diff --git a/CHANGELOG.md b/CHANGELOG.md
index b37db2292..f7d4b3c85 100644
--- a/CHANGELOG.md
+++ b/CHANGELOG.md
@@ -17,6 +17,7 @@ BREAKING CHANGES
 
 FEATURES
 * [x/auth] Added AccountNumbers to BaseAccount and StdTxs to allow for replay protection with account pruning
+* [lcd] added an endpoint to query for the SDK version of the connected node
 
 IMPROVEMENTS
 * export command now writes current validator set for Tendermint
diff --git a/baseapp/baseapp.go b/baseapp/baseapp.go
index 93ea6ae03..3265a870f 100644
--- a/baseapp/baseapp.go
+++ b/baseapp/baseapp.go
@@ -14,6 +14,7 @@ import (
 
 	"github.com/cosmos/cosmos-sdk/store"
 	sdk "github.com/cosmos/cosmos-sdk/types"
+	"github.com/cosmos/cosmos-sdk/version"
 	"github.com/cosmos/cosmos-sdk/wire"
 	"github.com/cosmos/cosmos-sdk/x/auth"
 )
@@ -338,6 +339,11 @@ func (app *BaseApp) Query(req abci.RequestQuery) (res abci.ResponseQuery) {
 			} else {
 				result = app.Simulate(tx)
 			}
+		case "version":
+			return abci.ResponseQuery{
+				Code:  uint32(sdk.ABCICodeOK),
+				Value: []byte(version.GetVersion()),
+			}
 		default:
 			result = sdk.ErrUnknownRequest(fmt.Sprintf("Unknown query: %s", path)).Result()
 		}
diff --git a/client/context/helpers.go b/client/context/helpers.go
index 0e28f5fd0..5449afa97 100644
--- a/client/context/helpers.go
+++ b/client/context/helpers.go
@@ -3,6 +3,8 @@ package context
 import (
 	"fmt"
 
+	"github.com/tendermint/tmlibs/common"
+
 	"github.com/pkg/errors"
 
 	"github.com/cosmos/cosmos-sdk/wire"
@@ -42,14 +44,19 @@ func (ctx CoreContext) BroadcastTx(tx []byte) (*ctypes.ResultBroadcastTxCommit,
 	return res, err
 }
 
-// Query from Tendermint with the provided key and storename
-func (ctx CoreContext) Query(key cmn.HexBytes, storeName string) (res []byte, err error) {
-	return ctx.query(key, storeName, "key")
+// Query information about the connected node
+func (ctx CoreContext) Query(path string) (res []byte, err error) {
+	return ctx.query(path, nil)
+}
+
+// QueryStore from Tendermint with the provided key and storename
+func (ctx CoreContext) QueryStore(key cmn.HexBytes, storeName string) (res []byte, err error) {
+	return ctx.queryStore(key, storeName, "key")
 }
 
 // Query from Tendermint with the provided storename and subspace
 func (ctx CoreContext) QuerySubspace(cdc *wire.Codec, subspace []byte, storeName string) (res []sdk.KVPair, err error) {
-	resRaw, err := ctx.query(subspace, storeName, "subspace")
+	resRaw, err := ctx.queryStore(subspace, storeName, "subspace")
 	if err != nil {
 		return res, err
 	}
@@ -58,8 +65,7 @@ func (ctx CoreContext) QuerySubspace(cdc *wire.Codec, subspace []byte, storeName
 }
 
 // Query from Tendermint with the provided storename and path
-func (ctx CoreContext) query(key cmn.HexBytes, storeName, endPath string) (res []byte, err error) {
-	path := fmt.Sprintf("/store/%s/%s", storeName, endPath)
+func (ctx CoreContext) query(path string, key common.HexBytes) (res []byte, err error) {
 	node, err := ctx.GetNode()
 	if err != nil {
 		return res, err
@@ -80,6 +86,12 @@ func (ctx CoreContext) query(key cmn.HexBytes, storeName, endPath string) (res [
 	return resp.Value, nil
 }
 
+// Query from Tendermint with the provided storename and path
+func (ctx CoreContext) queryStore(key cmn.HexBytes, storeName, endPath string) (res []byte, err error) {
+	path := fmt.Sprintf("/store/%s/%s", storeName, endPath)
+	return ctx.query(path, key)
+}
+
 // Get the from address from the name flag
 func (ctx CoreContext) GetFromAddress() (from sdk.Address, err error) {
 
@@ -177,7 +189,7 @@ func (ctx CoreContext) GetAccountNumber(address []byte) (int64, error) {
 		return 0, errors.New("accountDecoder required but not provided")
 	}
 
-	res, err := ctx.Query(auth.AddressStoreKey(address), ctx.AccountStore)
+	res, err := ctx.QueryStore(auth.AddressStoreKey(address), ctx.AccountStore)
 	if err != nil {
 		return 0, err
 	}
@@ -201,7 +213,7 @@ func (ctx CoreContext) NextSequence(address []byte) (int64, error) {
 		return 0, errors.New("accountDecoder required but not provided")
 	}
 
-	res, err := ctx.Query(auth.AddressStoreKey(address), ctx.AccountStore)
+	res, err := ctx.QueryStore(auth.AddressStoreKey(address), ctx.AccountStore)
 	if err != nil {
 		return 0, err
 	}
diff --git a/client/lcd/lcd_test.go b/client/lcd/lcd_test.go
index ba2937e05..0bacbee20 100644
--- a/client/lcd/lcd_test.go
+++ b/client/lcd/lcd_test.go
@@ -116,6 +116,15 @@ func TestVersion(t *testing.T) {
 	require.Nil(t, err)
 	match := reg.MatchString(body)
 	assert.True(t, match, body)
+
+	// node info
+	res, body = Request(t, port, "GET", "/node_version", nil)
+	require.Equal(t, http.StatusOK, res.StatusCode, body)
+
+	reg, err = regexp.Compile(`\d+\.\d+\.\d+(-dev)?`)
+	require.Nil(t, err)
+	match = reg.MatchString(body)
+	assert.True(t, match, body)
 }
 
 func TestNodeStatus(t *testing.T) {
diff --git a/client/lcd/root.go b/client/lcd/root.go
index 7d819740c..4af034297 100644
--- a/client/lcd/root.go
+++ b/client/lcd/root.go
@@ -17,7 +17,6 @@ import (
 	keys "github.com/cosmos/cosmos-sdk/client/keys"
 	rpc "github.com/cosmos/cosmos-sdk/client/rpc"
 	tx "github.com/cosmos/cosmos-sdk/client/tx"
-	version "github.com/cosmos/cosmos-sdk/version"
 	"github.com/cosmos/cosmos-sdk/wire"
 	auth "github.com/cosmos/cosmos-sdk/x/auth/client/rest"
 	bank "github.com/cosmos/cosmos-sdk/x/bank/client/rest"
@@ -63,7 +62,6 @@ func ServeCommand(cdc *wire.Codec) *cobra.Command {
 
 func createHandler(cdc *wire.Codec) http.Handler {
 	r := mux.NewRouter()
-	r.HandleFunc("/version", version.RequestHandler).Methods("GET")
 
 	kb, err := keys.GetKeyBase() //XXX
 	if err != nil {
@@ -73,6 +71,8 @@ func createHandler(cdc *wire.Codec) http.Handler {
 	ctx := context.NewCoreContextFromViper()
 
 	// TODO make more functional? aka r = keys.RegisterRoutes(r)
+	r.HandleFunc("/version", CLIVersionRequestHandler).Methods("GET")
+	r.HandleFunc("/node_version", NodeVersionRequestHandler(cdc, ctx)).Methods("GET")
 	keys.RegisterRoutes(r)
 	rpc.RegisterRoutes(ctx, r)
 	tx.RegisterRoutes(ctx, r, cdc)
diff --git a/client/lcd/version.go b/client/lcd/version.go
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..0c8ef4ef6
--- /dev/null
+++ b/client/lcd/version.go
@@ -0,0 +1,29 @@
+package lcd
+
+import (
+	"fmt"
+	"net/http"
+
+	"github.com/cosmos/cosmos-sdk/client/context"
+	"github.com/cosmos/cosmos-sdk/version"
+	"github.com/cosmos/cosmos-sdk/wire"
+)
+
+// cli version REST handler endpoint
+func CLIVersionRequestHandler(w http.ResponseWriter, r *http.Request) {
+	v := version.GetVersion()
+	w.Write([]byte(v))
+}
+
+// connected node version REST handler endpoint
+func NodeVersionRequestHandler(cdc *wire.Codec, ctx context.CoreContext) http.HandlerFunc {
+	return func(w http.ResponseWriter, r *http.Request) {
+		version, err := ctx.Query("/app/version")
+		if err != nil {
+			w.WriteHeader(http.StatusInternalServerError)
+			w.Write([]byte(fmt.Sprintf("Could't query version. Error: %s", err.Error())))
+			return
+		}
+		w.Write([]byte(version))
+	}
+}
diff --git a/docs/sdk/lcd-rest-api.yaml b/docs/sdk/lcd-rest-api.yaml
index 6a5be2394..a39b7bf08 100644
--- a/docs/sdk/lcd-rest-api.yaml
+++ b/docs/sdk/lcd-rest-api.yaml
@@ -17,6 +17,13 @@ paths:
       responses:
         200:
           description: Plaintext version i.e. "v0.5.0"
+  /node_version:
+    get:
+      summary: Version of the connected node
+      description: Get the version of the SDK running on the connected node to compare against expected
+      responses:
+        200:
+          description: Plaintext version i.e. "v0.5.0"
   /node_info:
     get:
       description: Only the node info. Block information can be queried via /block/latest
diff --git a/version/command.go b/version/command.go
index b505414b1..2cff1bbe9 100644
--- a/version/command.go
+++ b/version/command.go
@@ -2,7 +2,6 @@ package version
 
 import (
 	"fmt"
-	"net/http"
 
 	"github.com/spf13/cobra"
 )
@@ -16,7 +15,8 @@ var (
 	}
 )
 
-func getVersion() string {
+// return version of CLI/node and commit hash
+func GetVersion() string {
 	v := Version
 	if GitCommit != "" {
 		v = v + "-" + GitCommit
@@ -26,12 +26,6 @@ func getVersion() string {
 
 // CMD
 func printVersion(cmd *cobra.Command, args []string) {
-	v := getVersion()
+	v := GetVersion()
 	fmt.Println(v)
 }
-
-// version REST handler endpoint
-func RequestHandler(w http.ResponseWriter, r *http.Request) {
-	v := getVersion()
-	w.Write([]byte(v))
-}
diff --git a/x/auth/client/cli/account.go b/x/auth/client/cli/account.go
index a3265a78c..ccc1e277b 100644
--- a/x/auth/client/cli/account.go
+++ b/x/auth/client/cli/account.go
@@ -47,7 +47,7 @@ func GetAccountCmd(storeName string, cdc *wire.Codec, decoder auth.AccountDecode
 
 			// perform query
 			ctx := context.NewCoreContextFromViper()
-			res, err := ctx.Query(auth.AddressStoreKey(key), storeName)
+			res, err := ctx.QueryStore(auth.AddressStoreKey(key), storeName)
 			if err != nil {
 				return err
 			}
diff --git a/x/auth/client/rest/query.go b/x/auth/client/rest/query.go
index 1f68a69e5..a5d6f328c 100644
--- a/x/auth/client/rest/query.go
+++ b/x/auth/client/rest/query.go
@@ -34,7 +34,7 @@ func QueryAccountRequestHandlerFn(storeName string, cdc *wire.Codec, decoder aut
 			return
 		}
 
-		res, err := ctx.Query(auth.AddressStoreKey(addr), storeName)
+		res, err := ctx.QueryStore(auth.AddressStoreKey(addr), storeName)
 		if err != nil {
 			w.WriteHeader(http.StatusInternalServerError)
 			w.Write([]byte(fmt.Sprintf("couldn't query account. Error: %s", err.Error())))
diff --git a/x/ibc/client/cli/relay.go b/x/ibc/client/cli/relay.go
index 9742f83f9..90ea74b77 100644
--- a/x/ibc/client/cli/relay.go
+++ b/x/ibc/client/cli/relay.go
@@ -151,7 +151,7 @@ OUTER:
 }
 
 func query(node string, key []byte, storeName string) (res []byte, err error) {
-	return context.NewCoreContextFromViper().WithNodeURI(node).Query(key, storeName)
+	return context.NewCoreContextFromViper().WithNodeURI(node).QueryStore(key, storeName)
 }
 
 func (c relayCommander) broadcastTx(seq int64, node string, tx []byte) error {
diff --git a/x/slashing/client/cli/query.go b/x/slashing/client/cli/query.go
index 948e75667..c1b16eb3a 100644
--- a/x/slashing/client/cli/query.go
+++ b/x/slashing/client/cli/query.go
@@ -27,7 +27,7 @@ func GetCmdQuerySigningInfo(storeName string, cdc *wire.Codec) *cobra.Command {
 			}
 			key := slashing.GetValidatorSigningInfoKey(pk.Address())
 			ctx := context.NewCoreContextFromViper()
-			res, err := ctx.Query(key, storeName)
+			res, err := ctx.QueryStore(key, storeName)
 			if err != nil {
 				return err
 			}
diff --git a/x/stake/client/cli/query.go b/x/stake/client/cli/query.go
index eac39b9ef..727cddcde 100644
--- a/x/stake/client/cli/query.go
+++ b/x/stake/client/cli/query.go
@@ -27,7 +27,7 @@ func GetCmdQueryValidator(storeName string, cdc *wire.Codec) *cobra.Command {
 			}
 			key := stake.GetValidatorKey(addr)
 			ctx := context.NewCoreContextFromViper()
-			res, err := ctx.Query(key, storeName)
+			res, err := ctx.QueryStore(key, storeName)
 			if err != nil {
 				return err
 			}
@@ -124,7 +124,7 @@ func GetCmdQueryDelegation(storeName string, cdc *wire.Codec) *cobra.Command {
 
 			key := stake.GetDelegationKey(delAddr, addr, cdc)
 			ctx := context.NewCoreContextFromViper()
-			res, err := ctx.Query(key, storeName)
+			res, err := ctx.QueryStore(key, storeName)
 			if err != nil {
 				return err
 			}
diff --git a/x/stake/client/rest/query.go b/x/stake/client/rest/query.go
index d9288fb11..ec0e81330 100644
--- a/x/stake/client/rest/query.go
+++ b/x/stake/client/rest/query.go
@@ -48,7 +48,7 @@ func bondingStatusHandlerFn(ctx context.CoreContext, storeName string, cdc *wire
 
 		key := stake.GetDelegationKey(delegatorAddr, validatorAddr, cdc)
 
-		res, err := ctx.Query(key, storeName)
+		res, err := ctx.QueryStore(key, storeName)
 		if err != nil {
 			w.WriteHeader(http.StatusInternalServerError)
 			w.Write([]byte(fmt.Sprintf("couldn't query bond. Error: %s", err.Error())))