Lewis and Clark Cavern State Park - Whitehall, MT
N 45° 49.428 W 111° 51.332
12T E 433544 N 5074826
Lewis and Clark Cavern State Park is billed as "Montana's first and best-known state park showcases one of the most highly decorated limestone caverns in the Northwest." by the State Parks website.
Waymark Code: WM9Z2N
Location: Montana, United States
Date Posted: 10/19/2010
Views: 8
Located 19 miles west of Three Forks on Montana Hwy #2, this 3,000 acre State Park boasts one of the most "highly decorated" limestone caverns in the Northwest.
The cave maintains a constant temperature and is home to facinating stalactites, stalagmites, columns, and helicitites which can be viewed on a guided 2 our hike (about 2 miles of walking thru the caverns). Cave tours are possible due to the work done to make the cave system accessible to visitors by the Civilian Conservation Corps.
Park visitors will also enjoy the outdoor hiking trails, a new visitor center, an amphitheater, many picnic areas, a large campground, showers, RV dump facilities, and rental units (choose from tipis or cabins)
The cavern was first discovered by Dan A. Morrison in 1892 and became named the "Lewis and Clark Cavern National Monument" on May 11, 1908. It was not fully surveyed until May 16, 1911 when President Taft and declared it a park, and it measured 160 acres at that time.
The limestone cave was named after the explorers Meriwether Lewis and William Clark due to the cavern proximity to the 50 miles that the Lewis and Clark Expedition covered along the Jefferson River (it does not appear that Lewis and Clark ever knew the cavern existed)
It is located approximately 45 miles west of Bozeman, Montana.
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