Last Chance Gulch

Last Chance Gulch is Helena's original main street. It follows the line of the gulch where four prospectors from Georgia, known as the Four Georgians, found gold on 14 July 1864. The camp that grew along the creek was named Helena on 30 October 1864. Most of the placer gold was taken out before 1868, but the money it made, and later fortunes from mining, ranching and banking, built the stone and brick commercial blocks that still line the street. By 1888 about 50 millionaires lived in Helena.

The best way to see the gulch is on foot. The southern part of the street is a pedestrian walking mall of about two blocks, completed in the early 1980s, with public art and a small artificial stream that recalls the creek that once ran on the surface. North of the mall, the street continues past more 19th-century buildings towards the cathedral district. Many upper storeys keep their original carved stone and brick detail, so look up as well as at the shop windows.

The 1970s were hard on downtown. Urban renewal and the Model Cities programme cleared many historic buildings before the walking mall was built, which is why some blocks feel modern. The 1935 Helena earthquake also destroyed buildings in the area, including part of Reeder's Alley, a lane of brick and stone miners' tenements built by Louis Reeder in the 1870s and 1880s, just west of the gulch's southern end. Reeder's Alley is managed by the Montana Heritage Commission and is a good starting point. On Tower Hill above downtown, the wooden fire lookout known as the Guardian of the Gulch is the city's official symbol.

In summer, Downtown Helena has run guided history walks from Reeder's Alley along the gulch on Thursday and Friday mornings, about a mile at an easy pace; the 2026 programme ran in July, so check the Downtown Helena calendar for future dates. Otherwise, allow an hour or two to walk the length of the street on your own.

The street is busiest on summer weekends and during events. Street parking is available around downtown. Combine the walk with the Cathedral of St. Helena, about half a mile up the hill, and the Montana Heritage Center, about a mile east.