Bighorn Canyon National Recreation Area at Yellowtail Dam

After we got set up at the Hardin KOA, I headed out about to Bighorn Canyon National Recreation Area down at Fort Smith, Montana.  The map said it would take an hour to get there, but in reality it only took about 40-45 minutes.  The road speed limit was about 70 so it didn't take nearly as long as I thought.  After Yellowtail Dam, I'll be heading back to Hardin for an early dinner and then Scott and I are going together to see Little Big Horn National Battlefield since their visitor center didn't close until 8 p.m. which is only a 15 minute drive from Hardin.

The address online said to go to this address where the park headquarters was, but after walking in, I found out that I had to continue over to the Yellowtail Dam to get my book stamped.  The drive was pretty in this area with lots of boats and water.  The people at the headquarters weren't all that friendly and it was like pulling teeth for them to give me directions and I felt like I was interrupting their coffee hour when I was there.

There were no directions up to Yellowtail Dam, so I just turned where I thought I should from the lack of directions I was given at the headquarters.  But, as I wound my way up to the dam, I felt more confident that I was going the right way.  Once I got to the dam, there was a very pretty visitor center.  I especially liked the garden in front of the center with all sorts of native plants.  The gal ranger at the visitor was super friendly and helpful.

Inside the visitor center was a large space with an information desk, a small store and a few exhibits.  I only had to spend just a few minutes here. The Crow Indians lives in this area and the migration map was interesting to me as they traversed the country for a place to live.

There were some gorgeous views from the glass at the visitor center of the dam.

The windows were a bit dirty, so I went outside to see if I could get a better view.  Yellowtail Dam, which is open seven days a week.  The Yellowtail Dam stands 525 feet high, damming the Bighorn and backing up the lake for 71 miles!

You can see that there is little water on the river.  Here's an arial view of the area.  If this dam ever broke, poor Fort Smith and it's 150 people would be toast as well as other towns along the river.

As I drove back down the hill, there were some very pretty scenery of the Fort Smith area.  In this area is hiking, fishing, hunting and boating and hunting.  The Bighorn Canyon Rec Area is accessed through two states, Montana and Wyoming.

Montana Side

Wyoming Side

The top things to do in this location at the north side of the rec area are (1) fishing at the Bighorn River, (2) Boating on Bighorn Lake, (3) Viewing Yellowtail Dam, (4) Camping at Black Canyon, and (5) Going on the Ranger Led program which are done every Saturday night during the summer at the Afterbay campground theater where you can learn about the history of the Crow Nation, river trips, bears, floating the Bighorn, etc.

I think this would be a fun place for water activities and camping if you were on the Montana side of the river.  There were plenty of camp sites that I could see from the road and some even close to Yellowtail Dam.