[6] In Montana's northwest region, it is the largest city and the commercial center of the Kalispell Micropolitan Statistical Area.

The first European settler to explore the Flathead Valley was likely surveyor Peter Fidler of the Hudson's Bay Company in the 18th century.

Using his own capital, Charles Edward Conrad, a businessman and banker from Fort Benton, Montana, formed the Kalispell Townsite Company with three other men, all from Great Northern board of directors.

[10] The town took its name from the local native tribe, adding an extra "L" for good measure.

Kalispell was officially incorporated as a city in 1892,[11] and Conrad built a large mansion there in 1895.

The city is home to Logan Health Medical Center, which has a 150-bed hospital facility.

[14] The city of Kalispell removed the remaining downtown trackage, relocating the railroad to Glacier Rail Park, a new industrial park[15] just north of town and abandoning 2.4 miles (3.9 km) of the original route.

[17] Buffalo Hill Golf Club, designed by Robert Muir Graves,[18] serves golfers in the region.

[19] There is a Salish language school and training center in nearby Arlee, Montana.

The city government had previously begun passing ordinances in 2022 that punished anyone that helped homeless people in Kalispell, such as giving out food, supplies, or money.

They also shut off water and electricity in the local park so it couldn't be utilized by homeless in the area.

The New York Times published an article in January 2024 about the homeless population of Kalispell, noting that many were residents who had recently undergone financial trouble that led to them losing their homes, such as having a divorce.

[21] The city council revoked the permit of the town's homeless shelter in September 2024,[22] forcing the closure of its warming center in October 2024, putting much of the homeless population at risk of death during winter months as noted by the shelter's director.

The city has a warm-summer humid continental climate (Köppen: Dfb), with long, cold, and moderately snowy winters, hot and dry summers, and short springs and autumns.

21.7% were of German, 12.0% Irish, 11.3% Norwegian, 10.7% English and 6.6% United States or American ancestry.

As of July 2014[update], one of Montana's last mint farms, growing peppermint and spearmint, is near Kalispell.

[39] Amtrak's Empire Builder service between Chicago and either Seattle, Washington, or Portland, Oregon, is available in Whitefish, approximately 15 miles (24 km) north.