This cluster spans eastern Washington, northern Idaho and northwest Montana. Spokane is the economic and cultural center of the Inland Northwest, with 228,989 residents at the 2020 census and about 605,000 in its metro area. Mt. Spokane sits in a state park northeast of the city on State Route 206. Sandpoint, the seat of Bonner County, had 8,639 residents in 2020. Its economy rests on forest products, light manufacturing, tourism, recreation and government services. Schweitzer, the largest ski resort in Idaho, sits northwest of town. Its 1963 opening turned the area into a year round tourism destination, and it was popular with regional skiers from the start. A Spokane skier who wanted a closer alternative to Whitefish started the effort to build it. Whitefish, Montana, had 7,751 residents in 2020 and is known for its environmentalism and its protected trails and forests. Whitefish Mountain Resort sits on Big Mountain four miles from town, west of Glacier National Park and 21 miles north of Kalispell. Flathead County, which holds Whitefish and its seat Kalispell, had 104,357 residents in 2020.