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Trip from Great Falls, MT to Cascade, MT

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Compiled and reviewed by the US Trip Planner planning team at COD Solutions Oy · Last reviewed Jul 19, 2026 · Editorial standards

Drive Time

28m

Distance

26 mi

42 km

Drive Score

6/10

Good drive

Same Day?

Yes, doable

Fuel Cost

$4

one way

EV Charging

Good

8 stations

Best Time to Leave

Save up to 8 min
4 AM
0h 26m ★
6 AM
0h 29m
8 AM
0h 34m
10 AM
0h 31m
12 PM
0h 30m
3 PM
0h 31m
5 PM
0h 33m
8 PM
0h 27m

Estimated drive times based on typical traffic patterns. Actual times may vary with weather, construction, and real-time conditions.

Best Time
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city in and county seat of Cascade County, Montana, United States

Great Falls, MT

Wikimedia Commons

Downtown Cascade, MT, MT

Cascade, MT

JOHN CALLERY

Trip Overview

This quick 26-mile journey from Great Falls, MT, to Cascade, MT, will take you about 28 minutes to complete. Primarily using roads like First Special Service Force Memorial Highway and 10th Avenue South, this is a very short drive, perfect for a single day trip. With a modest fuel cost of around $4, you won't need to budget much for gas. The route stays within the Mountain West region, offering a straightforward travel experience. Given its brevity, you can easily fit this drive into a larger itinerary or enjoy it as a standalone excursion.

Main Roads

Road Distance Duration
First Special Service Force Memorial Highway 21.8 mi 20m
Country Club Boulevard 1.3 mi 2m
10th Avenue South 0.7 mi 1m
I 15 BUS 0.7 mi 1m
1st Street Northwest 0.4 mi <1m
5th Street South 0.4 mi <1m
Saint Peter's Mission Road 0.3 mi <1m
5th Avenue South <0.1 mi <1m
Longest stretch: First Special Service Force Memorial Highway — 21.8 mi, about 20m

Turn-by-Turn Driving Directions

Step-by-step road directions between Great Falls, MT and Cascade, MT.

1

Start on 4th Street South

162 ft · 12 sec · 4th Street South
2

Turn left onto 5th Avenue South

427 ft · 20 sec · 5th Avenue South
3

Turn right onto I 15 Business

0.4 mi · 37 sec · 5th Street South
4

Turn right onto I 15 Business; US 89; MT 3; MT 200

0.7 mi · 1 min · 10th Avenue South
5

Continue on I 15 Business; US 89; MT 3; MT 200

1.3 mi · 2 min · Country Club Boulevard
6

Keep slight left at fork onto I 15 BUS

0.7 mi · 1 min · I 15 BUS
7

Merge onto I 15

22 mi · 20 min · First Special Service Force Memorial Highway
8

Take the exit

0.3 mi · 40 sec
Exit 256 Toward MT 68: Cascade
9

Turn left onto MT 68

0.3 mi · 29 sec · Saint Peter's Mission Road
10

Continue on MT 68

0.4 mi · 44 sec · 1st Street Northwest
11

Arrive at destination

MT 68

Heads-up: tricky spots

5 of 7

5 decision points cluster between mile 0 and 25 — GPS handles the exact turns, but know they're coming. Your lane choice matters more than the turn itself.

5
0 mi into trip | ~0m in | 5th Avenue South

Turn left onto 5th Avenue South

Navigation decision point

4
0.1 mi into trip | ~0m in | I 15 Business / 5th Street South

Turn right onto I 15 Business / 5th Street South

Navigation decision point

4
0.5 mi into trip | ~1m in | I 15 Business; US 89; MT 3; MT 200 / 10th Avenue South

Turn right onto I 15 Business; US 89; MT 3; MT 200 / 10th Avenue South

Navigation decision point

4
2.5 mi into trip | ~4m in | I 15 BUS

Keep slight left at fork onto I 15 BUS

Highway fork - watch signs carefully

5
25 mi into trip | ~26m in

Take the exit toward MT 68: Cascade

Exit ramp - move to the correct lane early

Exit 256 Toward MT 68: Cascade

Fuel & Cost

Regular Gas

$4.05 one way

$8.11 round trip

$3.96/gal 25.4 MPG avg 9 kg CO2
Fuel Type $/gal One Way Round Trip
midgrade $4.17 $4.27 $8.54
premium $4.47 $4.58 $9.16
diesel $4.80 $4.91 $9.82

No toll roads detected on this route.

Drive Cost (one way)

Fuel

$4

Estimated CO2 emission: 9.1 kg one way. Prices: EIA weekly data, 2026-07-13.

Driving Electric?

About $3 in charging · 0 stops · 67% less CO2

Vehicle Type kWh Stops DC Fast Home Charge
Average EV 7.8 0 $2.73 $1.25
Efficient EV 6.5 0 $2.28 $1.04
EV Truck/SUV 10.4 0 $3.64 $1.66

Gas CO2

9 kg

EV CO2

3 kg (67% less)

This trip is well within single-charge range for most EVs. No charging stops needed if you start fully charged.

DC fast charging avg $0.35/kWh. Home charging avg $0.16/kWh. US grid CO2: 0.39 kg/kWh.

Travel Intel

Current conditions at both ends of the drive.

Forecast as of Jul 3, 2026

Origin

Great Falls, MT

Morning in Great Falls on Sunday

Local time

8:45 AM

MDT

Current temp

82°F

Sunny

WSW 6 mph 1% chance Live forecast

Flash Flood Warning

Flash Flood Warning issued July 3 at 4:24PM MDT until July 3 at 7:30PM MDT by NWS Glasgow MT

Special Weather Statement

Special Weather Statement issued July 3 at 4:18PM MDT by NWS Billings MT

Destination

Cascade, MT

Morning in Cascade on Sunday

Local time

8:45 AM

MDT

Current temp

82°F

Sunny

W 10 mph 1% chance Live forecast

Flash Flood Warning

Flash Flood Warning issued July 3 at 4:24PM MDT until July 3 at 7:30PM MDT by NWS Glasgow MT

Special Weather Statement

Special Weather Statement issued July 3 at 4:18PM MDT by NWS Billings MT

Time zone

Same local time

Origin and destination are on the same clock, so arrival timing is easier to judge at a glance.

Temperature spread

Very similar conditions

Both ends of the route are sitting at about the same temperature right now.

Road read

28m on the road

The weather snapshot is not static. If you are leaving later, give both cities one more quick forecast check before departure.

Weather data from the National Weather Service. Conditions may change; check closer to your travel date.

What kind of drive is this?

Expect a turn-heavy local drive on this route, with only a 3% highway share. You'll navigate through Country Club Boulevard and 10th Avenue South before settling onto the First Special Service Force Memorial Highway for the longest stretch of 21.8 miles. The road's personality is more about navigating local thoroughfares than open-road cruising. This isn't a monotonous interstate; rather, it's a drive that requires attention to turns and local road conditions as you transition from urban Great Falls to the more rural surroundings.

Only 3% highway — the rest is turn-by-turn surface driving.
11 navigation steps total — most of the decisions cluster near the start and finish.
Longest single stretch: 21.8 mi on First Special Service Force Memorial Highway.

How Hard Is This Drive?

4/10

Expect a hands-on drive with frequent turns and local roads rather than long highway stretches. There are only a few real navigation decisions along the way. The trickiest moment comes early in the drive near 5th Avenue South.

Driving Effort 4/10

Easy - simple navigation with a manageable amount of wheel time

Balances navigation complexity with total wheel time.

This is a straightforward 28m drive. You will face about 7 decision points, but nothing that requires special attention if you follow navigation.

Where does it get tricky?

The main spots that need attention: near the start (5th Avenue South): Navigation decision point; at 0.1 miles (I 15 Business / 5th Street South): Navigation decision point; at 0.5 miles (I 15 Business; US 89; MT 3; MT 200 / 10th Avenue South): Navigation decision point.

Elevation Profile

Mostly flat terrain

3,704 ft 3,324 ft

Total Climb

505 ft

Total Descent

442 ft

Highest Point

3,704 ft

~5.6 mi in

Elevation Range

380 ft

About the Cities

Starting in Great Falls, MT

Full guide →

Founded 1883

Great Falls is a city in Central Montana. It is the third most populous city in Montana with approximately 60,000 people. It is the hub for commercial and financial dealings in the center of the state.

Top landmarks

  • • Masonic Temple — masonic temple in Great Falls, United States of America
  • • Cascade County Courthouse — county courthouse in Great Falls, United States of America
  • • Chicago, Milwaukee and St. Paul Passenger Depot — railway station in Great Falls, the United States of America

Arriving in Cascade, MT

Full guide →

Top landmarks

  • • Hardy Bridge — bridge in United States of America

City content from Wikivoyage (CC BY-SA 4.0) and Wikidata (CC0).

Who Is This Route For?

Weekend Trip

Doable as a same-day drive at 28m. Total distance: 26 miles.

Family Friendly

Moderate complexity with 0 natural rest stops along the way.

Solo Traveler

28m drive, comfortable solo distance.

EV Driver

0 DC fast chargers along the route. Coverage: unknown.

First-Time Driver

Mostly highway driving (3%). Straightforward navigation.

Scenic Drive

Mostly surface roads route profile.

Frequently Asked Questions

The longest stretch is about 21.8 miles on First Special Service Force Memorial Highway. The full list of main roads is in the Roads section above.

Yes — we found about 3 rest areas or service plazas within a short detour of the route (from OpenStreetMap). See the Rest Stops tab under Nearby Places for locations and mile markers. Plan to stretch, use the bathroom, and top off fluids every 2–3 hours on longer drives.

Yes. At under 2 hours behind the wheel, this works well for families — plan one quick stop if you have younger kids.

Mostly yes along the main roads, but rural stretches through MT can have sparse or no coverage. Before you leave, download offline Google Maps or Apple Maps for the route, and consider downloading music or podcasts instead of streaming. If you depend on data for navigation, keep a paper backup of the turn-by-turn directions.

The main spots that need attention: near the start (5th Avenue South): Navigation decision point; at 0.1 miles (I 15 Business / 5th Street South): Navigation decision point; at 0.5 miles (I 15 Business; US 89; MT 3; MT 200 / 10th Avenue South): Navigation decision point.

Yes. A round trip is manageable in a single day if you plan a break at Cascade, MT before heading back.

How this page is built

Compiled by the US Trip Planner planning team at COD Solutions Oy from open government datasets — OSRM over OpenStreetMap for geometry, EIA for fuel prices, and USGS 3DEP for elevation. See our methodology for refresh cadence and limitations.

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