Entry No. 19 — the Butte file — filed under: haunted

Berkeley Pit Viewing Stand

You walk through a short dim tunnel and emerge on a platform staring down into a flooded open-pit copper mine roughly a mile long, now a 900-foot-deep lake of acidic, metal-laden water tinted a strange rust-and-teal. It sits within the largest contiguous Superfund site in the country, and the water is lethal enough that in 2016 thousands of migrating snow geese died after landing on it. A recorded narration and interpretive panels explain the mine's history while you take in the eerie scale of the toxic lake.

The move: Pay the few-dollar admission, walk the tunnel out to the platform together at golden hour, and watch the bird-hazing boats and noise cannons work to keep waterfowl off the deadly lake.

📍 Before you go Viewing stand is seasonal, roughly mid-May through mid-September, daily ~10am-5pm; small admission fee. The water is dangerous; stay on the platform.

• 📍 Butte (Uptown / East side)
• 💸 Free
• ⚡ Up for anything
• 🌗 Outdoors

Where: 300 Continental Dr, Butte, MT 59701

Hours: Added 2026-06-24 — confirm current hours before you go.

⚠ Seasonal or scheduled — always check before you go.

Plan a visit & invite your people →

Proof: source 1 · source 2 · source 3 · source 4

last checked: 2026-06-24