This place was a lot of fun. Carousel rides are $2 each. The animals are all ones that can be found in the Montana area currently or previously. There are also small rings that you can grab while going around and then toss them into a giant clown cutout with a couple of nets attached. It was fun! The ice cream was good. Nothing really special about it, but good. read more

Disappointing, we were traveling through Helena and saw this as a great opportunity for our grandson to have some fun. Showed up at 11am and place was closed... Waited til 11:15 still not open. Called and only got an answer machine. Ended up going to the exploration kids museum next door which was a lot of fun... when we cam out around 12:15 Carousel still not open. We did speak to several families that were also dismayed at this as well... well I hope they survive as a business because it looked like it could have been fun but we will never know. read more

Great Northern Carousel - A closed Carousel that was supposed to be open... sad - Carousels Near Me - Helena, Montana

I love going the carousel and it had an ice cream shop right next to carousel. Great way to enjoy with family.

We always enjoy the carousel ! The icecream portions are generous for the price. The drinks not so much. The animals are varied & each is it's own piece of art. read more

Great Northern Carousel - First time catching the brass ring. - Carousels Near Me - Helena, Montana

Wow. This new and improved carousel is anything but. First off, I don't appreciate the annoying high school girls behind the counter staring me down and talking shit. Not ok. Also, safety is obviously not a priority. Y'all don't check seatbelts, leave gates open, and don't monitor the ride at all. I'm disappointed. Please get rid of the rude staff members and the place might be better. Shannon out. UPDATE: This place is constantly closed for no reason. If you want to be closed all the time your hours should reflect that. And saying "sorry for any inconvenience" doesn't mean squat. My grandkids want to ride the ponies!!! Makes me think the management will never get better. read more

I visited the carousel with a friend and her young daughter. When we got to the ride entrance, the girl working the entrance seemed as if she couldn't be bothered to do her job. My friend has a year long pass for her daughter and informed the girl she was on the list (which the employee either was unaware of or just didn't want to check). Upon making it onto the ride, it was evident after the first go round; the employee didn't bother to load the ring chute, and I had to yell to her in passing that it was empty. I watched her pick a handful of rings out and finally load them, except for the brass ring apparently, as I grabbed the final ring. Before our second ride I asked the employee if the ring chute was properly loaded; including the brass ring. She looked stunned by my inquiry; to which she responded (in a tone that made it clear she didn't want to do her job and load the ring chute) "it takes a while to load". Hearing this I informed her "it's ok we'll wait" I just wanted to enjoy the carousel with my friend today and catch some rings...not attitude from a bored employee with no sense of customer service. ‍‍ read more

Just a quick shout out to a "grandchildren friendly" establishment. We had a fun time.

It baffles me that anyone could give this place a poor review. The kids love it here (and so do i). The ice cream is delicious, it is Wilcoxens and very generous servings. The carousel had so many different animals to ride and is very intricately detailed. We always have fun here! read more

Great Northern Carousel - Carousels Near Me - Helena, Montana

We had a great couple hours (our family was only fam there most of the time) until one staff member came to work (about 5pm today - so Owner can have more info) on a mission to make this a not so fun experience. She told my grown husband to stand back, not to grab the rings for our 3 yo daughter and was overall impolite. I would have written 5 stars prior to this as the staff before her were great; they were honest (they made a slight mistake), handed rings to both kids before the got on, were smiley and happy. Just not a great way to end the fun times we had here so we left with a sour taste in our mouths and prob won't be returning. Such a shame. read more

Yes we went back. Just a waste of time anymore to go here. Seems like they are changing the rules and the raising the prices every time we go back. I was actually told that I would have to pay for myself as well as my 1 1/2 year old to ride their carousel. I'm done! The customer service is the worst. I have had bad service from a few people here, is it the management??? read more

While the children do have fun, the ice cream is average, and the customer service is horrid. They do give generous servings of ice cream. However it lost it's appeal for me when the cashier directed glares and disgust at the children screaming and having fun on the carousel. The carousel itself has beautiful designs on the animals. All around fun, just needs some adjustments. read more

Great Northern Carousel - The ride! - Carousels Near Me - Helena, Montana

Well, maybe for children this place would be alright. We were in town and decided to stop by what everyone was saying we should take a look at. I just don't see what is so great about this place. Just like any carousel I guess. The I've cream was decent but nothing special. Flavors are artificial. I think I prefer most store bought ice cream read more

I'm updating my review to five stars due to a recent experience we had. My kids really love this place - it's clean and fun and a great way to spend some time in our small town. My youngest especially loves this place and wanted to go there for her birthday (not a party but just to celebrate as a family.) We had her birthday dinner and lost track of the time and ended up walking in just 45 minutes before they closed. The place was completely empty. All three staff members were actively cleaning (one was even cleaning underneath the booths!) but despite our late arrival they greeted us all with a big smile and a great attitude. They were kind enough to fill the ring chute even so my 9 year old could play as she rode. And when we sung happy birthday to my four year old one of the staff came over, said happy birthday with a big smile and gave us a free ride coupon. Given our late arrival and the fact that no one else was there the staff could have been really annoyed. But they were far from it, they were helpful and kind and really gracious. My husband and I were blown away. : ) read more

I took my 18 month old grandson to ride the carousel and it was an amazing experience! We both loved the updated, bright colors and the excitement of the fabulous animals. We are so happy the carousel is open again so we can enjoy great rides and great ice cream again and again. This must be the most beautiful carousel ever. read more

Carousel operator is on a power trip, it's appear toy safer for me to hold my 18 month old daughter while she is crying struggling in my arms to sit on a horse than it is for me to hold her on the horse without a belt on. Definitely our last trip here - sad for the kiddos but it's not worth the cost with clueless teenage employees. read more

I love the Great Northern Carousel! The amazing homemade ice cream is to die for, and the hand-carved animals are so beautiful! Anytime I have a visitor in town, I make sure to take them here! Fun for all ages. read more

I wouldn't recommend the carousel as a place to rent for a party or event. We were told we had to get our pizza through the carousel with our party package. They ordered Dominos. If we had known that was all they did, we could have saved money and gotten Little Ceaser's as a bunch of eight year olds don't care where their pizza came from. Also, we were told when we reserved that the stamp on the children's hands got them unlimited rides. That is not the case. Regardless, at the end while we were cleaning, there were approximately three seven year olds (parent supervised) still wanting to ride. The staff came out and told them to stop since the party was over. This was completely tactless and could have been handled differently. The ice cream was nice. That was it. How many rides do they expect the children to get in when it took their staff fifteen minutes to load and unload every ride. Not to mention that staff that works there (most of them), tend to appear bored and annoyed with their jobs and they spend a lot of time socializing with each other, texting or on the cellphones, and standing there with a blah face waiting for parents to get their kids off the ride. Super engaging. Not. The carousel is fine to bring your child on a random day but for an event or party, I would go elsewhere to get your money's worth. read more