Finding Bighorn Canyon National Park

We found a recreation area called Bighorn Canyon on the map so we decided to go check it out. We took the Crow Agency Road to State Route 313. The road meanders through the Crow Indian Reservation. It's mostly farm land and fields until you get to Fort Smith which is the gateway to Bighorn Canyon National Park. Fort Smith is the north end of the park which stretches south through Montana and down to Sheridan, Wyoming.

We pulled into the Fort Smith visitor center and quickly learned we were in "fisherman heaven". Off we went to check out the fishing access sites on the map provided by the ranger. We were hoping to put the boat in. As we pulled in there were a number of people fishing from the shoreline and several float boats. Ken excitedly said "I thing we can float this!" We learned this was a first class fishery and was some of the best trout fishing in the country. We could see the fish rise! (There is hope...)

We got back in the car to explore the rest of the area. Following the signs we found the road to Bighorn Lake after getting sandwiches at Patty's Place for a picnic. The road climbed and switched back and forth up the steep canyon to Yellowtail Dam. We went through the visitor center and walked around the dam. The focus of the area is the 71-mile-long Bighorn Lake which was created by the Yellowtail Dam. Created in 1968, the dam provides electric power, water for irrigation, flood control, and recreation. The 525 foot high dam creates one of the largest reservoirs on the Missouri River tributary system. Continuing up the road we enjoyed the play of light and shadow on the rock walls of the canyon as well as unbelievable views. We arrived at the Marina overlooking the lake. We thought about renting a boat.. but not for $275/day. Sitting in chairs overlooking the lake we had a nice lunch on the porch of the marina and then headed back down the road. We decided to check out a campground we noticed on our way up to the dam. It's a "primitive" site but they have a camphost and it looks OK. We really like the area and we may come down and fish for a day or so.

On the way home we decided to make reservations (which we don't like to do) for Yellowstone. We're afraid we won't be able to get a site. Back at camp we reviewed the route plans and looked at Yellowstone Campgrounds. A couple we met while we were in Ohio told us about Fishing Bridge Campground so we will try that one for a week.

Over dinner we decided to go to Bighorn for 1-2 days. We'll leave tommorrow. We were so impressed with the beautiful scenery in the canyon area!