COLUMBIA FALLS — With the start of summer, there are many outdoor experiences available in the Flathead Valley, but the Great Northern Llama Company in Columbia Falls, with its llama tours and treks, is one of the most unique.
Check out the llama tours and treks:
The tours are for all ages and include an education session, a meet and greet, and an easy walk where the participant will get to lead a llama to the breeding pastures, where they will get to feed and meet many llamas.
The trek is similar, but is intended for anyone six and up. It features an information session, including how to pack and saddle a llama, and then a two to three-mile hike through the foothills of the Swan Mountain range, where various wildlife can be spotted.
Owner and operator Jamie Rolfing brings 45 years of family history to these new experiences, which began with his parents, Sue and Steve Rolfing.
“He started an outfitting business in the Swan and Mission Mountains. We’d take folks out for four or five days at a time, doing pack trips with llamas. That's what I grew up doing with my father,” said Rolfing.
After finishing his time in the U.S. Army, Jamie could not stay away from his family's llama ranch, and in 2018, he and his wife Sarah decided to follow in the family footsteps, but with a twist.
“We decided to start the business back up, but to focus it on the property itself, making it more accessible for families.”
Now that everyone in the family can spend quality time with the llamas, Jamie and Sarah have also made sure the adventures can fit into busy schedules as well.
“We tailored it to be close to town and people can just fit it into a morning or an afternoon and still be able to get out and do whatever else.”
Between the uniqueness, history, and the accessibility of the experiences with the Great Northern Llama Company, it is something that is sure to bring a smile to everyone's face.
“This is a truly unique Montana experience in all ways, shapes, and forms. Not only because this is a family ranch, but people get to have a sneak preview of what ranch life looks like from the beginning of the tour, learning about our family history doing this, all the way to the end where they've somewhat cultivated a relationship with the llamas,” Sarah Rolfing says.
To learn more, go to the Great Northern Llama Company's website.
