Explore Extensive Limestone Caverns At Montana's First And Most Popular State Park

Montana is home to some fantastic sights, from the Little Bighorn to the Museum of the Rockies. One more destination you should add to your stops when you find yourself visiting Montana is the Lewis & Clark Caverns State Park. It is located near Three Forks, and it offers more than just cave exploration. This is a perfect destination for anyone who enjoys hiking and camping. If you're planning to stay overnight, be sure not to forget your camping essentials. And, while you can visit all year long, the cave tours are only available May through December.

Lewis & Clark Caverns State Park was Montana's first state park, and it is where you will find the most extensive limestone caverns in the Northwest. Outside the caverns, there are three cabins, as well as RV camping in their large campground. When not hiking the trails, visitors can enjoy the visitor center and the amphitheater for events. The visitor center offers a 29-minute video, a small museum, and a cave exploration room, and it is right where you need to go for your tickets to walk through the caves. Across from the visitor center is the Montana Gift Corral, a gift shop and deli. While there may be plenty to do above ground, what you'll experience underground is what we really want you to know all about.

If you've ever been to a cave tour, you know it's chilly underground — what Lewis & Clark Caverns calls "naturally air-conditioned," so you'll want to dress appropriately and stay warm and comfortable with layers. Both guided tours will teach you all about the formation of caves and the strange sites you'll see underground, including stalactites and stalagmites descending from the ceiling and rising from the ground. First is the classic tour, which takes at least two hours, even though it only covers 2 miles deep into the caverns. However, this tour visits most of the developed areas of the cave and offers a more physically challenging adventure.

The paradise tour takes you to the largest and most decorated rooms in the Lewis & Clark Caverns. This tour is a bit shorter, taking about an hour and a half and covering a mile. You'll still experience the beauty of the caves, but this tour often works better for people who are unable to walk more than 2 miles or find the chilly atmosphere of the caves more intolerable. You'll definitely want to wear the same things as would during a fall hike to keep warm underground.