berkeley pit

This is a interesting place. They charge $2 for adults, $1 for children under 17. No discounts. I have heard about the Berkley Pit form my boyfriend. I loved hearing about how the pit was formed by research on the internet and from him. Seeing it in real life and reading the signs and such by the viewing area was educational. Not a bad price to learn something new.

It's a strange place to be as it's presented as a touristic attraction while it's a collection point of toxic waste water. Never the less it's quite an amazing place with quite a threatening potential.

When I first saw this mine it was a big hole with huge trucks in it. The tires on the trucks were higher than I was. Now, the pit has a toxic lake in it. There are displays that give you the history.Its worth seeing because of the history and what has happened with this mine.

Ilived in Butte while i was growing up, moved away at age 16. I remember going up to the Pit and watching the extremely huge trucks go up & down. They were huge when they got to the top and when they got to the bottom they looked like a big wheel toy. Now it is nothing but a horrible toxic water filled pit. SOOOO disappointed to go back to see this. They have another pit but nothing what this one was like. The history is wonderful as i remember this well. when they were blasting the whole town shook. would not even recommend this

Old mine closed in 1987 when a big lake formed. Good thing it n, costs that 2 $ to visit itbecause beyond this amount, we would be fooled.

Let's face it when your in Butte there really isn't all that much to see. The best things to do in Butte always revolve around mining history. This is a big part of that history.

My boyfriend and I were in town exploring and I was dying to check out the pit. I only recently found out that you could visit it and was extremely curious. We arrived on Sunday afternoon. We saw the signs that admission was to be paid at the gift shop, however there was no one in the gift shop and the door appeared to be locked. The gates to the overlook were open, so we went in. No one ever came out and asked us to pay. There were a few other people there, an older couple and a mom with three screaming kids. The screaming kids pretty much chased us out of there after about 10 minutes. Their mother was allowing them to run up and down the tunnel from the parking lot to the viewing platform screaming at each other and being fascinated by the screams echoing through the tunnel. Not the pit's fault that there were poorly behaved children, but it still took away from the experience. (For the record, the mother eventually herded her children off to the car and turned and apologized to those of us on the deck for their behavior.)I had no idea how deep the pit was, or really how it got there or what it's used for. I enjoyed reading the information on the platform about the pit and how it got there. But that's about all there was to it. The water in the pit is deceiving. It looks like it could be a really strangely beautiful, still lake. But then you see the bright, rusty orange color in the water, and the birds on the surface who don't appear to be moving. Really, it's about a 10 minute affair. The only attraction that appeared to be open on a Sunday afternoon, it definitely wasn't worth the hour drive from Bozeman. Not someplace that I need to stop again.

I took my girlfriend on a date to the pit when we were in butte. While it is very affordable, she was not too impressed. It's not pretty and it probably took six months off our lives. Do yourself and your longevity a favor by avoiding this hazard. This attraction is about as great as butte in general.

If you have never seen a pit before, it is worth checking out. They charge a $2 entry fee, which is worth if you have never seen a pit before.

nothing else like it. part of the town's history. we enjoyed the overlook and looked for the flag of the country where our people came from.

I've heard about the Berkeley Pit since I moved to Montana in 2002. We finally got to see it. They charge $2 for adults, $1 for children under 17. No discounts. You pay your money in the gift shop where they hope you'll spend way more money, let you walk out the door, down the stairs, through a tunnel that echos, and out to a platform where they have several placqueboards talking about the history of the pit. You stand, look out and find yourself looking at a pit about 1/3-1/2 filled with water. Its a pit, but its history!

Price is right to see the history of 100+ years of mining. One mile high and one mile deep. Excellent example of open pit mining and to see tunnels of yester-years. Great history lesson.

If you have not seen an open-pit mine before, this will amaze you. We have seen them before, but this one is quite large. The better part is that, for $2, they explain how it works. The Berkeley is no-longer working, but there is a working pit right next door, and dozens of closed, deep shaft mines, around town.The $2 goes to the local Chamber of Commerce to help keep the site (and restrooms, etc.) open and attractive. This is a GREAT picnic spot!Almost as much fun is just driving around Butte, MT. Many of the homes, of the rich and poor, are still lived in and of late 19th century or early 20th century architecture...many in fine repair.There is also and underground mine tour available here in Butte. We skipped it, but we hear it is interesting.

one of the most polluted sites in the world, yet astonishingly beautiful. large open pit mine filled with poisons that create colors not seen in nature. old mining rigs in the surrounding hills add to the feel that takes one back in time to when Butte was the wealthiest town on the planet.

You walk thru the gift shop to buy tickets (only $2) to go thru a tunnel (abt 100 ft maybe) to the actual pit. Its fenced off and you look at it from above. Its massive and the water is filling up. It would be beautiful if not for that awful water - kind of like a smaller Grand Canyon.The water cannot be discarded because its toxic.There is a new water treatment facility close by that will eventually treat it. The recording said that would be approx 2023 when the water is above the bedrock. Another family and me&hubby were the only ones there at abt 2PM on a Wed. He lives in the state and told us many wildlife land on the awful water and perish. Sad. I think seeing this attraction once was enough. But glad we did. I only said "1 hour recommended visit) because its the shortest time available. We stayed maybe 20 min. Holly, the gal in the gift shop is a wealth of information about the area. We asked her about the Lady of the Rockies and she was ready with lots of info. I am formerly from Montana but had never been to the pit. Worth the 2 bucks :) Don't know if it was my imagination or not but after leaving I had a metallic taste in my mouth!