The Beauty of the Badlands
Dawson County, MT
Photography by Stu Hoefle
Glacier and Yellowstone National Parks, Montana’s most popular National Parks with over 6 million combined annual visitors, are generally avoided by Montana and Wyoming locals during tourist season. Those who live within a day’s drive of the two parks likely choose to avoid bumper to bumper traffic and overcrowding just to catch a glimpse of the geological marvels and wildlife the worldly attractions offer. It’s best to wait until the crowds subside.
On a more manageable scale, offering beauty which parallels the national parks, over 50 state parks are scattered across Montana for residents and tourists alike to enjoy. From the Lewis and Clark Caverns to the Tongue River Reservoir, Montana’s parks offer a wide variety of recreation opportunities.
One of those treasures is on the far eastern side of the state, less than 50 miles from the North Dakota border. Just a few minutes off Interstate 94, solitude and an immersion in nature and history can be easily appreciated at Makoshika State Park.
Entering the Park in June this year, visitors were met with thick sweet clover hugging both sides of the road and lush native grasses and wildflowers covering the hillsides. The pavement’s end at the top of the switchbacks offers an endless panoramic view of the badlands. Pine trees and sagebrush dot the lush prairie as the dirt road continues and the striking lush spring vegetation offers bold contrast from the stark, light gray, barren slopes of Eastern Montana’s infamous badland topography. Riley Bell, Recreational Manager of the park, confidently noted that the vegetation would change, but the view would always remain, just as it has for millions of years.
“We’ve had a very wet June with thunderstorms almost every afternoon,” he said. “The locals claim the last two years it’s been greener than it has been for a long time.”
With the abundant rainfall Montana experienced this spring, much of the countryside is flourishing with green grass and flowing rivers and streams. Makoshika received more than 100 percent of its average rainfall by July 1. Knee-high grasses along the park trails and new growth sprouting among the cedar bushes, pine trees and sagebrush, make it hard to envision the prehistoric scene when dinosaurs roamed the area. The sediments of the badlands, primarily the Hell Creek Formation, are 65 million years old and a hotbed for fossils and dinosaur bones.
Makoshika (Ma-ko’-shi-kah), which is derived from the Lakota word “maco sica,” meaning badlands or land of bad spirits, encompasses almost 12,000 acres and is a short drive through residential Glendive. The park features sandstone and shale columns, rock formations called caprocks or hoodoos, coulees, and spires created by erosion over the course of thousands of years.
“Makoshika is definitely unlike any of the other state parks. But you do have to see it to really appreciate it.”
In the late 1800s, local settlers and homesteaders hoped to preserve the beauty of the badlands and advocated for the area to become a park. Several proposals were pushed forward to declare the area a National Park, but the federal government failed to recognize it as such.
In 1939, Catherine McCarty, a descendant of some of the region’s first homesteaders donated a tract of land to Dawson County with the provision that it be preserved. Her actions were the start of the continued accumulation of land through donations by the city of Glendive, Dawson County, the Bureau of Land Management, and other private landowners.
“This is my happy place. I’ve driven or hiked every trail with my dog, and my family has camped here for years.”
Today, Makoshika is Montana’s largest state park and hosts over 100,000 visitors each year. In the long-empty footprints of dinosaurs, current visitors can experience over forty species of birds as their songs filter through the crisp, clean air. With little vegetation, wildlife is scarce, though mountain lions and mule deer do frequent the area. Given the park’s vastness, daily traffic is relatively quiet as travelers disappear onto the numerous hiking trails and camping locations.
Off one of the beaten paths, where the Twin Sisters formation watches over the valley, an amphitheater is set into a hillside. Used for park programs and open to the community, the venue has become a favorite for weddings and is booked nearly every summer weekend. With space for hundreds of guests, even a full amphitheater doesn’t interfere with other park activities.
“There’s plenty of room to stretch out and plenty to see,” Riley said with a laugh.
Riley has been the park’s manager for the past year and a half, after having worked in other Montana parks including the Missouri Headwaters and White Sulphur Springs.
“Makoshika is definitely unlike any of the other state parks,” he said. “But you do have to see it to really appreciate it.”
Riley manages Makoshika with three full time employees and several seasonal workers. One of the seasonal workers, Julia Crighton, a Dawson Community College student who was born and raised in Glendive, has been visiting the park her entire life and has worked in the visitor’s center for three years.
“This is my happy place,” Julia said with a smile. “I’ve driven or hiked every trail with my dog, and my family has camped here for years.”
Julia believes in the preservation of history and values the many educational opportunities available to guests, including a weekly program offered by a paleontologist intern exploring fossil hunting through a workshop and a hike.
“We like to engage our guests in as many ways as possible,” she continued. “And there’s a lot to take in here.”
Though fossils cannot be removed by guests, nor can they partake in digging, The Museum of the Rockies is permitted to harvest them. Through the partnership, multiple fossils and dinosaur bones have been located and cataloged, with some of the most significant finds on display at the visitor’s center including a Triceratops skull and a replica of a Tyrannosaurus Rex. A total of ten species of dinosaurs have been unearthed in Makoshika. Riley says it’s a win-win relationship with the Museum as they frequently exchange fossils and bones creating an evolving and interesting exhibit in the visitor’s center.
More recently, a new display was discovered as workers repaired a sinkhole caused by flash flooding. Three buffalo skulls, a large one and two small ones, were exposed during the repair of the paved road.
“We think it was a cow and her two calves,” Riley explained. “It was pretty exciting, and we’ll have them on display soon.”
If the views, hikes, and fossil displays don’t pique interest for visitors, other park activities include an archery range and several disc-golf courses.
“Our disc-golf course is rated number two in the state,” Riley said. “We have a lot of people that come just to play the course.”
“It’s very challenging,” Julia added. “Especially when they have to scare the rattlesnakes off before they can play.”
The two quickly added that although snakes are often seen, there has been only one snake bite in recent years at the park. Hikers are warned to be aware, but unlike many parks which aim to keep travelers sequestered to marked trails, Riley encourages visitors to wander off the path and explore all the park has to offer.
“It’s a beautiful area,” he concluded. “We’re very proud of our park, the history, and the beauty. Plus, we’re accessible year-round. We’re here to share it with others.”