Rocky Road
Sights to see between Helena and Great Falls.
We’ve written about Helena’s nearby State Parks, including Black Sandy State Park and Spring Meadow Lake State Park, and we’ve done the same for Great Falls' with First Peoples Buffalo Jump and Giant Springs. Getting from one city to the other isn’t too bad, with about an hour and a half of road separating them along I-15. And as it turns out, another of Montana’s most striking state parks sits quietly right in between.
Tower Rock State Park stands out as one of those rare places that seems to have it all: dramatic geological prominence, deep historical significance, and sweeping, picturesque views of the surrounding landscape. With recreation opportunities to match, it’s worth carving out a little extra time for a pit stop and having your drothers when it comes to choosing how to spend it. Go for a hike and scramble around the rock features, wander down to the river and maybe wet a line, or take your time reading the interpretive signage and learning about the region’s past. There’s no wrong way to do it.
Like most places we find interesting today, Indigenous peoples recognized the importance of this landscape long before us. The area served as a travel route between bison hunting grounds to the east and west with Tower Rock acting as a landmark along the way, much as it does now in its modern, paved version. For the Blackfeet, the rock was considered sacred, and ceremonies were sometimes performed here, a reminder to tread lightly and respectfully.
As is often the case with important Indigenous landmarks, Meriwether Lewis also took note of the site during the Corps of Discovery’s journey. On July 16, 1805, he gave Tower Rock its current name. Of the landmark, Lewis wrote, “It may be ascended with some difficulty nearly to its summit and from it there is a most pleasing view of the country we are now about to leave. From it I saw that evening immense herds of buffaloe in the plains below.”
Also along the way are a couple quaint communities that call this canyon home. Craig, where it’s said there are five drift boats for every resident, is a mecca for anglers. Farther down the road, Cascade welcomes you to the edge of the Great Falls metro area. The town was once home to artist Charles Russell and to Rees Gephardt “Steamboat” Williams, the first Montana-born Major League Baseball player, who went on to play for the St. Louis Cardinals. Pop into one—or both—of these towns to get a taste of Montana small-town life and grab a burger at a local watering hole.
When you finally make your way to the top of Tower Rock, take a moment to consider that you may be standing in the very spot Lewis once did, along with countless Indigenous travelers before him, all taking in the surrounding plains. Though bison no longer roam in their historic numbers, the river, the mountains, and the open country remain a worthy sight for modern wanderers, however they choose to explore.
This state-park highlight is brought to you by the Montana State Parks Foundation — “Preserving and enhancing Montana's State Parks for today and tomorrow’s State Parks for today and tomorrow."
