Billings Montana

Satisfy a Yearning for Outdoor Adventure

Start exploring Big Sky Country at Swords Rimrock Park, where trails leading to the river cliffs offer mountain views and picturesque historic sites including Skeleton Cliff and Boothill Cemetery. Just south, at Pictograph Cave State Park, see the Pictograph, Middle and Ghost caves, once home to prehistoric hunters. Hike Kelly Mountain and come upon Yellowstone Kelly’s grave. Take Beartooth Highway – a scenic pass that runs from Red Lodge all the way to Yellowstone National Park, just 97 kilometers from Billings. Add a scenic drive along Rimrock Bluffs to see the Yellowstone River (the nation’s longest free-flowing river) from above.

Exploring the City

Stop in the Western Heritage Center and learn about the people of the Yellowstone River Valley and the Northern Plains. At the Yellowstone Art Museum, venture into the vault to see works not currently on display. Take the family to ZooMontana, a wildlife and botanical park. Check out the free Yellowstone County Museum to see more than 15,000 artifacts. And take in a concert or sporting event at the 12,000-seat Rimrock Auto Arena. Want more outdoor time? Lake Elmo State Park, a 25-hectare outdoor oasis in the city, offers hiking, swimming, boating, sailboarding, fishing and picnicking.

Continue your Billings orientation with a history lesson by reserving a spot on various tours of historic sites, beginning with Moss Mansion, where you’ll learn about how Billings was created. For a spirited, self-guided walking tour, find your way to six craft breweries and two distilleries, including Yellowstone Valley Brewing Company/Spirit of Montana Distilling, Angry Hank’s and Montana Brewing Company.

Beyond Billings

An hour outside town, travel to Little Bighorn Battlefield National Monument for a sobering and informative look into the region's past. Find Chief Plenty Coups State Park just 40 minutes south on the Crow Indian Reservation, where the chief’s log home and farmstead, as well as a sacred spring, are still standing. Visit nearby Pompeys Pillar National Monument, a sandstone rock formation overlooking the Yellowstone River and an interpretive center that tells the story of Captain William Clark’s expedition. In the Pryor Mountains – East Pryor and Big Pryor – travel from an arid red desert up to forests and meadows, and you’ll see nearly 1,000 plant species and more than 200 animal species.

Of course, a visit to Billings would not be complete without the 100-kilometer trip to Yellowstone National Park to see its hot springs, geysers, mountains, forests and lakes.