Western Montana

Last weekend I found myself spending time with my mother in Helena. Wondering what to do, the two of us decided to try the boat tour up the Missouri River at Gates of the Mountains. The tour takes you down the Missouri River from Holter Lake through the “Gates of the Mountains” - first explored by Lewis and Clark in 1805 and named as such due to the fact that the mountains and cliffs that rise above the edges of the Missouri look like gates from afar. As you ride down the Missouri, your tour guide on the boat fills the experience with various tidbits and stories that we both found incredibly interesting. For example, our tour guide told us about various forest fires that have plagued the area over the years and the firefighters who have perished fighting them. We also heard about the various Native American etchings into the cliffs along the river. As somewhat of a history buff myself, I really enjoyed this.

About an hour into the tour, the boat stops at the Meriwether picnic area for a break. I was pretty surprised by this as I never realized such a picnic area even existed, but it really is a beautiful location for a picnic. In fact, staying for an hour or two for a picnic while you wait for a later tour boat to pick you up is also an option. Otherwise, you’ll have fifteen or so minutes there. In any case, you’ll definitely want to get off the boat and stretch by this point in the tour; the seats on the boat you’ll be riding are fairly comfortable, but not extraordinarily so. The ride back from Meriwether is a bit quicker than the ride there, giving the entire tour a length of just under two hours.

Getting there from Helena or even Great Falls is extremely easy. Take Interstate 15 and take the Gates of the Mountains exit about 15 miles north of Helena. Once you’ve gotten off the interstate, follow a somewhat windy but paved road to Upper Holter Lake for two or three miles. Tickets are sold and the boat takes off from here. Oh, and one more thing - dress appropriately! The tour is only operational from June through September but the boat can often be colder than expected due to the water and associated breeze. That said, it’s a great way to cool down during a hot summer’s day! I couldn’t possibly recommend the Gates of the Mountain tour more.