Great Falls

About Great Falls

Great Falls is a city of about 60,000 people on the Missouri River in north-central Montana, between the plains and the Rocky Mountain Front. It takes its name from a series of five waterfalls on the river that Lewis and Clark spent a month portaging around in 1805, and it grew in the 1880s on hydroelectric power, copper smelting and the railroad.

The Lewis and Clark National Historic Trail Interpretive Center, on a bluff above the river, tells the story of that difficult portage. The C.M. Russell Museum celebrates Charles M. Russell, the famous cowboy artist who lived and painted in Great Falls, and includes his log cabin studio. Giant Springs State Park has one of the largest freshwater springs in the country and the very short Roe River.

The River's Edge Trail follows the Missouri for miles past dams and waterfalls, and Gibson Park has a duck pond and gardens near downtown. Downtown has historic buildings and the famous Sip-n-Dip Lounge, and Glacier National Park and the Rocky Mountain Front are a few hours' drive away.