www.DistinctlyMontana.com
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the five spectacular falls, along with pedestrian access to the Lew-
is & Clark Interpretive Center. The trail even meanders through
Giant Springs State Park—Montana's most beloved state park, if
you go by visitation numbers. Giant Springs is home to one of the
world's biggest freshwater springs, along with the world's short-
est river per the Guinness Book of World Records.
A large section of trail occupies a former section of the Great
Northern Railway, which merged in 1970 with three other rail-
roads to form the Burlington North-
ern Railroad. The line that became
the River's Edge Trail had fallen into
disuse when Burlington Northern
pulled up the tracks in 1991 and split
the easement rights with the city and
the River's Edge Trail Foundation, a
local nonprofit which aimed to build
an urban trail that gave all residents
easy access to the outdoors.
The Foundation partnered with
the city and Montana State Parks to
maintain and develop the trail, and
the trail continues to grow thanks
to several ongoing projects. Today,
the River's Edge Trail is home to 18
vibrant murals, a free-to-use tele-
scope, a 2,500-year-old archaeolog-
ical site, and several historic sites associated with Great Falls'
industrial past. The ruins of the Montana Smelter's smokestack
are visible from the trail, as are the retaining walls of the old An-
aconda Copper Mining Company complex that processed ore
from Butte for 100 years.
The trail within city limits and along much of the river is
paved, while some trail segments further upstream have more
RAils
TRAils
by LINDSAY TRAN
to
GREAT FALLS
PHOTO COURTESY OF ENJOYLEWISTOWN.COM
PHOTO COURTESY OF GREAT FALLS PARKS AND REC
