bighorn canyon national recreation area

Our family drove up to the Bighorn Canyon Overlook from Highway 14 A. This is wonderfully rugged and desolate country. there was only 2 other people there! The view down into the canyon is worth 20 miles or so each way. Probably the most impressive sight on our road trip from MN to Portland, OR. highly recommened

The film at the visitor's center makes me say that I am sure the canyon would be beautiful if you could see anything. But I do not know because the road to the viewpoint was closed, you could not go to the dam. The North side is really not worth the trip.The only positive is the ranger just gave my granddaughter the JR Ranger badge she wanted because he knew she would not be able to find any answers to the questions without being able to go past the visitors center.

I can't believe this place has remained, for the most part, unknown. Definitely a must see if you're into this stuff. Some awesome hiking trails and driving routes as well. I was blown away...this place is a must see and we just happened on it because it was on our way and we worked it into our Itinerary...so glad I did.Definitely a must see....

I saw a picture of the Bighorn Canyon area a year ago online and vowed that I would go this summer. This recreation area is not well advertised, even though it is part of the National Park Service, but its remoteness contributes to its rugged charm. This is not a highly populated part of the country anyway, but this area was very quiet and there were few visitors. It felt like the west of yesteryear. We went to the dam and visitors center and the building and displays had not been updated since the 1960s. Again, surprising but charming. The bathrooms still had pink tile and grass grew on the edges of the parking lot. This place is a little of the beaten track, but if you like that style, it's definitely worth seeing. HUGE TIP: go to the marina. Its official name is Indian, but go to the visitors center and a guide will show you the right way. It is about 10 miles off the main road, but yields a beautiful swimming hole, a nice little snack shop, deep water boating (with a permit) and lovely canyon views.

We parked our RV at the Horseshoe Bend camping area. The view looking of the lake and the red, rocky hills was stunning. We fished and swam in Bighorn Lake. There was a roped off swimming area and a lifeguard stand, plus a playground and a dock with small store. The campground was a short drive to see the breathtaking Devil Canyon Outlook and the Pryor Mountain Wild Horse Range ran right alongside the main road. We weren't fortunate enough to see horses, but saw evidence and were told they are around frequently. Fun Spot!

While it is a drive out of Hardin, MT you will not regret it. The drive out through the country, at the right time of the day, can be great in itself but the park itself has some beautiful scenery. There is a small day fee which provides access to fishing holes, picnic areas, the afterbay with its own dam, Yellowtail Dam, and a marina out near Box Canyon. We drove this during a light mist and it was just gorgeous. The drive out to the marina sports excellent views of the local countryside as well as good views of the lake side of Yellowtail dam. We thoroughly enjoyed the visit. The only downside is that you cannot cross over the dam or reach the Wyoming side of the park from the Montana side.

We are camping in the cottonwood campground at fort smith, montana located it at three miles of the north part of the canyon and the dam. The scenic views in this area are incredible breathtaking. Tomorrow we are going by boat to the south part.i will have more details. We were fishing I the north part and we got a lot of browned trouts, and some rainbows. We ate the browns super tasty and very good for fry. It's a place to go if you like water and geological formations.

We were in Lovell, Wyoming and a store owner recommended that we go down Highway 37 and visit the Big Horn Canyon (within the recreational area.) What a great overlook! Big, deep canyon with the Big Horn River far below. The canyon looms over 1000 feet over the river. The river winds through the canyon so there are many vantage points to watch for birds of prey. There are also big horn sheep and wild horses in the area (we were not fortunate enough to see any but we were there in the heat of the day.) I need to add that you are in Montana when you are at the canyon. The entrance we used is in Wyoming.

We visited the southern part of the Bighorn Canyon National Recreation Area on our trip from Lovell, WY. The highlight was Devil's Canyon Overlook. Quite a spectacular view of the canyon from there but that was pretty much it. The water level in the lake had been taken down for some sort of maintenance so there wasn't anything going on when we were there but it did make it easier to see the deep red hills at the water's edge.

This was one of the highlights of my trip! Bighorn Canyon provides amazing views of the surrounding canyon that really need to be seen to be believed. Highly recommended if you're in the area!

After seeing the picture of Devil Canyon in one of the local touristic brochures, my husband and I decided to make a detour to Lovell, where there is a visitors center on the Wyoming side of the Bighorn Canyon National Recreation Area, on 20, Hwy 14A East Lovell.Being one of the national parks, you can enter it at no extra charge with the America-the-beautiful-pass.Coming from Sheridan, WY,you take the US Highway14A to Lovell, and just before the town you will find the visitor center and from there you can take the state highway 37 into the park.At Horseshoe Bend there is a boat-launch and pic-nic area with a beautiful view on Bighorn lake and the red rocks on the background.A few miles further you cross the stateline between Wyoming and Montana, and you enter the Pryor Mountain Wild Horse range of the park. We only saw 1 wild horse, but it was a beautiful animal.Devil Canyon Overlook is a must-see : the scenery at the bend in the river is amazing, and if you're lucky you can take a picture of eagles as well. We didn't continue to Barry's Landing, since we were on our way to Cody. Cody can be reached by continuing on Highway 14A through Lovell and Powell .

This "attraction" should be classed in Tripadvisor under Lovell, WY in addition to Fort Smith, Montana.The best part for me was the view of the river at Devil's Canyon overlook. Think Dead Horse Point State Park in Utah and you get the idea.The view point can be accessed via State Hwy 37 from Lovell, Wyoming (where there is a visitor center) . You cannot get to the viewpoint from the northern section of the park at Fort Smith, Montana.I scrambled along the cliff edges to get a better view of the river bend. while I did this a huge golden eagle buzz bombed me sailing about 10 feet over my head. Nearly scared the life out of me. Those birds are huge!At the end of the road at Barry's landing there is a boat launch, a camp ground and not much else. If you're just coming for the view you can skip going past Devil's point. Although shortly before Barry's Landing there is a short interpretive trail with some old teepee rings.Further south at Horseshoe Bend there is another campground, boat launch and a nice beach/swimming area. The red sandstone hills in this area are quite spectacular.

We only visited the Bighorn Canyon National Recreation Area (just north of Lovell) on our roadtrip from Devil's Tower to Cody for about an hour. First we stopped off at Horseshoe Bend in Wyoming on Bighorn Lake where you could sunbathe on the beach, swim or go boating. A really nice place to spend the day I imagine. Next we crossed over the State line into Montana a couple of miles up the road and stopped at Devil Canyon Overlook which was spectacular. We were the only two people there (about 5pm) and it just seemed the canyon was in the middle of nowhere.If you are driving on Route US 14A then this is a must detour for an hour, if that.

We were in the South end of the Park - stopped at Devils Canyon Overlook and then continued on Hwy 37 part way up to Barry's Landing. We had wanted to do a boat tour of the canyon, but found out they don't run on weekdays. Devils Canyon overlook is amazing as well as the entire drive on Hwy 37 once you enter the canyon area. Very scenic, very few people and so glad we took the time to do this.

Stayed one night with our RV at Horseshoe Ben in Bighorn Canyon. $15 for water/electric hook up - no sewer, but dump station down the road. Very pretty and very few people. Great get away.