Bureau of Land Management

Feel the sense of wonderment that Lewis and Clark wrote about by canoeing down the same historic river, the Upper Missouri National Wild and Scenic River in central Montana. Start at the BLM Visitor Center and museum in Fort Benton and travel at your own pace to points of interest on the river.

Ghosts of Western yesteryear await you at the Garnet Ghost Town, about 40 miles east of Missoula. The deserted town dates back to the 1890-1940 mining era. Garnet is located in the heart of a varied and exhilarating snowmobile and cross-country ski trail complex. Rent a rustic cabin and stay a few days.

Try a 4-hour whitewater float trip, fish one of Montana's blue ribbon trout streams, or camp in primitive, wild surroundings. You can in the Bear Trap Canyon Wilderness near Ennis. A fully developed campground is also available downstream from the canyon.

Wild Horses roam the scenic and pristine Pryor Mountain Wild Horse Range 80 miles south of Billings. This 37,000-acre range, with its deep canyons and wide open areas, is flanked on the east by the Big Horn Canyon National Recreation Area and on the west by the Custer National Forest. It is an excellent area for hiking or pleasure driving.

Visit Pompeys Pillar National Historic Landmark, the only site on the Lewis and Clark trail where visible evidence of the Lewis and Clark Expedition may be viewed by the public, The Pillar, located 30 mile east of Billing, contains William Clark's signature etched in the sandstone. Viewed from the west and north, the vertical stone face of the formation juts abruptly above the level floor of the Yellowstone River Valley. An interpretive trail leads visitors to the site of William Clark's signature.

Other major attractions within Montana's public lands include the Nez Perce National Historic Trail, Continental Divide National Scenic Trail; floating and fishing on the Big Hole Madison, Missouri and Yellowstone rivers; back country byways; watchable wildlife viewing areas, and special recreation management areas such as the Holter Lake recreation Complex near Helena, and the Humbug spires Primitive Area near Butte.

Directions: Bureau of Land Management is located by coming off I-90 at the South Billings Blvd. Exit, turn right at McDonald's and go around the corner.

Bureau of Land Management
5001 Southgate Drive, Billings, MT 59107

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