Bighorn Canyon National Recreation Area

Bighorn Canyon National Recreation Area, straddling the Montana-Wyoming border between Lovell, Wyoming and Hardin, Montana, preserves 120,000 acres of one of the most striking and least-visited canyon landscapes in the American West — a 71-mile reservoir (Bighorn Lake) backed up behind Yellowtail Dam in the Bighorn River canyon, with sheer limestone canyon walls rising 2,600 feet from the lake surface in one of the deepest water-filled canyons in the United States.

The canyon cuts through the Bighorn Mountains’ flank exposing an extraordinary sequence of Paleozoic and Mesozoic rock layers, while the surrounding uplands support the Pryor Mountain Wild Horse Range — home to one of the most genetically distinct and historically significant wild mustang herds in the American West. Bighorn Canyon NRA receives only a fraction of the visitation of more famous western parks, making it one of the finest uncrowded canyon and boating destinations in the Northern Rockies.

Summer (June through September) is the primary season — both marinas are fully operational, boat rentals are available, and the canyon is accessible by water from both the Wyoming and Montana sides. The inner canyon (accessible only by boat) is most dramatic in the early morning when the sun catches the top of the 2,600-foot limestone walls and the water is calm. June and early July are excellent for the wildflowers on the canyon rim and for the mustang foals (born in spring, the young horses are visible through June). The walleye fishing is excellent May through October. Fall (September and October) brings excellent fishing, comfortable temperatures and the fall color on the canyon-rim sagebrush. The Pryor Mountain mustang viewing is good year-round but spring (May-June) and fall (September-October) are finest. Summer for boating and swimming; spring and fall for mustangs and fishing.

Bighorn Canyon has been significant to Native American peoples for at least 10,000 years — the canyon and its surrounding uplands were central to the homeland of the Crow Nation (Apsaalooke), who called the area “Baa’aalee” (Big Horn River) and used the Bad Pass Trail (along the canyon rim) as a primary north-south route through the Bighorn Mountains. Medicine Wheel National Historic Landmark (in the Bighorn Mountains to the south) reflects the deep spiritual significance of the region to the Crow and other plains peoples. Yellowtail Dam (completed in 1966 and named for Robert Yellowtail, a Crow tribal leader) created Bighorn Lake by inundating the Bighorn River canyon — a controversial federal water project that flooded Crow tribal land. The Pryor Mountain wild mustangs (the resident herd that ranges the Pryor Mountains above the canyon) are believed to descend from Spanish colonial horses, making them one of the most genetically distinct mustang herds in North America.

Bighorn Canyon cuts through one of the most complete Paleozoic rock sequences in the Northern Rockies — the canyon walls expose roughly 500 million years of geological history, from the Precambrian basement at the canyon bottom through the full Paleozoic stack (Cambrian through Permian) to the Mesozoic cap. The dominant cliff-forming rock is the Madison Limestone (Mississippian, approximately 340-360 million years old) — a thick, gray, massively bedded marine limestone that forms the steepest and highest cliff faces in the canyon, rising 2,600 feet above Bighorn Lake in the inner canyon. The canyon was carved by the ancestral Bighorn River before Yellowtail Dam created the reservoir. The Bighorn Mountains uplift (a Laramide foreland arch, rising during the Laramide orogeny 70-50 million years ago) drove the river’s rapid down-cutting through the Paleozoic sequence. The Madison Limestone dominance, the Laramide uplift and the river incision created the canyon.

Bighorn Canyon NRA’s most distinctive wildlife feature is the Pryor Mountain Wild Horse Range — a federally designated wild horse range supporting 120-200 mustangs on the Pryor Mountains plateau above the canyon. The Pryor Mountain herd is believed to preserve Spanish colonial horse genetics (brought to North America in the 16th century) and is one of the most genetically distinct and historically significant mustang herds in the United States. The canyon and surrounding lands also support mule deer, pronghorn, bighorn sheep (on the canyon walls — accessible by boat to view), black bears, coyotes, golden eagles, prairie falcons, canyon wrens (singing from the limestone walls), white-throated swifts, and an excellent warm-water fishery (walleye, crappie, largemouth and smallmouth bass in the reservoir). The mustangs and bighorn sheep are the defining wildlife encounters.

Bighorn Canyon NRA’s ecological significance lies in the juxtaposition of the reservoir ecosystem (Bighorn Lake, a warm-water fishery supporting walleye, crappie and bass) and the surrounding arid canyon and upland ecosystems (sagebrush steppe on the canyon rim, ponderosa pine on the Pryor Mountain slopes, and the cliff-face and riparian microhabitats on the canyon walls). The Pryor Mountain Wild Horse Range is managed jointly by the BLM and NPS for the mustang herd — balancing herd population (population control is necessary to prevent overgrazing of the limited range) with the horses’ cultural and ecological significance. Invasive cheatgrass is a critical rangeland management problem in the sagebrush steppe surrounding the canyon. The canyon walls provide nesting habitat for several raptor species including golden eagles and prairie falcons.

Bighorn Canyon NRA holds a treasured place among the canyon and cultural landscapes of the Northern Rockies — one of the deepest water-filled canyon systems in the American West, a landscape of profound significance to the Crow Nation (whose homeland it remains and whose tribal leader Robert Yellowtail is honored by the dam’s name), the home of the Pryor Mountain wild mustangs (one of the most historically significant and genetically distinct wild horse herds in America), and a magnificent and largely unknown canyon wilderness accessible by boat. Its combination of canyon geology, cultural history, wildlife and uncrowded recreation makes it exceptional. Bighorn Canyon is a cherished natural and cultural icon of the Montana-Wyoming border country.

Bighorn Canyon NRA has two separate districts connected only by water (no road connects the Wyoming and Montana sides). The Wyoming/Lovell district: enter from Lovell, Wyoming (about 90 miles south of Billings on US-14 Alt) via the Horseshoe Bend area south of Lovell, with the primary marina and visitor center. The Montana/Fort Smith district: enter from Hardin, Montana (about 45 miles south of Billings via I-90 east and MT-313 south) to the Ok-A-Beh marina. Billings (90-100 miles north of both districts) is the primary full-service gateway. An NPS entrance fee applies (America the Beautiful Pass accepted). Boat rentals (motorboats and pontoons) are available at Horseshoe Bend marina in summer. Campgrounds are available in both districts; check recreation.gov for current availability. Check NPS for current marina status and boat rental availability before visiting.

The National Park Service manages Bighorn Canyon NRA in cooperation with the BLM (which manages the Pryor Mountain Wild Horse Range) and the Crow Nation. The Pryor Mountain mustang herd is the most sensitive management issue — the herd’s population is managed by the BLM through periodic population control (fertility treatment and some removals) to prevent overgrazing. Support the BLM’s Pryor Mountain mustang management program and advocate for science-based population control. In the canyon, maintain 100 yards from all bighorn sheep and do not feed any wildlife. The canyon walls are habitat for golden eagle and peregrine falcon nests — maintain distance from any cliff-face nest visible from the water. Pack out all trash from boat access areas.

Bighorn Lake boating requires standard motorboat safety — life jackets for all passengers, a marine radio or satellite communicator (no cell service in the inner canyon), adequate fuel (the canyon is long and distances are greater than they appear), and an awareness of afternoon thunderstorms (the canyon’s orientation can channel wind; lightning on open water is a serious hazard). The canyon walls present rockfall risk in the inner canyon (do not moor directly under overhanging cliffs). The Pryor Mountain Road (accessing the mustang viewing areas) is a steep, narrow dirt road requiring a high-clearance vehicle; do not attempt in wet conditions. Rattlesnakes are present on the canyon rim and access roads; wear boots. Respect the boating hazards, the rattlesnakes and the Pryor Mountain road conditions.

NPS entrance fee (America the Beautiful Pass accepted). Boating: standard Montana/Wyoming motorboat regulations; life jackets required. Fishing: requires a Montana or Wyoming fishing license (check MFWP and Wyoming Game & Fish for current license requirements and slot limits on walleye). Camping: check recreation.gov for campground availability and fees. No feeding of wildlife. Pryor Mountain Wild Horse Range: viewing allowed from designated areas; no approaching, touching or feeding mustangs. Campfires in fire rings only; check NPS for current fire restrictions. Pack out all trash. Check NPS for current marina hours, boat rental availability, campground status and any special regulations before visiting.

Lovell, Wyoming (the Wyoming gateway — a small city with adequate services and the Bighorn Canyon NRA visitor center), Hardin, Montana (the Montana gateway — the Crow Nation capital, with the Little Bighorn Battlefield NM 15 miles south — one of the most significant and moving historic sites in the American West), the Crow Agency and the Apsaalooke Nation cultural landscape (the Bighorn Canyon is within the Crow Reservation — respect tribal sovereignty and cultural sites), Medicine Wheel National Historic Landmark (in the Bighorn Mountains to the south — a 5,000-year-old Native American ceremonial site at 9,642 feet), and Billings (the largest city in Montana, 90 miles north) define the region. Bighorn Canyon is most rewarding as a 2-day visit combining boating in the canyon with mustang viewing in the Pryor Mountains.

Rent a motorboat at Horseshoe Bend marina and motor north into the inner canyon (the section where the walls rise 2,600 feet on both sides and the sky is a narrow strip of blue overhead) for the most dramatic canyon experience — go in the morning when the canyon walls catch the sun and the water is calm. Pack a picnic and anchor in a calm cove in the inner canyon for the full canyon immersion. For the mustang viewing, take MT-313 from Hardin south toward Fort Smith, then turn west onto the Pryor Mountain Road to the Crooked Creek area — the mustangs range freely and are commonly visible from the road in the morning and evening. The combination of a canyon boat trip in the morning and a Pryor Mountain mustang drive in the afternoon makes the finest full-day Bighorn Canyon experience from the Montana side.