Great Destinations: Underground Caverns
Lewis and Clark Caverns open on limited basis

The Corps of Discovery travelled within today's park boundaries but explorers Meriwether Lewis and William Clark and members of the expedition never set foot in the actual caverns. President Theodore Roosevelt used the name Lewis & Clark when he made the caverns a National Monument on the same day the Grand Canyon received this honor. Roosevelt named the site Lewis and Clark Cavern National Monument--recognizing the fact that it had been over 100 years since the famed Lewis & Clark Corps of Discovery expedition and nothing in the federal system had yet been named for them. The Grand Canyon went on to become a National Park while Lewis & Clark Caverns became Montana's first state park. In 2018, the park was listed in the National Register of Historic Places.
GETTING THERE
PROTECT OUR BATS
YOU CAN HELP conserve the bat population at Lewis & Clark Caverns State Park. White nose syndrome is a fungal disease, well established in the eastern portion of North America and recently found in the west. It does not affect humans, but has proven lethal to bats. If you have been to a cave or mine in the past two years, do not wear the same clothing, shoes or accessories as you wore there on our caverns tour. If it cannot be avoided (for example, eye glasses or shoes) please contact park staff the day of your visit in order to obtain a disinfecting wipe.
- From the exit 274 on I-90, we are 13 miles south on Highway 287 and 5 miles west on MT 2.
- From the Cardwell exit 256 on I-90 we are 7 miles east along MT 2.
Leave a comment