Discover Giant Springs State Park

By Rich Aarstad, Montana State Historical Society Lewis and Clark historian

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While traveling between the cataracts of the Great Falls of the Missouri on June 18, 1805, William Clark chanced upon a spring forcing its way to the surface mere yards from the river.   Clark mentioned it in his journal as the “. . . largest fountain or Spring I ever Saw, and doubt if it is not the largest in America Known . . ..”  

He relayed the information to other members of the Corps of Discovery peaking their interest in the site.   However, the business of finding an acceptable portage route around the great falls and preparing for that arduous portage kept those interested in the spectacle occupied.

Now almost 200 years later, the hum of 21 st century life also too often keeps us from savoring a marvel like Giant Springs as it should be savored.   The area has changed since the time of Lewis and Clark.   Today, lush trees shade numerous picnic tables. Boardwalks allow visitors to watch the spring water roil its way to the surface like liquid crystal before mingling with the waters of the Missouri.

The spring is every bit as clear as Sergeant John Ordway described in 1805, when he claimed, “I could have Seen to the bottom of the fountain to pick up a pin.   the water cold and pure.”   This pure water plays host not only to the park but also a Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks fish hatchery.   Rainbow trout abound in the outside tanks. To impress the visitors a pool of large fish is open to the public.  

When the Corps of Discovery first arrived at the falls Captain Lewis commented on the fine trout that Silas Goodrich pulled from the river.   Today anglers dot the shoreline at the park.   With the river before them and the hatchery at their back, one can almost feel the anticipation of the tell tale tug on the line when a fish rises to the bait.   Silas would be smiling.

Visitors can walk along the river and feel the coolness of the air around the spring or ascend the bluff and look over the prairie land stretching into the distance as the Missouri continues etching its course below.   When you visit, keep in mind Captain Meriwether Lewis’s words when he saw the spring for the first time:

not having seen the large fountain which Capt. Clark spoke I determined to visit it today . . ..   I found [the fountain] much as Capt. C; had discribed & think it may well be retained on the list of prodigies of this neighbourhood towards which, nature seems to have dealt with a liberal hand, for I have scarcely experienced a day since my first arrival in this quarter without experiencing some novel occurrence among the party or witnessing the appearance of some uncommon object.                                     June 29, 1805

Make the “novel” and “uncommon” beauty of Giant Springs State Park a personal discovery.   And, while you’re in the area, don’t miss the Lewis and Clark Interpretive Center near Giant Springs operated by the U.S. Forest Service, and Ulm Pishkun State Park 10 miles south of Great Falls near Ulm.