Caras Park is in the heart of Downtown Missoula on the Clark Fork River. The Park Pavilion is home to many popular Missoula events like Missoula's Out to Lunch, Downtown Tonight, Brewfests and more.
There’s this place where the river meets the city—and everyone’s invited. Caras Park hugs the Clark Fork River where it passes through the heart of downtown Missoula, and it’s been bringing people together for decades. For this stretch of land that was once underwater, then a junkyard, it has since become one of the city’s most loved gathering places. Come for a concert, a festival, a farmers market or just to watch the river roll by, and stay because it feels like Missoula.
Caras Park is more than an event venue—it’s a shared space where locals and visitors cross paths, music drifts through the air and the river is always part of the conversation. The park encompasses the Caras Park Pavilion and Bandshell Stage, the Missoula Carousel and Dragon Hollow Playground, the Riverfront Terrace at Brennan’s Wave, the Beartracks Underbridge Playspace and East Caras Park. Whether you’re here with kids, friends or a coffee and some time to spare, there’s room to settle in and enjoy this waterfront oasis, right in the center of town.
Caras Park hosts some of Missoula’s most beloved events, from cultural celebrations to can’t-miss summer traditions. There’s enough going on to more than fill your calendar, but here are a few of our favorite annual events:
A free, family-friendly evening with live music, food vendors, a beer garden and activities for kids.
Thursdays, 5:30–8:30 p.m.
June–August
Montana’s longest-running festival featuring live music and more than 20 food vendors.
Wednesdays, 11 a.m.–2 p.m.
June–August
Events like Missoula’s various Brewfests bring together Montana-made beers, local food trucks and live music for an easygoing downtown party. You’ll also find cultural gatherings throughout the year, including Indigenous Peoples Day celebrations and Symphony in the Park.
Missoula helped put river surfing on the map, and Caras Park is one of the best places to see it up close and personal. Surfers and kayakers take on Brennan’s Wave year-round, giving downtown visitors a front-row seat to the action. Stop and watch as you walk past, or make an afternoon of enjoying the spectacle as you soak in the riverside scenery.
Caras Park has always been a space for everyone, and recent improvements have made the Clark Fork more accessible than ever before. In 2025, the Caras Park River Access Project was completed, transforming the observation deck overlooking Brennan’s Wave into a more inclusive waterfront front experience.
The project includes two ADA-accessible ramps leading right to the water’s edge, terraced seating for watching surfers and kayakers and a direct connection to the Riverfront Trail. This paved seven-mile trail links Caras Park to many of downtown Missoula’s favorite spots. These updates help ensure the river remains a place everyone can enjoy for years to come.
Long before it became Caras Park, this stretch of the Clark Fork River was home to the Salish and Kootenai tribes, and later sat underwater near what is now the historic Wilma Theatre. As Missoula grew in the late 1800s, the river was heavily used for leveraging timber and agriculture, and once the shoreline was built up, the area spent years as an underused dumping ground and parking lot. In the early 1980s, Caras Park began to transform with the development of the riverfront theatre and launch of Out to Lunch in 1986, marked by a series of iconic seasonal tents. The installation of the current pavilion in 1997 established the park as Missoula’s town square, and ongoing upgrades in recent years—including improved seating and shade, the Beartracks Underbridge Playground and expanded accessibility—have helped ensure Caras Park continues to evolve with the rest of Missoula as a welcoming gathering place for all.
There’s this place where you can watch surfers, ride the carousel, grab lunch and catch a concert without ever leaving downtown. Caras Park brings together nature, culture and community in a way that feels effortless. Come and see what’s happening. Chances are, it’s something good.
