About Giant Springs and the Roe River
Beside the Missouri River in Great Falls, clear water pours from the ground at Giant Springs in a volume that is hard to reconcile with its calm appearance. Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks says the spring produces more than 156 million gallons a day. The flow runs into the Roe River, a remarkably short watercourse once listed by Guinness as the world’s shortest river.
A walkway lets visitors see the spring, its vivid water, and the point where this miniature river reaches the Missouri. The setting is an easy urban stop, yet the contrast is memorable: one of the country’s largest freshwater springs feeding a river that barely has time to be a river.
The state park is open for day use year-round from sunrise to sunset. Montana residents who paid the state parks fee with vehicle registration have no daily entrance fee; nonresidents pay $8 per vehicle or $4 as a walk-in. Allow time to follow the water rather than just stopping for a photograph.