Last updated: October 5, 2020
Place
Giant Springs
NPS/ Alex Wiles
Quick Facts
Location:
4803 Giant Springs Rd. Great Falls, MT 59405
MANAGED BY:
Amenities
3 listed
Information, Scenic View/Photo Spot, Trailhead
Lewis and Clark NHT Visitor Centers and Museums
This map shows a range of features associated with the Lewis and Clark National Historic Trail, which commemorates the 1803-1806 Lewis and Clark Expedition. The trail spans a large portion of the North American continent, from the Ohio River in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, to the mouth of the Columbia River in Oregon. The trail is comprised of the historic route of the Lewis and Clark Expedition, an auto tour route, high potential historic sites (shown in black), visitor centers (shown in orange), and pivotal places (shown in green). These features can be selected on the map to reveal additional information. Also shown is a base map displaying state boundaries, cities, rivers, and highways. The map conveys how a significant area of the North American continent was traversed by the Lewis and Clark Expedition and indicates the many places where visitors can learn about their journey and experience the landscape through which they traveled.
On June 18, 1805, Clark described Giant Springs as “the largest fountain or Spring I ever Saw, and doubt if it is not the largest in America Known, this water boils up from under th rocks near the edge of the river and falls imediately into the river 8 feet and keeps its Colour for ½ a mile which is emencely Clear and of a bluish Cast.” On June 29, Lewis and Drouillard hiked six miles from their upper portage camp to visit the spring after hearing Clark’s description. He found it “much as Capt. C; had discribed & think it may well be retained on the list of prodegies of this neighbourhood towards which, nature seems to have dealt with a liberal hand.”
Giant Springs is a first magnitude freshwater spring considered to be among the largest in the United States. It is the headwaters for the Roe River, which flows for only 200 feet before emptying into the Missouri. The nearby City of Great Falls was founded in 1883, and Giant Springs soon developed into a popular place for recreation. Giant Springs State Park, established during the 1970s, includes a trout hatchery. An extensive network of recreational trails along the Missouri River can be accessed from the park. The adjacent Lewis and Clark National Historic Trail Interpretive Center, managed by the USFS, provides interpretive opportunities to visitors.