In July 2020 we ventured out from Minnesota on a road trip to Yellowstone National Park. When we travel, I love to use the google to find places to stop along the way to stretch and see some extra cool places other than our main destination. We had made stops already in Moorhead, MN and Medora, ND. We were trying to make it from Medora to Gardiner, MT this day, and we stopped outside of Billings, MT at the Pictograph Cave State Park. We picked this park to stop because the distance was about right, the hike seemed like about the right length for a quick stop and stretch, and it seemed like something interesting to see! It was about lunch time for us, so we had a picnic at the park and then did the hike around the caves. They have picnic tables set up near the parking lot under a really cool old big tree!
The park features three main caves: Pictograph Cave, Middle Cave, and Ghost Cave. The Pictograph Cave is the first on the path and features over 100 pictographs, with the oldest being over 2,000 years old! The atmosphere of the area really lends to imagining yourself living in another time, what life might have been like, what kind of messages you might have wanted to pass on.
Some of the drawings are fairly easy to see, especially the ones in red. Bringing binoculars is recommended so you can see the drawings better. (We didn’t but I wish we had grabbed them out of the car!) You have to stay back behind the barriers so you can’t go right up to the pictographs and touch them.
There are these biscuit-looking rocks that are in the caves… some of them are hanging from the top, and some have fallen and you can see the place they used to hang.
The path is paved from the parking lot to the Pictograph Cave, but if you continue on to the next two caves, the path is dirt and has some terrain changes. The path isn’t real long- less than a mile, and worth doing if you have time! The views of the rocks and the next two caves are beautiful, and you’ll get an overlook view of the park.
Ghost Cave has a few stories that have been told… The Crow believed there were writings on the cave from spirits, and some people have said they’ve heard voices… when no one is in the cave! If you stop by, listen carefully and see if you hear anything!
Lots and lots of grasshoppers were jumping around when we were walking the trails at Pictograph Cave State Park. (Do rattlesnakes eat grasshoppers?) The wildflowers were all along the trails as well, which were really fun to see! We are from Minnesota, and as we traveled west, it was so fun to see the landscape and the plants and flowers change!
With this whole crazy-COVID year, we decided to homeschool this year. One of our first history lessons talked about ancient people, how they communicated, and pictographs! It was so wonderful to be able to look back at this experience we had this summer and apply it to our school work!
Check out the kids’ pictographs that they made with crumpled up paper bags (to simulate a rocky surface) and paint! Bringing history to life sure makes it more interesting!
Check out our video on YouTube to see even more from the park!
Thank you for joining Chaos Caravan on our adventure at Pictograph Cave State Park! We had a great time stopping in to see the caves and we learned a little something too!
