Welcome to Lake McDonald ...

Lake McDonald is located in Flathead County<1>.

While we don't have a date for the founding of Lake McDonald, you might consider that their post office opened in 1913.

A typical abbreviation for Lake McDonald: Lk. McDonald

Lake McDonald is 3,220 feet [981 m] above sea level.<2> In other words, the elevation of Lake McDonald is about ½ mile above sea level.

Time Zone: Lake McDonald lies in the Mountain Time Zone (MST/MDT) and observes daylight saving time

Area Code for Lake McDonald: 406

The ZIP code for Lake McDonald: 59921<3>

Communities near Lake McDonald ...

We have created a list of 10 communities that are near Lake McDonald.

West Glacier
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
- West Glacier is located in Flathead County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Glacier
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for West Glacier <4>
Swiftcurrent
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)
- Swiftcurrent is located in Glacier County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Swiftcurrent
Coram
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest)
- Coram is located in Flathead County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coram
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Coram <4>
Rising Sun
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
- Rising Sun is located in Glacier County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rising Sun
Martin City
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
- Martin City is located in Flathead County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Martin City
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Martin City <4>
Hungry Horse
(18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
- Hungry Horse is located in Flathead County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hungry Horse
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Hungry Horse <4>
Polebridge
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
- Polebridge is located in Flathead County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Polebridge
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Polebridge <4>
Saint Mary
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
- Saint Mary is located in Glacier County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Saint Mary
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Saint Mary <4>
Columbia Falls
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
- Columbia Falls is located in Flathead County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Columbia Falls
- Population from the 2020 Census: 6,209 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Columbia Falls <4>
Halfmoon
(23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
- Halfmoon is located in Flathead County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Halfmoon

To Help With Your Genealogy Research ...

We have a couple of sections for those tracing their genealogy.

We created a list of cemeteries that are in the area around Lake McDonald. Our list includes the location of those cemeteries and we provide an overhead view. See our Cemetery List for Lake McDonald.

Using the information from an 1895 Atlas, we've created a list of communities that were in the area of Lake McDonald. Our list includes information such as whether the 1895 community had a post office or railroad service. See our List of 1890's Communities around Lake McDonald.

We also have a detailed list of newspapers that have been published in the area around Lake McDonald. See our Newspapers Page for Lake McDonald.

TripAdvisor Tourism Pages for Lake McDonald ...

Looking for more information about Lake McDonald? A wonderful source is the TripAdvisor website. We always start with the TripAdvisor Tourism page, where you can read an overview with links that will help you find lodging, restaurants and attractions.

While we are unaware of a Tourism page that is specific to Lake McDonald, there are neighboring communities that do have Tourism pages. A map of those communities can be found with our TripAdvisor Page for Lake McDonald.

Adding Lake McDonald to Our Gazetteer ...

We originally found mention of Lake McDonald in both the FIPS-55 and the GNIS. For more information, see the FIPS and GNIS Codes sections on our Miscellaneous Page.

From our notes, the earliest published mention we've found (so far) for Lake McDonald was in the document titled List of Post Offices from Cameron Blevins and Richard Helbock.<5>

From that list, the Lake McDonald post office opened in 1913. The Lake McDonald post office closed in 1966.

For more details, see References and Mentions for Lake McDonald.

Footnotes ...

<1>	If you're interested in how the shape of Montana's counties, including Flathead, have changed over time, we recommend the Atlas of Historical County Boundaries.
<2>	The elevation is an estimate for the area around Lake McDonald - it will be higher in some places and lower in others.
<3>	ZIP Codes have been created by the United States Postal Service (USPS) as a way of grouping addresses to make delivery more efficient. The boundaries of the ZIP Code can be changed, re-assigned, eliminated or overlapped with other ZIP Codes. So keep in mind that any given ZIP Code is only 'loosely' associated with a community (such as Lake McDonald). When looking for a ZIP Code, whether Lake McDonald or elsewhere, it's always best to check the website of the United States Postal Service (USPS).
<4>	While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program.
<5>	A copy of the Blevins & Helbock Post Office list with background information can be found at: https://cblevins.github.io/us-post-offices/data-biography/