Free & Cheap Things to Do in Butte

Museums & Galleries

A 50-acre open-air museum on the Orphan Girl mine yard, with the recreated 1890s boomtown of Hell Roarin' Gulch - more than 50 buildings - plus the headframe and hoist works. An optional underground tour descends 100 feet into the actual mine past an exposed ore vein.

Address: 155 Museum Way, Butte, MT 59701

Tip: The 95%-outdoor museum is best in good weather; book the limited-space underground tour ahead by phone.

Museums & Galleries

A free museum on the Montana Tech campus displaying about 1,300 specimens from a collection of 13,000-plus - Montana gold, a giant smoky-quartz cluster, and a darkened room of minerals that glow under ultraviolet light. Reopened in 2024 after a full renovation.

Address: 1300 West Park Street, Butte, MT 59701

Tip: Open daily in summer, weekdays the rest of the year; don't miss the fluorescent-minerals room.

Quirky Landmarks

A viewing platform on the rim of the Berkeley Pit, a mile-wide former open-pit copper mine now filled with more than 50 billion gallons of acidic, metal-laden water. A tunnel from the gift shop leads to a sobering look at one of America's largest Superfund sites.

Address: 300 Continental Drive, Butte, MT 59701

Tip: Open daily 10-5, May through October; a tunnel from the gift shop leads to the viewing platform.

History & Culture

A free hilltop memorial to the 168 miners killed in the 1917 Granite Mountain-Speculator fire, the deadliest hardrock mining disaster in U.S. history. Interpretive plaques tell the story alongside panoramic views of the Highland Mountains and Butte's surviving mining headframes.

Address: Granite Mountain Road, Butte, MT 59701

Tip: Open year-round, but the access road is unpaved - drive it in dry conditions.

Free Walking Tours

One of the largest National Historic Landmark districts in the country, with thousands of preserved buildings - Romanesque banks, ornate hotels, Irish pubs - and steel mining headframes punctuating the skyline. A self-guided stroll covers block after block of 1880s-1920s architecture.

Address: Broadway & Main Streets, Butte, MT 59701

Tip: Pick up a free walking-tour map at the visitor center, or use Butte's history app to find the headframes.

History & Culture

The lavish 1888 Victorian mansion of copper baron W.A. Clark, preserved largely in original condition with frescoed ceilings, stained glass, hand-tooled plaster, and period chandeliers. Now a bed-and-breakfast, it offers hour-long guided tours of the 34-room home.

Address: 219 West Granite Street, Butte, MT 59701

Tip: Guided tours run daily in summer at 10, 12:30, 2, and 3:30; call ahead off-season.

History & Culture

Set in two historic buildings in Butte's old Chinatown, this museum preserves the legacy of the Chinese immigrants who shaped early Montana. Exhibits feature artifacts, photos, and the stories of the merchants, laborers, and herbalists who lived and worked in the district.

Address: 17 West Mercury Street, Butte, MT 59701

Tip: Open June-September, Tuesday-Saturday; off-season visits are by appointment only.

Arts & Culture

An 1898 French-Renaissance mansion built by W.A. Clark's son Charles, now a community museum and art gallery. Self-guided and guided tours show off period rooms and rotating exhibits, and the chateau hosts free public programs through the year.

Address: 321 West Broadway Street, Butte, MT 59701

Tip: Open Thursday-Sunday May-August, weekends the rest of the year; check the site for free public programs.

Parks & Nature

One of Butte's most popular short day hikes, a roughly 4-mile loop climbing the East Ridge through grassland and forest into the Beaverhead-Deerlodge National Forest, with sweeping mountain views and a sunset-worthy ridgeline. It connects to the Continental Divide Trail for longer outings.

Address: Saddle Rock Road trailhead, Butte, MT 59701

Tip: About 4 miles with steep, loose rock - wear sturdy shoes and bring water.