Day Trippin' › Montana › From Great Falls
Great Falls has First Peoples Buffalo Jump and Giant Springs within about 35 minutes, Fort Benton about 40, Choteau's dinosaur museums about an hour, and Helena under an hour and 20. The best day trips from Great Falls, by drive time.
58 places within a 3-hour drive, by real roads.
Historic site · 27 min west
A mile-long sandstone cliff near Great Falls, possibly the largest bison jump in North America, with a visitor center on buffalo culture.
State park · 34 min northeast
A day-use park on the Missouri River in Great Falls built around one of the country's largest freshwater springs, with a fish hatchery and trails.
Town · 39 min northeast
A National Historic Landmark river town on the Wild and Scenic Missouri, called the Birthplace of Montana.
Museum · 40 min northeast
Reconstructed Old Fort Benton trading post and the Museum of the Upper Missouri, covering river trade and Native history.
Museum · 52 min northwest
A Choteau museum with a dinosaur room on Two Medicine Formation finds, including a life-size Maiasaura.
Trail · 55 min southeast
A rugged limestone canyon on Belt Creek near Belt with an old railroad grade, mine ruins and historic cabins.
Museum · 1 hr 4 min northwest
A small museum in Bynum on local finds, including the first baby dinosaurs found in North America, with summer fossil digs.
Town · 1 hr 17 min southwest
Montana's capital, with the Last Chance Gulch walking mall downtown, the Capitol, museums and trails close to town.
Swimming · 1 hr 19 min southwest
A busy summer park on Hauser Lake near Helena for swimming, boating and water skiing.
Wildlife refuge · 1 hr 1 min north
A big glacial wetland and prairie about 12 miles north of Great Falls, great for migrating ducks, shorebirds and pronghorn.
Swimming · 1 hr 20 min southwest
A small spring-fed lake at the edge of Helena with a beach, swimming and a 0.8-mile nature trail around the water.
Lake · 1 hr 29 min southeast
A quiet reservoir with views of the Little Belt and Snowy mountains for fishing, boating and swimming.
Town · 1 hr 36 min east
Central Montana town in Fergus County known for the Charlie Russell Chew Choo dinner train and summer festivals.
Museum · 1 hr 44 min northeast
A Havre museum with dinosaur eggs and local history, next to a 2,000-year-old buffalo jump you can tour.
Museum · 2 hr 45 min south
A big natural and cultural history museum at Montana State University in Bozeman, with a dinosaur hall that includes the Big Mike T. rex and a planetarium.
Cave · 2 hr 31 min south
Guided tours wind through one of the largest limestone caves in the Northwest, full of stalactites and columns.
Ghost town · 2 hr 48 min southwest
One of Montana's best-preserved ghost towns, a high gold camp of the 1890s with many buildings still standing, east of Missoula.
State park · 2 hr 8 min west
A lakeside park in the Blackfoot-Clearwater valley south of Seeley Lake, good for a swim, picnic or paddle.
Town · 2 hr 8 min southwest
Once called the Richest Hill on Earth, this copper mining city has one of the nation's largest historic districts and old mine headframes.
Waterfall · 2 hr 43 min southwest
A narrow canyon near Anaconda with 1,200-foot cliffs and a short walk to 50-foot Lost Creek Falls.
Wildlife refuge · 2 hr 58 min southeast
A small park near Greycliff that protects a busy black-tailed prairie dog colony.
Viewpoint · 2 hr 28 min southwest
A pile of boulders east of Butte that ring like bells when tapped with a hammer.
Drive times are by road on a typical day from ZIP 59401 (OpenStreetMap data with the OSRM route planner). Facts checked against official sites; passes and hours change, so check before you go.