Big Falls at Ryan Dam

“…the grandest sight I ever beheld…whin my ears were saluted with the agreeable sound of a fall of water and advancing a little further; I saw the spray arise above the plain like a collumn of smoke . . . which soon began to make a roaring too tremendous to be mistaken for any cause short of the great falls of the Missouri…”
—Captain Meriwether Lewis

The best view of The Great Falls is done from the highest peak at Ryan Island Park, which is accessed from a suspension bridge across the Missouri River. After traveling a two-lane road that provides views of the expansive high plains and agricultural land, you will arrive at the viewing point of the Great Falls, located at 160 Ryan Dam Road.

There are few hints given along the way of the canyon or the river contained at the end of the road. The roar of the falls is best witnessed in the Spring, just like Captain Lewis experienced. The canyon walls show the arduous task of portaging around the Falls that laid ahead of the Expedition. Although Ryan Dam, constructed in 1915, controls the flow of the water over the falls, the enormity of The Great Falls is still impressive. The dam follows the natural break in the landscape that created the falls and was more than 80 feet high when first seen by Captain Lewis. Today, The Great Falls stand 148 feet due to the dam.

The island has a large picnic area, and just above the parking lot is a trailhead for the River’s Edge Trail. The trail passes the remains of a rock cabin and opposite the mouth of Box Elder Creek, a major crossing in the 1805 and 1806 portages of the Great Falls on the south side of the Missouri River. The trail continues to Morony Dam where it connects with the trail to Sulphur Springs.