Montana · Central Montana

Great Falls

Lewis & Clark portage country, the Missouri River's series of waterfalls, and a workmanlike central-Montana cannabis scene.

Great Falls is the Missouri River city named for the series of five waterfalls Lewis and Clark famously portaged around in 1805 — a geographically dramatic stretch that's now anchored by the Lewis and Clark National Historic Trail Interpretive Center on the river's north bank. The downtown is more workmanlike than touristy, the population leans military (Malmstrom Air Force Base sits east of town), and the surrounding plains give way to the Rocky Mountain Front about an hour west. Cannabis retail in Great Falls has been growing through the adult-use era — twenty-plus Montana Department of Revenue Cannabis Control Division licensed shops operate within the city. For adults 21+, the Great Falls visit shape is the Lewis and Clark Center in the morning, a walk along the River's Edge Trail in the afternoon, dinner downtown, and a quiet rental evening. Day-trip distance to Bowman's Corner and the Rocky Mountain Front for hiking, to Choteau for the dinosaur trail, and to the Sluice Boxes State Park gorge southwest of town.