Giant Springs State Park - Lewis and Clark Trail Experience

Information

Sunrise to Sunset (day use only)

406-727-1212

Non Resident Single Day Entrance Fee - $8 Resident Fee- $0

Dogs allowed on leash

lat: 47.534446 long: -111.228842

Come marvel at this day-use park’s remarkable features and view the variety of birdlife. Take part in our special events, picnic by the Missouri River, visit the fish hatchery and visitor center, walk along the Rivers Edge Trail, view the nearby Rainbow Falls overlook, or visit the neighboring Lewis and Clark Interpretive Center operated by the U.S. Forest Service.

Giant Springs was discovered by the Lewis and Clark Expedition in 1805 and is one of the largest freshwater springs in the country. The springs flow at a rate of 156 million gallons of water per day and the water stays at a temperature of 54 degrees. This is also the site of the Roe River, once listed in the Guinness Book of World Records as the world’s shortest river. Giant Springs State Park contains over 30 miles of paved and dirt single-track trails in settings that vary from developed to very primitive.

Giant Springs State Park is a day-use only site and no camping is available.

Ranger leading a Nature Walk

Ranger leading a Nature Walk

The Giant Springs in the winter

The Giant Springs in the winter

Sunrise over the Giant Springs

Sunrise over the Giant Springs

Misty winter morning at Giant Springs

Misty winter morning at Giant Springs

Picnic at Giant Springs

Picnic at Giant Springs

The Giant Springs in the summer

The Giant Springs in the summer

Family fun at Giant Springs

Family fun at Giant Springs

Enjoying the many trails at Giant Springs

Enjoying the many trails at Giant Springs

Reading about the history of the Giant Springs

Reading about the history of the Giant Springs

Nearby Attractions

Distance Unit:

Lewis and Clark National Historic Trail Interpretive Center

Lewis and Clark National Historic Trail Interpretive Center

4201 Giant Springs Road, Great Falls, MT 59405, USA
Distance: 0.46 Away

Museums and Interpretive Centers LC Features

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Rainbow Falls

Rainbow Falls

Rainbow Falls, Montana, USA
Distance: 1.08 Away

Outdoor Experiences LC Features Viewpoints

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Roadhouse Diner

Roadhouse Diner

Roadhouse Diner, 15th Street North, Great Falls, MT, USA
Distance: 2.88 Away

Food and Drinks

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The C. M. Russell Museum

The C. M. Russell Museum

C. M. Russell Museum, 13th Street North, Great Falls, MT, USA
Distance: 3.16 Away

Museums and Interpretive Centers LC Features

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C.M. Russell Museum

C.M. Russell Museum

C. M. Russell Museum, 13th Street North, Great Falls, MT, USA
Distance: 3.16 Away

Museums and Interpretive Centers

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Blackfeet Outfitters

Blackfeet Outfitters

Blackfeet Outfitters, 10th Avenue South, Great Falls, MT, USA
Distance: 3.60 Away

Tribal Experiences Outdoor Experiences Outfitters

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Crooked Tree Coffee and Cakes

Crooked Tree Coffee and Cakes

Crooked Tree Coffee, 1st Avenue North, Great Falls, MT, USA
Distance: 3.79 Away

Food and Drinks Coffee Houses

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Lewis & Clark Festival

Lewis & Clark Festival

Gibson Park Trail, Great Falls, MT, USA
Distance: 3.87 Away

Festivals and Events

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Mighty Mo Brewing Company

Mighty Mo Brewing Company

Mighty Mo Brewing Co, Central Avenue, Great Falls, MT, USA
Distance: 3.89 Away

Food and Drinks

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Jeremiah Johnson Brewing Company

Jeremiah Johnson Brewing Company

Jeremiah Johnson Brewing Co. Production and Packaging Facility, 3rd Avenue South, Great Falls, MT, USA
Distance: 3.90 Away

Food and Drinks Breweries and Distilleries

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Great Falls, Montana

Great Falls, Montana

Great Falls, Montana, USA
Distance: 3.91 Away

View Listing

The Falls of Great Falls

The Falls of Great Falls

100 1st Ave N, Great Falls, MT 59401, USA
Distance: 4.08 Away

Outdoor Experiences LC Features Walks and Hikes

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Sign Up for the Lewis & Clark Trail Experience Newsletter

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Instagram Feed

Check out our YouTube Channel! We have some great

Check out our YouTube Channel!

We have some great content being posted there every Saturday - you’ll see videos related to personal stories and adventures on the trail, special reports on various trail locations, and much more!

Be sure to subscribe and share with friends as well!

https://www.youtube.com/@lewisandclarktrailalliance

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Here’s a summary of another video you can find there, ‘ Where Louisville Begins - Visit Historic Locust Grove’:

“This c.1792 Georgian mansion tells the story of its owners, William and Lucy Clark Croghan, and the story of American beginnings. William and Lucy Clark Croghan and Lucy’s brother, General George Rogers Clark, welcomed a generation of American luminaries to their home to rest, dialogue, campaign, and duel. Presidents James Monroe and Andrew Jackson, John James Audubon, Cassius Marcellus C, and Lewis and Clark—among others—all passed through Locust Grove. Now a National Historic Landmark, Locust Grove is a unique example of early Kentucky architecture, craftsmanship, and history.

Director of Interpretation Kaitlyn Tisdale takes us on a virtual tour of this historic location.

Learn more about Louisville history at https://lewis-clark.org/?s=locust+grove”

(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y1kfBtR17m8)

Park of the Week: Harpers Ferry National Historica

Park of the Week: Harpers Ferry National Historical Park

Positioned at the meeting place of three states (Virginia, West Virginia, and Maryland) and the confluence of two major rivers (the Potomac and the Shenandiah), it is not surprising that Harpers Ferry National Historical Park has seen quite a bit of history. The town was the site of John Brown’s Raid and changed hands between the North and the South eight times throughout the course of the Civil War. It was also visited by George Washington in 1785 as he gauged the need for canals and sluices on the Potomac River.

Many visitors are shocked to find that Harpers Ferry also claims a major role in the success of the Lewis and Clark Expedition. In 1803, Meriwether Lewis stopped at Harpers Ferry as he prepared for his famous journey to the Pacific Ocean. At the time of his visit, Harpers Ferry was the home of the United States Armory and Arsenal. Resultantly, Lewis ordered the production of 15 powder horns, 30 bullet molds, 30 ball screws, extra rifle and musket locks, gunsmith's repair tools, several dozen tomahawks, 24 large knives, and a collapsible iron boat frame. These weapons and tools were used by the members of the expedition as they braved the great wilderness of western North America.

Today, the buildings of Harpers Ferry Historical Park are home to a series of small museums, artisan boutiques, and restaurants. Though the United States Armory and Arsenal itself was burnt down during the Civil War, visitors can still read about Meriwether Lewis’s time in Harpers Ferry on informational signs and inside one of the small onsite museums dedicated to the armaments of the expedition. Tours dedicated to the history of Harpers Ferry also detail Lewis’s time and lodgings as he stayed in town.

Photos credited to Mitchell Pence and Cait Clark, 2024

#lewisandclark #history #adventure #travel #westvirginia #maryland #virginia #potomacriver #harpersferry #shenandiahriver

Our new APP is now available! Check it out if you

Our new APP is now available! Check it out if you haven’t yet to bring the adventure and magic of the Lewis and Clark National Historic Trail on your mobile device. Scan the QR code here or find it on your app store.

Check out our YouTube Channel! We have some great

Check out our YouTube Channel!

We have some great content being posted there every Saturday - you’ll see videos related to personal stories and adventures on the trail, special reports on various trail locations, and much more!

Be sure to subscribe and share with friends as well!

https://www.youtube.com/@lewisandclarktrailalliance

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Here’s a summary of the latest video you can find there, ‘The Legend of Big Bone Lick’:

“What’s a lick, and what do big bones have to do with it? A “lick” is a term for a natural occurrence of salt. They usually appear around sulfur springs, which are places where water and minerals bubble out of the ground. It often smells like rotten eggs.

People call these places “licks” because animals like to lick the salty deposits. The “big bone” part of its name came from huge bones in this bog. Indigenous oral tradition states that the bones were from the white buffalo, who died when they drank the salty water. Western scientists theorized that animals—including mammoths and mastodons—who came for a salty treat got trapped in the marshy areas around the springs.

This site was influential in the American development of paleontology and theories of animal extinction. Thomas Jefferson knew about this place and asked Meriwether Lewis to stop and collect some fossils and send them back.”

(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KLevOwbBZzs)

https://lewis-clark.org/the-trail/down-the-ohio/big-bone-lick/

The (Confluence Land Bridge in Vancouver, Washingt

The (Confluence Land Bridge in Vancouver, Washington) is a real link connecting back to the Klickitat Trail, Lewis and Clark, and the development of the Northwest. It completes a circle that’s been broken. -Johnpaul Jones

https://www.confluenceproject.org/

About Confluence:
Confluence connects you to the history, living cultures, and ecology of the Columbia River system through Indigenous voices. We are a community-supported nonprofit that works through six art landscapes, educational programs, and public gatherings in collaboration with northwest tribes, communities, and the celebrated artist Maya Lin.

Site Features:
European and Native American cultures once converged at this Columbia River site, where the Hudson’s Bay Company stood as the first European trading post in the Pacific Northwest. Lewis and Clark camped here, and Fort Vancouver was built here 20 years later. Today, the site features a 40-foot wide earth-covered pedestrian bridge that arcs over State Route 14, reconnecting historic Fort Vancouver with the Columbia River, which helped extend the fort’s influence from Mexico to Alaska and across the Pacific Ocean.

Directions to Vancouver Land Bridge
There are two entrances to the Land Bridge in Vancouver, WA. The south entrance is on Columbia Way Blvd. at Old Apple Tree Park. From I-5, take Highway 14 east and take Exit 1 for SE Columbia Way toward Vancouver National Historic Reserve. Keep right, follow signs for S/Southeast Columbia Way. Turn right and drive west to the sign for Old Apple Tree Park. Park and walk under the overpass to the welcome gate of the Land Bridge.

The north entrance to the Land Bridge is just west of Fort Vancouver. From I-5, take Mill Plain Blvd east. Turn right at Fort Vancouver Way. Stay on Fort Vancouver Way through the roundabout and turn left on East 5th Street. The path to the Land Bridge will be on your right.

Watch -- Virtual Tour of Vancouver Land Bridge on Confluence’s Digital Library (https://www.confluenceproject.org/library/).

Watch -- Tanna Engdahl: We Were Excellent Land Managers (http://xn--https-hw3b//www.confluenceproject.org/library-post/tanna-engdahl-we-were-excellent-land-managers/%22)