MONTANA PARK OF THE WEEK Pictograph Cave

Located only five miles from Billings, Pictograph Cave State Park may seem small at only 23 acres, but it is full of history.

Along the rimrocks, you’ll find where Pictograph Cave has drawn human beings for over 3,000 years and was home to generations of prehistoric hunters.

With its abundant wildlife and vegetation, the fertile Yellowstone River Valley just north of the park provided an ideal campsite for travelers. Inside the three caves at the park, you can find over 2,100-year-old pictographs from some of Montana’s first inhabitants.

When and how these inhabitants arrived is still a mystery and the pictographs they left behind are still subject to great debate.

Due to its archeological significance, Pictograph Cave State Park was designated as a National Historic Landmark in 1964. Thousands of years ago, prehistoric hunters who camped in the Pictograph Cave left behind artifacts and over 100 pictographs.

The three main caves in the park - Pictograph, Middle, and Ghost - were created from the Eagle sandstone cliff by water and wind erosion. The deepest of the caves, Pictograph Cave, is 160 feet wide and 45 feet deep. In 1936 the first artifacts and paintings were discovered in the caves. And the next year became the site for one of the first archeologic excavations in Montana.

Roughly 30,000 artifacts were excavated from the site including, stone tools, weapons, paintings, and instruments. These artifacts helped researchers understand which native people used the caves and when. In addition to tools and animal bones, the excavations also turned up jewelry, pendants, bracelets, and beads crafted of sea shells acquired from Pacific Coast Indians, and in one excavation, researchers discovered barbed harpoon points of the Eskimo culture, made of caribou horn.

At the Park today, you’ll see pictographs depicting animals, warriors, and even rifles! The different colors used in the pictographs allowed researchers to identify when people inhabited the region and give an inside look into their lifestyle.

The park has a quarter-mile loop trail that leads to all three caves. Along the trail you can find interpretive displays that identify and explain the natural features, pictographs and vegetation found near the caves.

If you’re planning to visit, be sure to bring your binoculars to get the best view of the rock art, and be sure to check out the Visitor’s Center which includes interpretive displays and a gift shop.

Despite its close proximity to Billings, Pictograph Cave State Park has an abundance of wildlife.

Depending on the season you can see mountain lions, black bears, turkeys, coyotes, porcupines, red-tailed hawks, golden eagles, bald eagles, northern harriers, bobcats, mountain cottontails, rock doves, turkey vultures, mule deer, canyon wrens, magpies, ravens, crows, and chickadees.

The best time to see the pictographs is after rain or a snow melt! The moisture causes the drawings to become more prominent. And you’ll want to give yourself about an hour to walk the trail with extra time for a picnic and bird watching.