Great Falls earns its name from the series of five waterfalls on the Missouri River that stopped Lewis and Clark in their tracks. In June 1805, the expedition spent 31 gruelling days portaging around them -- one of the hardest stretches of their entire journey. Two sections of that portage route survive as the Great Falls Portage National Historic Landmark, and the Lewis and Clark Interpretive Center on the river bluffs tells the story well.
The city (population around 60,000) is the second-largest in Montana and the commercial hub of the north-central plains. It does not have the mountain-town charm of Missoula or Bozeman, but it has its own appeal. The C.M. Russell Museum, dedicated to the great Western artist who lived here for decades, holds the largest collection of his paintings and bronze sculptures. Giant Springs State Park, just downstream, is home to one of the largest freshwater springs in the country and a pleasant spot for a riverside walk.
Great Falls sits at the edge of the Great Plains, with the Rocky Mountain Front rising dramatically to the west. It is a practical stop on the way to Glacier National Park (about three hours northwest) or as a base for exploring the Missouri River Breaks, some of the most remote and unchanged landscape Lewis and Clark would still recognise.