Strumming, Running and Sunning: Corps of Discovery Trip - Day 14

REST DAY & SOME MORE HIKING, TOO

After breakfast in nearby Anaconda, we visited the Anaconda Stack State Park. Back in February of 2025, we saw the stack towering over the frozen landscape of Montana as we drove west on I-90.

When I learned there was a state park dedicated to the stack, I put it on our to-do list for this trip. For such a large structure (it is taller than the Washington Monument), it has the world’s smallest state park. There is a parking lot with room for maybe 10 cars and a viewing platform area of a quarter acre. To be fair, the site of the stack is so polluted with the residue of chemicals related to many years of copper smelting, that the park is more than a mile from the stack. For anyone interested in learning more about this roadside curiosity, the internet can help expand your horizons. For now, here are some photos.

After being in the car all day yesterday, Karen said that a little walk would be a good way to stretch our legs. She did some research and found a trailhead to a small waterfall nearby. Still giddy from all we’d just learned about the copper smelting process, we jumped into the car.

We drove on some county roads up into the surrounding hills past cattle ranches and small herds of horses.

Soon, the road narrowed and eventually became unpaved as we gained elevation into a canyon lined with very tall rocky cliffs rising nearly 3000’ on either side. Cottonwood trees, aspen trees, and pine trees provided a canopy as we made our way. The last part of the road followed Lost Creek.

We spoke to a state park ranger, who said it was a short walk of about one mile to the falls from the parking area. He did say there was some uphill walking, but nothing serious.

For us flat landers, the 6000’ elevation of the trailhead was something we noticed as soon as we walked uphill. The trail was well marked and it, too, followed the cool waters of Lost Creek through the forest.