The Flathead Valley is brimming with outdoor activities, but around this time next year, a new indoor play facility will offer indoor options for children in Kalispell to stay active and have fun in any weather.

Whitefish resident Maureen Casey is working on developing The Great Indoors Montana, an indoor playground that will be located next to The World Gym in the Silverbrook Estates development north of Kalispell along U.S. 93. The 10,000-square-foot facility will include a three-story climbing apparatus with tunnels, tubes and tons of interactive activities for children ages 2 to 12.

“Everyone we know with kids is really excited about it,” Casey said.

Casey said she was inspired by The Discovery Zone, an indoor children’s activity center where she used to take her children. Now that The Discovery Zone is closed and her children have children of their own, Casey and her daughter wanted to bring that idea to Kalispell.

During a birthday party in Washington state, the mother-daughter duo learned about an indoor playground they could tailor to their local community. “We were both looking at it and going ‘wow, we really need something like that,’” Casey recalled.

This new facility will provide activities for younger children who might not be quite ready to hike Avalanche Lake or raft down the Swan River. “There’s nothing really for little kids to do here,” Casey noted.

Although it’s based on similar facilities in Washington and other states, The Great Indoors Montana will be uniquely designed by Casey and independently operated.

Casey said in light of the COVID-19 pandemic, she hopes parents know cleanliness will be a top priority at The Great Indoors.

She’s planning to break ground in August, and hopes the facility will be up and running by next spring. But she emphasized the plans are still in their early phases.

Children at The Great Indoors Montana will need to be accompanied by an adult, but Casey plans to have a small café, as well as beer and wine options to entertain visitors of all ages.

“It’ll be a wonderful play structure,” Casey said, as well as “something that people really want to come to.”

Reporter Bret Anne Serbin may be reached at (406)-758-4459 or bserbin@dailyinterlake.com.