Gates of the Mountains

Gates of the Mountains is a limestone canyon on the Missouri River about 20 miles north of Helena, where cliffs rise up to about 1,200 feet straight out of the water. Meriwether Lewis passed through on 19 July 1805 and wrote that "this evening we entered much the most remarkable clifts that we have yet seen". He called the place the gates of the Rocky Mountains, because the walls seem to close in front of a boat and then open as it rounds each bend. Holter Dam, completed in 1918, raised the river here by about 14 feet, and the stretch is now part of Upper Holter Lake. The land to the east is the 28,562-acre Gates of the Mountains Wilderness, designated in 1964 and managed by the Helena National Forest.

Most visitors see the canyon from the Gates of the Mountains boat tour, which leaves from a marina at the end of Gates of the Mountains Road. The open, covered boats have toilets on board, and the cruise lasts about 120 minutes, roughly an hour out and an hour back. The pilot narrates and slows near shore to point out Native American pictographs on the rock. Wildlife you may see includes bighorn sheep, mountain goats, bald eagles, ospreys and falcons; the operator says more than 120 bird species use the area.

Boats stop briefly at the Meriwether picnic area, where passengers can step off, use the trail and catch a later boat back. From here the Meriwether Canyon trail climbs towards the wilderness interior. The picnic area also has a memorial to the 13 smokejumpers killed in the Mann Gulch fire on 5 August 1949, the subject of Norman Maclean's Young Men and Fire; Mann Gulch is a short way downstream. Trail conditions towards Mann Gulch have been reported differently in recent years, so check with the Helena Ranger District before planning a hike there.

The boats run in summer only. The 2026 season has ended, and tickets for 2027 go on sale on 1 January 2027 through the operator's website. Fares and departure times were not published at the time of writing. Summer trips can sell out, so book ahead. Bring a jacket even in July, because the canyon can be cool and windy on the water.