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Bighorn Canyon National Recreation Area➤
While staying in Cody, Wyoming, we took a day trip East to visit Bighorn Canyon National Recreation Area. Bighorn Canyon straddles southern Montana and Northeastern Wyoming. The park is characterized by its vast canyons, rugged landscapes, and the Bighorn River, which flows through the area. The canyon itself stretches over 120 miles, making it one of the longest and most impressive in the United States. The Fort Smith, Montana and Lovell, Wyoming sections of the park do not connect. We spent the day exploring from the Lovell entrance, including the Two Eagles Interpretive Trail. We stopped at the visitor center in Lovell before continuing a few miles up the road into the park.
Native American Artifacts➤
After the Lockhart Ranch, we travelled the dirt road back to the paved park road. Heading South, we stopped at some of the sites we’d missed on the way up. We explored the historic Ewing-Snell Ranch before going across the street to the Two Eagles Interpretive Trail.
The Two Eagles Interpretive Trail offers an easy path that spans just a quarter mile round trip. Native Americans have used the area around the trail for over 10,000 years. The region features more than 140 stone circles that tribal families once used to secure the edges of their tipis. When they relocated, they left the stones behind for future visits, creating a historic site of cultural significance.
On National Archaeology Day in 2012, Bighorn Canyon hosted a dedication ceremony for the Two Eagles Interpretive Trail. The trail highlights findings from multi-year archaeological projects on tipi rings, with contributions from students at the University of Memphis, Indiana University, St. Cloud State University, Northwest College, and Little Bighorn College. This site, used by the nomadic ancestors of the Crow, Shoshone, and other native peoples, documents nearly 1,200 years of activity and showcases remnants of temporary campsites.
Bighorn Canyon NRA Posts➤
- Devil Canyon Overlook
- Barry’s Landing
- Lockhart Ranch
- Ewing-Snell Ranch
- Two Eagles Interpretive Trail
- Sullivan’s Knob Trail
- Horseshoe Bend
Location: Bighorn Canyon Road, Montana
Designation: National Recreation Area
Date designated/established: October 15, 1966
Date of my visit: September 26, 2023
