I was really struggling with how many stars to give a place which is basically a viewing point for a pool of toxic water. I decided to just rate my experience here and I must say it was a good one. In all honesty, I've never heard of the place until today. I have lived in Montana for 14 years now but for some reason or another, this place never crossed my radar. While taking a road trip to explore Butte today, my husband insisted we stop here. After a quick Google search on my phone, I saw we were only about a mile away but had less than 20 minutes before it closed (4pm on a Sunday). The younger man at the desk inside was very helpful and told us we didn't need to rush and could take our time. It was $10 for my husband, myself, and our two kids to enter. After paying, you walk through a short tunnel to the viewing area. Unfortunately the wind was insane today so we did end up rushing, but it was still a very unique experience and I am glad we decided to go. The color of the water is deceiving. You wouldn't guess it is full of toxic chemicals. The Berkeley Pit used to be an open pit copper mine. It has a depth of over 1,600 feet and is filled with over 900 feet of water. It is said to have the acidity of Coca Cola or lemon juice. The pit is filled with a combination of various chemicals, which help give it that greenish-blue color. It was interesting to stand there and imagine how it looked years ago. My kids really enjoyed reading about the history of the pit. We do plan on making another trip back there when the weather is better so we can fully fake advantage of that piece of Butte's history. I would definitely recommend! read more

See all

A must see if your in Butte it's only $3 to walk the tunnel and look at the pit the pit water doesn't look that wide but look at the building on the others side it looks miniature. There's also a gift shop and restrooms. A must stop read more

The Berkeley Pit Visitor Center - Entrance - Visitor Centers Near Me - Butte, Montana

How many stars should I give to a toxic stew? Five? One? How does one rate an iconic environmental disaster? Closed on Earth Day in 1982, this open pit mine's water pumps were turned off and an acidic soup slowly formed. I have to admit that the resulting green water against the backdrop of the surrounding stone is a quite beautiful but it's a literal death trap. Devices called phoenix wailers emit sounds to prevent birds from stopping here. However, a startling event occurred in late 2016. During a snowstorm, 10,000 geese descended upon the water: 3,000 to 4,000 died due to the acid and heavy metals in the water because they lingered too long. A similar but much smaller event occurred in 1995. We should all be alarmed by Berkeley Pit. Am I being extreme? Well, as late as last week, the final beginnings of water treatment, after all these years, may have to wait yet another month. Environmental protections have taken a back seat in the last few years and the shocking relaxation of water safety regulations should scare everyone. Butte still has active mines and the relationship between the community and mining is very old and very complex. Visit Berkeley Pit but, unfortunately, don't assume that this and other disasters can't happen again in the future. read more

See all

The first time I came to Butte was way back in 1984...the pit had been abandoned with no water. Over the years I have returned to Butte but never been back to the pit. Wow, today it was spectacular! They clouds. Blue sky and emerald green waters made it a breath taking sight. So much history in one small town. I highly recommend a quick $2 visit to the pit. read more

See all

A pretty amazing site to see and read about. Even though it is #1 one the EPA list for clean ups. It is absolutely amazing that a company would do what they did at this site. It should get two Stars for its EPA record read more

See all

Listening to dynamite going off is always exciting. Stayed for quite a while with my geology major daughter and learned all about mining. $6 for three to go to the observation platform and well worth it. Lots of information. Gift shop typical and overpriced, copper turns my skin green so passed. read more

The Berkeley Pit Visitor Center - Visitor Centers Near Me - Butte, Montana

See all

Well worth the $3 entry fee. I first read about the Berkeley Pit in 2010 in a novel set in Montana and have wanted to come visit ever since, because I relish in the idea of visiting sites that have some affiliation with manmade or natural disaster, because I'm weird like that and it's interesting history. To this native east coasterner (NB: flatlander, these days) Butte is kind of an exotic town in terms of its topography and the fact that the pit was essentially right downtown was pretty surprising to me. It is also really wild how deep the pit is. Though I am curious to know what bizarre Black Mirror episode we are living in that we pay money to take in the view of what is essentially one of the largest toxic waste sites in the world. I am subtracting a star for how the narrative is a little bit sanitized-- it's like, this was a pretty big deal, ain't y'all remember all them birds that died, and we're just sort of like, "hey, here's this big monument to mining history." read more

Such an interesting place to visit with the kids. The tour is self guided (tour is 100 steps through a tunnel carved out of a hillside leading to a platform with educational plaques overlooking the water filled Berkeley Pit) You Can hear the blasts and sirens going off from the working mine while overlooking an the HUGE water pit. Barb, who was working the front counter in the gift shop was a breath of fresh air, she was fun, and complimentary, and made our visit oh so enjoyable. She sent all our kids away with copper rings as a souvenir. read more

Can you imagine if this body of water wasn't an acidic, toxic superfund site. It would be developed into a water sports playground and park. Back to reality, it is a scenic forbidden zone ( sorry Planet of the Apes) that is being carefully managed to contain it from spreading toxins into the city of Butte. Definitely worth seeing, the admission cost is low, and at times you can hear the alarms that warn upcoming blasting that the active mining requires. Trees can be seen anywhere, but do you have anything like this near your home? Probably not, so come by and see it for yourself. read more

When I was a child, the Berkeley Pit was in full swing. My parents would tell us to get in the car and we got to go to keep the furniture intact. (Maybe we acted a little rotten so we could visit, maybe). I recall climbing up the rail and bending down into the mile deep, marvelous, mind blowing hole filled with dozens of gigantic dump trucks, with tires so large the driver needs a ten foot ladder to get into the cab, driving on levels cut into the sides of the pit with dynamite. I also got to see explosions which were very satisfying for that five year old girl. I only hated the dark tunnel that was the only access point to the parking lot and back. It was there that my stupidfaced brothers would sneak up and pinch me. Now, with the great addition of Berkeley Pit Visitors Center; I am so pleased to see the area of the Berkeley Pit has been cared for by individuals who created a clean inviting visitors area. They are knowledgeable and answered my questions with intelligent replies. Access to the Pit through a tunnel feels so very safe with all the lights running down the ceiling. read more

NOT OPEN!!!!! Such. Disappointment as we were really excited to see it in person. No where online did it say it was closed. It has been closed since November 2019. But if you in a camper and need a place to stop for lunch, there are covered picnic areas. Just no view. read more

A TALE OF TWO MONTANAS: FROM GLACIER TO BUTTE It was pretty eye-opening to go from the majestic, pristine, awe-inspiring, glorious, (insert adjective here) nature of Glacier National Park to the polluted, disgusting, depressing, barren, abused, raped landscape of Butte in less than 24 hours. I'm also in disbelief that people will pay to stand above a giant pit of toxic waste so they can soak up and breathe in all those toxic fumes. Mmm...smells like cancer. I am far from a hippie, crunchy granola environmentalist. Yet even I was struck by the scale of the destruction that the copper mining industry has caused here and appreciative of the need for conservation. People who complain about government getting in the way of business should take a dip in that pit and see what happens when you let businesses exercise their will without any controls or regulations. read more

The Berkeley Pit Mine is indeed something to see while you are in Butte. The entrance fee to the visitor center is inexpensive yet I would hardly call this attraction in town a cheap thrill. You can really see how huge the mining pit is and how much of the earth is still being mined below. While it is interesting to see I would not call it beautiful. It is a very good example of mankind's insatiable appetite for profit, greed and the consequences of being a 'developed' country. read more

Where else, but America, can you pay a dollar and view a toxic pit? I don't know, but 'MERIKA! FUCK YEAH! Also, the tunnel you walk down to get to the viewing platform is reminiscent of the Death Star, which is pretty cool in my book. read more

The pit itself deserves one star. It is a rather sad situation, but having have grown up in Butte the Berkeley pit was always a huge talking points for visitors. It inspires greater discussion about mining and has peaked interest from scientist around the world so I believe importance of this pit deserves five stars as far as lessons go. As a former local I'm not necessarily happy there is a small fee, but I absolutely agree that it is necessary to fund research. read more

A little hard to find. The original location on yelp was off but just keep heading north and look for the train car. I paid my $2 for a sweet self guided tour of the pit. Cute girl in the visitor center always helps read more

Gorgeous view--fully worth the $2 admission price. Lovely narration giving a sense of history of the pit. read more

The Berkeley Pit Visitor Center - Visitor Centers Near Me - Butte, Montana

See all

The only Super Fund cleanup site that is also a tourist attraction. Very worth a visit. There are some fine pieces in the small gift shop, the cost to go to the viewing platform is a modest $2 per person. Imagine walking through 100 yards of tunnel drilled through a mountain...and then emerging onto a platform hanging off the side of the mountain.The pit is the remains of a gigantic open pit mining operation. It's filled with water that is totally toxic. There is an automatic narrative as well as descriptive signs. Medium size parking lot. read more

Its always good to get some perspective. One look at the devastated landscape of this area will give you mixed feelings about the copper industry. Fun fact, the water is so saturated with copper a local company forces it out of solution by dumping scrap iron into it. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Berkeley_Pit Free on the off-season read more

honestly disappointed. thought this was supposed to be a red hole. but for the price you can let the disappointment subside and stare into the abyss that is a lake filled with nothing who knows the history really i guess it is gonna just be one of those 7 mysterios of earth everyone talks about. nice bathrooms. read more

The Berkeley Pit Visitor Center - Visitor Centers Near Me - Butte, Montana

See all

Butte, Montana: The Berkeley Pit was in operation from 1955 -- when several underground mines were combined to create it -- until 1982. Over that time, it swallowed several historic Butte neighborhoods. The Berkeley Pit, was the largest truck-operated open pit copper mine in the USA until mining ceased in 1982. The pit is 7000 feet long, 5,600 feet wide and more than 1,800 feet deep. In 1982, ARCO shut down operations and turned off the underground pumps that had previously dewatered the mines beneath the Butte Hill, leading to the Pit lake we see today. Over the active lifespan of the mine approximately 320 million tons of ore and over 700 million tons of waste rock were mined from the Pit. In other words, it produced enough copper to pave a four-lane highway two inches thick from Chicago to New York, with enough left over to keep going to the tip of Long Island. An observation stand is open most of the year, except winter, during daylight hours. Coin operated telescopes are available to look more closely. read more

The Berkeley Pit Visitor Center - Visitor Centers Near Me - Butte, Montana

This is a MUST SEE on anyone's list!! The people there are great and informative. You can see that they genuinely care about sharing the knowledge they have with the guests that come in. The Gift Shop is now carrying "Copper Miner's Crosses" which are made with local copper by a local gentleman who got his inspiration from his grandfather working these exact same mines! A great keepsake that comes with a poem/prayer card that is as beautiful as the cross itself and describes the hard conditions the local miners endured and what their family went through daily. To top it all off the card has a photo taken by the local jewelry artist that you will keep forever! It comes in a necklace (I hang mine from my rearview mirror) (my wife hasn't removed her's from her neck since we bought it) and a pretty keychain too! read more

Well, there's no better place to view the pit and actually learn something. I'd say it's worth paying the $2 entry fee to hang out on the viewing stand. I was impressed with some of the items in the gift shop. Butte might be tagged as "The Richest Hill on Earth" but it appears to be a sad little city, so why not support the economy? read more

The Berkeley Pit is a former open-pit copper mine that happens to be one of the largest Superfund sites. The pit which resembles a large lake is deceivingly calm and pretty. An admission fee of $2 is charged to view the lake on a viewing platform along the side of the pit. read more