New public park planned in Kalispell along Ashley Creek

Kalispell’s west side will see a new park along Ashley Creek in the coming years.

Carol Bibler and the Bibler Family Trust own the 20-acre plot of land that sits at the intersection of the Parkline Trail and Great Northern Historical Trail. U.S. 93 alternate runs along the west side of the land with Ashley Creek running through the southern end.  

Residents are invited to learn more at an informational session on Thursday, Sept. 5 at 5 p.m., at the site of the proposed park. Parking access will be at the end of Fenn Way. Preliminary design plans will be displayed at the event, accompanied by a freezer full of ice cream bars. 

“It’s mostly a chance for the neighbors to learn a little bit about what we’re thinking and for us to hear what they would love to see in a park in the neighborhood,” Bibler said.  

Bibler is collaborating with Berger Partnership, a landscape and architectural firm based in Seattle that has developed several parks in Washington, with Ashley Creek being its first Montana project. 

“One of the things we're really excited about for Thursday is to have people who know Kalispell and know this site better than us,” Guy Michaelson of Berger Partnership said. “They're going to have some great insights that we could never know about this area.” 

Development and maintenance of the park will be funded entirely through the Bibler Family Trust. While the terms of its public-private partnership with the city are still in discussion, Bibler said that the park will eventually be gifted to the municipality and hopes for at least part of the park to be open in 2026.  

A plot of land owned by BNSF Railway sits next to the Bibler property. City Manager Doug Russell said that the city is working on a buyout agreement with the railway to incorporate the land into the park.  

The proposed plan features a playground, gathering place, garden and a trail network that provides access to the creek with parking built off Fenn Way. The first phase of development will occur on the Bibler-owned land, but Michaelsen said that development is still in its early stages. 

A large meadow sits at the center of the park, and Michaelson wants to elevate portions of a large meadow in the middle of the land using mounds of soil to provide viewpoints of the creek and Lone Pine State Park.  

Also featured would be a garden reminiscent of the Bibler Gardens, a private display in Kalispell designed by Bibler’s father, Louis A. “Sam” Bibler, in 1979. Sam Bibler died in 2002.

The garden features thousands of flowers and various fruit-bearing trees that overlook the Flathead Valley. The summer display reaches its peak in early May and public tours are conducted around twice a year in May, July or August. All showings in 2024 sold out. 

 "This will make that beautiful spot much more widely accessible to people year-round,” Bibler said. 

“I live right over there on the west side,” said Councilor Jessica Dahlman during the May meeting, making note of the park’s accessibility. 

“Just kind of imagining that and enjoying Ashley Creek there is magical,” she said.  

Bibler said that the Council has shown interest in the park.  

“Our conversations with [the Council] have all been very positive,” she said. 

Councilor Sid Daoud said in an interview with the Inter Lake that the project proposal sounded like a great addition to the city, but was skeptical of the amount of development funding would allow.  

“I think the initial design encompassed everything that they could want in the park, but maybe not what they could actually fund,” he said. 

Kalispell holds around 450 acres of parkland scattered around the city, but Bibler hopes the space will be more accessible to the nearby residential area experiencing development.  

“Kalispell is growing very, very rapidly, and we really feel that the community could benefit from having a park, especially in that part of town, which is a little bit underserved,” Bibler said. “Young children need a place to play without their parents necessarily having to drive a great distance just to get to a park.”   

“There is really nothing on that side of town,” Daoud said. “So I would be happy if they could pull it off.” 

Jack Underhill can be reached at junderhill@dailyinterlake.com and 758-4407.