Tower Rock

Photo: Robstutz 

Drive along Interstate 15 southwest of Great Falls, Montana and you’ll cross the Missouri River just as you skirt along the base of Tower Rock.

It was in mid-July 1805 when Meriwether Lewis and three other advance-party men entered “the point where the river enters the Rocky Mountains.” After months of traveling through the high, rolling plains, they faced, as Lewis described, “this rock I called the tower.”

Standing about 425 feet above the river, the site has long been a sacred place to the Blackfeet people, and multiple tribes used it as a landmark for passing into and out of the mountains.

Tower Rock State Park is a 140-acre day-use facility that includes hiking trails and interpretive wayside exhibits that teach about geology and history of the area. The igneous rock formation is a High Potential Historic Site of the Lewis and Clark National Historic Trail.

Lewis and Clark NHT Visitor Centers and Museums

This map shows a range of features associated with the Lewis and Clark National Historic Trail, which commemorates the 1803-1806 Lewis and Clark Expedition. The trail spans a large portion of the North American continent, from the Ohio River in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, to the mouth of the Columbia River in Oregon. The trail is comprised of the historic route of the Lewis and Clark Expedition, an auto tour route, high potential historic sites (shown in black), visitor centers (shown in orange), and pivotal places (shown in green). These features can be selected on the map to reveal additional information. Also shown is a base map displaying state boundaries, cities, rivers, and highways. The map conveys how a significant area of the North American continent was traversed by the Lewis and Clark Expedition and indicates the many places where visitors can learn about their journey and experience the landscape through which they traveled.