Free & Cheap Things to Do in Great Falls

Parks & Nature

One of the largest freshwater springs in the country pours over 150 million gallons a day into the Roe River - once crowned the world's shortest river. The day-use park hugs miles of Missouri River shoreline with a spring overlook, picnic areas, a free state trout hatchery, and trail access.

Address: 4803 Giant Springs Road, Great Falls, MT 59405

Tip: Pair it with the adjacent free trout hatchery and the River's Edge Trail, which both connect at the park.

Parks & Nature

A nearly 60-mile riverside trail network along both banks of the Missouri, including a paved, wheelchair-accessible urban loop. Walkers, cyclists, and skaters pass sculptures, interpretive panels, waterfalls, and Giant Springs, all built and maintained by a local nonprofit.

Address: Trailheads along River Drive, Great Falls, MT 59405

Tip: Grab a free trail map at the visitor center or Giant Springs before setting out.

Museums & Galleries

A world-class collection devoted to cowboy artist Charlie Russell, including his original log-cabin studio and home on the grounds. Galleries cover Western art, Plains Indian artifacts, and Montana wildlife, telling the story of the frontier West through one of its greatest chroniclers.

Address: 400 13th Street North, Great Falls, MT 59401

Tip: Admission also covers the Montana Cowboy Hall of Fame gallery in the same building; active military and families are free.

History & Culture

A USFS center above the Missouri telling the Corps of Discovery's grueling 18-mile portage around the Great Falls. Two floors of exhibits, a 158-seat theater, living-history programs, and overlooks of the river the expedition fought through anchor the visit.

Address: 4201 Giant Springs Road, Great Falls, MT 59405

Tip: Exhibits close October 2026-March 2027 for upgrades; the grounds and interpretive trails stay open, and kids under 16 are always free.

Arts & Culture

Great Falls' free contemporary art museum fills a grand 1896 sandstone building that was the city's original high school. Rotating regional exhibitions, a permanent collection, and a noted holding of outsider and self-taught art make it a substantial free stop downtown.

Address: 1400 1st Avenue North, Great Falls, MT 59401

Tip: Closed Sundays and Mondays; open until 9 p.m. on Tuesdays.

History & Culture

Run by the Cascade County Historical Society, this free museum holds more than 250,000 artifacts and 75,000 historic photos tracing central Montana's heritage. Rotating exhibits cover homesteading, the fur trade, military history, and the Electric City's industrial past.

Address: 422 2nd Street South, Great Falls, MT 59405

Tip: Open Tuesday-Friday and the second Saturday of each month.

Parks & Nature

The jewel of Great Falls' park system wraps a downtown pond full of geese and swans in flower gardens, a bandshell, a historic log cabin, and a stroller-friendly loop path. Statues of city founder Paris Gibson and a replica Statue of Liberty dot the grounds.

Address: 400 Park Drive North, Great Falls, MT 59401

Tip: The loop path ties into the River's Edge Trail; the pond becomes an ice-skating spot in winter.

Quirky Landmarks

A 1962 Polynesian tiki bar inside the O'Haire Motor Inn where costumed 'mermaids' swim in a pool behind a window into the lounge. GQ once named it the number-one bar on earth worth flying for - a genuinely only-in-Montana quirky landmark.

Address: 17 7th Street South, Great Falls, MT 59401

Tip: Mermaids swim Wednesday-Sunday evenings; it's a bar, so evenings are 21+.

Outdoors

One of the largest buffalo jumps in North America, where Native hunters drove bison off a mile-long sandstone cliff for centuries. A modern visitor center with interpretive exhibits, plus trails along the cliff base and top, tell the story about 17 miles southwest of Great Falls.

Address: 342 Ulm Vaughn Road, Ulm, MT 59485

Tip: About 17 miles southwest in Ulm; the visitor center keeps reduced winter hours.

Outdoors

The actual 'great falls' Lewis and Clark portaged around, now framed by 1915 Ryan Dam. A free island park reached by a swaying suspension footbridge gives the best view of the thundering cascade, with picnic tables scattered across the island.

Address: Ryan Dam Road, Great Falls, MT 59405

Tip: The island park is open Mother's Day through Labor Day; the final stretch is a dirt road.