Lewis & Clark Caverns State Park

Lewis & Clark Caverns State Park offers two visitor centers to orient guests to the facilities, programs, and natural options available.

The Main Visitor Center, located at the entrance of the park just off Hwy 2, targets the unique geology, flora and fauna one can experience in the 3000 acre park. It presents a meeting room, local visitor services and information as well as is the location for the management offices and headquarters.

The Cave Visitor Center, three miles at the end of the park road, focuses on the caverns with a 29 minute video, small museum, cave exploration room, and ticket booth. Across the street from this lies Montana Gift Corral, a gift shop and deli to serve the needs of all.

Both building and restroom facilities are wheelchair accessible, though cave access is more challenging.

Lewis & Clark Caverns State Park has almost 10 miles of trails to be used by hikers and mountain bikers. They are moderately difficult due to the mountainous terrain, gaining as much as 1000 feet in elevation overall. Varied opportunities from a more level two mile route, to a rugged 7 mile loop used each spring for the Bozeman Running Company’s race course. The Greer Gulch Loop is a self-guided nature trail and is closed to all but foot traffic.

Manager’s Hint: Because the Park normally gets less moisture than all the surrounding area, trail users hit the park hard in spring as these are the only trails open. For less traffic and a better experience with nature, use the trails in the fall or early/late in the summer’s cool.

The park brags excellent bird and wildlife watching opportunities with some ranger-led treks occurring throughout the summer. A fishing access site on the fringe of the park’s borders provides water recreation possibilities on the Jefferson River.

During the late 1930s the Civilian Conservation Corps worked 5 years to develop Montana’s first state park, Lewis & Clark Caverns. Starting with the first ever building in the system (a rock latrine which still stands at the Upper Picnic Area), the CCC built the 3 mile road to include a Granite Keystone Bridge, the Cave Visitor Center, the trails to and from the cave as well as the basics for today’s caverns tours. An 538′ long exit tunnel was blasted in 1938 to make the tour a one-way route that would include the CCC-discoveredd, largest room they named Paradise.

This park CCC District is currently being nominated for the National Register of Historic Places.