We were wanting to explore and hike the Helena area after visiting downtown…read more Quick search of best things to see and do, and Spring Meadow Lake state park came up. I think it was overrated. Only a few miles from downtown, and I think it was $8 fee for daily use. We expected to be there for quite a while but quickly realized when we got there it was probably going to be an hour or less. We walked around the lake 2x and I took some pictures and it was probably about an hour. There definitely was not much to do or see. There is a lake and there was a paddleboard class, there are ducks and birds, and there were some people eating lunch. I would not say this is a hidden gem or a gem, but if you want a park in the area it serves that purpose. I was expecting more based on the glowing recommendation for a top thing to see and do in Helena.

Spring meadow State park is a gem within the City of Helena. I often go there to paddle board and…read moreswim. It's small enough to paddle board around the entire lake, but deep enough to swim. I love it!

Absolutely beautiful hike. Took me just under an hour and a half. The views were stunning and even…read moresaw some fun wildlife.

The prompt: "Amazing! What went well?"…read more Nothing. I'm trying to recount the amount of bad times in my life that I've had that could compare to this one, and I'm grasping at straws. First of all, I didn't park in the parking lot because I guess I'm stupid. I plugged the mountain into the GPS and it took me to the nearest trailhead (not the parking lot associated with it). GIS data am I right? It's brilliant, but not intuitive.... Typically engineer stuff. It's like having Spock as your right hand man. Anyway, I park by these beautiful houses, I take my beasts out to roam.. with the intent of throwing rocks into the, "H" that overlooks our town as a gesture of solidarity. Meanwhile, Jacksie (my little baby girl) she's hormonal because she's about to start... SHE DISAPPEARED. I guess you could say I got, gone girl'd. Me and Djinn submitted, and did our civic duty, and then we hoofed it looking for, Jacksnthebox. Didn't find her. Where is she? I got a text shortly thereafter saying, "hey is your white dog missing?". Yes. "She's at XYZ address, you should scoop her." Me and Djinnyrd Skynyrd went grab the original beast; got there, picked her up, and started looking for my car... which at this point I realized, I had lost. Finally found the car, and quickly learned that I had lost my keys during the hike. (Fell out of my pocket.). Happy 4th of July, Marcus. "May Zeus strike you with lightning, and your tears fall on the feet of Aphrodite." Anyway... a 2 day ordeal, 30 miles worth of walking, blisters on my feet, AAA, and a locksmith turned it out alright. Happy 4th, Holmes. :) ..but truly though... can your worst day be that bad with these views? It's so beautiful here.

Our family stayed here a while ago, in our trailer. It was our maiden voyage, and we needed to…read morefigure out how the trailer was, and what we might need for longer trips, etc.. First off Black Sandy is a great location, we had a spot literally right on the water in front of the ropes swimming area, and my girls had a blast swimming and enjoying themselves. We had a campfire and roasted marshmallows and enjoyed our time. We had power for our trailer, but I took one star off because there was no water or dump station. The main thing we figured out on this trip was that with two adults and three children, Water is a 100% must. We actually ran out of water in the evening late, and since we only lived a mile away, we drove home. Now we only go where there is full service of electricity, water, and a dump station. For anyone else, though, that doesn't have so many people, this is an ideal place to take a small vacation and we recommend it highly if you don't need a water connection.

Nice little spot to enjoy some time exploring. There is hiking, there is a lake, there are picnic…read moretables, and portable bathrooms. I think it was $8 or so for the daily use fee. The drive in on from the main road was 2-3 miles of bumpy dirt road, but not too bad at all. Easily made it in with a kia sedan rental car. We saw a deer on the side of the road on the entry into the park and we also saw a deer across from our picnic table. Definitely some wildlife in the area. We spent about an hour there relaxing and sight seeing and then it was off to some other nearby spots.

Found a poor quality sapphire two carats and pepper corn sized sapphires of poor quality as well…read more Im not impressed at all. Not gem quality Sapphires! Industrial grade sanding sapphires! The experience was rather abrasive.

Didn't find much-- about 3 tiny gems, but it was fun. The staff were helpful and made us feel…read morewelcome.

Beautiful park with a pool,amphitheater,playground,armed forces memorial and lots of parking. The…read moregrounds are well kept it's a great place to hang out with the family for a day or listen to a concert. Lots of shade too

This small park along the Last Chance Gulch shopping district is a neat spot to rest for a bit,…read moretake in the scenery and maybe play a game of chess or checkers on one of the tables. There is some good shade here and a number of benches. A large posting board features the latest upcoming events and some advertising for various personal services like tutoring.

Had the most epic day on the upper Missouri at Land of the Giants, Gates of the Mountains, with…read moreIkaika Flagg of Atlas Outfitting and Lee Coyle. The river did not disappoint! Pulled in some beautiful rainbows finishing strong on the lake at the end of the day! ikaika and his guides determination and persistence and professional yet relaxed attitudes made for the most enjoyable day for a not so experienced fly fisherman or woman! Will continue to book my annual trips with Ikaika Flagg and Atlas Outfitting for our annual fishing experiences for many years to come! Heather Byrne

It was really fun! Lazy river was great. Wish there was more shelter to keep from the sun. They…read morealso only had one waterslides running but it was alright. The big pool was fun. Staff was nice when paying. Food was great! So overall a great experience. Would come back!

We visited last chance splash water park the first time two days before it closed this season, and…read morewe were quite impressed! It was fun! Me, my wife, and our girls, 9, 7, and 5 years old, had a great time on the slides, and also on the diving board. We wish the second board would have been open, but at least one was, and it was very fun to bounce off and dive deep. The green water slide, everyone said it hurt your back, but I barely felt any discomfort, and I went on it between 20-25 times. It was great because you have to be quite tall so there was no line, and you go FAST! The blue waterside was the one all the kids could go on but it was much slower and wound around. It's still fun but much less interesting than the faster one. It took 5-10 minutes to get through the line too. As for the locker rooms, they were spacious and clean enough. The refreshments stand was out of most everything, as this was the next to last day of the year, and of course they don't want to get stuck with a bunch of food, but the food that was there and the listings looked like it was a pretty good selection and reasonable prices as well. Our family of 5 could go there for $18.50, and we spent nearly 4 hours swimming. It's a good value at that rate. They need to add more chairs in some of the emptier areas though, as there wasn't much room left to sit. We will come again next year!