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Suggest a Feature →Great Falls, Montana
Big Sky country. ICBM fields, the Missouri River, and genuine Western Montana.
Malmstrom AFB sits on the eastern edge of Great Falls — a city of 60,000 wedged between the Rockies to the west and the Great Plains to the east. This is the geographic sweet spot of Montana: close enough to glacier country to feel the mountains, spread across enough prairie to feel the sky.
Malmstrom hosts the 341st Missile Wing, operating Minuteman III ICBMs across a huge swath of central Montana. The missile fields extend in every direction across ranching and wheat farming country.
Great Falls itself is a working Western city — not a tourist destination, not a resort town. It has real infrastructure, a solid arts scene anchored by the Lewis & Clark Interpretive Center, and access to some of the finest trout fishing in North America.
Must Eat
The spots worth eating at before you PCS out.
The Eddies Supper Club
"Classic Montana supper club. Steaks and cocktails since 1944."
Great Falls' most beloved dinner spot — a genuine supper club with prime rib, Montana beef, and the kind of old-school service that's mostly extinct elsewhere. Make reservations on weekends.
Mighty Mo Brewing
"Local craft beer named for the Missouri River. Excellent taproom."
Great Falls' flagship craft brewery with consistently good ales and lagers in a comfortable taproom. The Neon Cowboy amber is the local favorite. Food trucks park outside on weekends.
Sip n' Dip Lounge
"Mermaids swimming behind the bar. Not a joke. On GMA's list of best bars in America."
The Sip n' Dip is legitimately famous — a hotel pool bar where mermaids perform synchronized swimming behind the glass wall. Piano Pat has played here for decades. It's been on national TV and travel lists repeatedly. Go.
Piano Pat performs on weekends. Come for the mermaid show, stay for the most Montana bar experience you will ever have.
Outdoor
Get outside. The land around military installations is usually the best reason to be there.
Missouri River Fishing
"World-class tailwater trout fishing. In your backyard."
The Missouri River below Holter Dam, 60 miles south, is one of the premier dry-fly trout fisheries in North America. Giant wild rainbows and browns in clear blue-ribbon water. This alone makes a Malmstrom assignment worthwhile for anglers.
Pick up your Montana fishing license at Walmart the week you arrive. The Missouri trout fishing is genuinely world-class — don't wait to get started.
Glacier National Park
"Going-to-the-Sun Road. 140 miles west."
Glacier is one of the most spectacular national parks in the country — Going-to-the-Sun Road crosses the Continental Divide through alpine meadows and past glaciers. Get a vehicle reservation early for summer drives.
Going-to-the-Sun Road vehicle reservations are required in peak season (June-Sept). Book months in advance on recreation.gov.
Ski King Hill
"Local mountain. Good for learning, cheap lift tickets."
King Hill is a small but accessible local ski area in the Little Belt Mountains east of Great Falls. Not a destination mountain, but excellent for beginners and kids learning to ski without the price tag of a resort.
Culture & History
Places with stories. Most military towns sit on deep history — dig in.
Lewis & Clark National Historic Trail Interpretive Center
"The best Lewis & Clark museum on the trail. In Great Falls."
The USFS-operated interpretive center on the bluffs above the Missouri is surprisingly excellent — it tells the expedition's story with depth and nuance, focusing on the portage that shaped the journey. Free admission.
Family
Stuff to do with the kids. Rated by people who have brought actual children.
Paris Gibson Square Museum of Art
"Contemporary art in a beautiful Romanesque school building."
Great Falls' contemporary art museum in a stunning 1896 building is free and shows rotating regional and national exhibitions. The building alone is worth a visit.
Day Trips
When you need to remember there's a world outside the gate.
"Going-to-the-Sun Road and the Crown of the Continent."
Two to two-and-a-half hours west, Glacier is achievable as a long day trip in summer or a weekend stay at Many Glacier or Lake McDonald Lodge. Book lodging a full year in advance.
"One of the largest roadless wilderness areas in the lower 48."
The Bob Marshall Wilderness complex — the "Bob" — is accessible via several trailheads west of Great Falls. No roads, no motorized vehicles, and grizzly country. Pack accordingly.
"Montana's small but charming state capital."
Helena has excellent restaurants, the Montana Historical Society Museum, an intact Victorian Last Chance Gulch pedestrian mall, and a lively arts scene. Good for a day or dinner-and-hotel overnight.
The Sip n' Dip Lounge is not optional. It has been on national television. Go on a weekend when Piano Pat is playing.
Missouri River trout fishing below Holter Dam is genuinely world-class. Even casual anglers should try it once.
Glacier vehicle reservations sell out months in advance. Book in March for a summer trip on recreation.gov.
The wind in Great Falls is persistent. This is well-known locally — the city is in a wind corridor.
Big Spring Creek in Lewistown (100 miles east) is another excellent trout fishery when you're ready to explore.
Great Falls is a real, functional city but it's not a destination. Helena and Missoula are better for restaurants and nightlife, and you'll find yourself making those drives regularly. The outdoor access — Glacier, the Missouri, the Bob Marshall — is exceptional, and that's the assignment's real selling point. If you don't like the outdoors, this tour will be long.
This guide is built by people who've been stationed here. If there's a spot we got wrong or a gem we missed, tell us.