. Either way, it will still be called Grouse Mountain Lodge all winter.

The Pass Deadline Comes First

November 8 lands before any of the December dates. You need a Glacier Nordic Club pass to ski the golf-course trails, and the 2026-27 early-bird prices run through that day.

Early-bird passes bought before November 8 are mailed out. Passes bought later are picked up at the golf-course shop once it opens. Day passes are $20 for adults 18 to 69 and $10 for ages 8 to 17, seniors 70 and older, and veterans. Kids 7 and under ski free. Group lessons for beginners are $45 per person for an hour, on Tuesdays and Saturdays. Skate starts at 11 a.m. and classic at 12:30 p.m., and the club asks for at least 24 hours' notice.

Two club events are already on the calendar for the renovation winter: Glacier Glide at Whitefish on January 9, 2027, and Winter Trails Day at the Glacier Nordic Center on February 7, 2027. Both are scheduled while the north wing is under construction and the restaurant is still being rebuilt.

The Clubhouse Kitchen on the Same Course

The other kitchen on the property is at the golf club's clubhouse. Whitefish Lake Restaurant has used that name since 1976, after the North Course holes along Whitefish Lake. It isn't connected to the separate Whitefish Lake Lodge. Its reservation page lists lunch daily starting at 11 a.m. and dinner nightly starting at 5:30 p.m. An October 2026 dinner menu is posted, but the restaurant hasn't announced its winter hours, so call ahead once the golf season ends.

That leaves two kitchens on the course this winter. One is a clubhouse restaurant that has been there for decades. The other is a lodge kitchen working out of temporary space while its permanent room is rebuilt. Lunch after a ski this season will come from one of them until the open-hearth room opens in spring.

At Tyree Real Estate, we keep track of projects like the Grouse remodel across the Flathead because they shape everyday life in the places our clients call home. If you'd like to talk through what the Hotel Whitefish remodel could mean for your corner of town, we're happy to have that conversation.