Bighorn National Forest and Bighorn Canyon National Recreation Area

Bighorn National Forest

And we are off on another BIG summer adventure.  We took a couple years away from long summer excursions to get both boys settled into their respective colleges, Doug retired from teaching, and we sold our family camper and bought a camper more suitable for two.   

This year Doug and I are spending the summer traveling the country on our own, although the boys will be joining us for 12 days later in the summer.  A couple days after I finished teaching we left to head back out west.  Our goal is to re-visit some of our favorite National Parks and to explore Idaho, Washington, and Oregon States.  

After 4 days of traveling, we left Buffalo, WY and headed through the Bighorn National Forest.  The Bighorn Mountains are a sister range to the Rocky Mountains.  

Headed up and up and up 

Weather Station 

Headed down the other side 

We made it!! 

 Bighorn Canyon National Recreation Area

This unit of the National Park Service was established on October 16, 1966, following the construction of the Yellowtail Dam on the Bighorn River.  This dam was constructed for flood control, power generation, irrigation and recreation.  The dam can be found in the North Unit of the park.  We stayed in the Southern Unit, where the canyon is.  The South Unit lies on the border between Wyoming and Montana, and is 3,832 feet above sea level.  

Horseshoe Bend Campground 

Home for 2 nights!  Horseshoe bend Campground is found 10 miles north of Lovell, WY.  Note: The visitor center is in Lovell, but there is a ranger station at the entrance to the park.  

Bucky checking out the campground 

Bucky wondering why it is so hot

The views from our campground were amazing! 

Lupines

Devil Canyon Overlook 

Lower Layout Creek Trail 

This hike was approximately, 4 miles round trip.  The end of the trail offered amazing views of the Lower Creek Canyon.   The desert vegetation was in early summer bloom.  

Wild Horses 

There are approximately 120 wild horses of Spanish, Arabian and English descent within the park. They either escaped or were released by Native Americans.   We were fortunate to be able to see a few of them as we drove through the park.  

Bighorn Sheep

We were very excited to see Bighorn Sheep!  We were out looking for them but they found us by jumping a fence and crossing the road right in front of us. 

The one in the front was posing 

They are perfectly camouflaged 

State Line Trail 

When we talked to a park ranger he said that every trail give you different views of the canyon.  He was so right! This trail is right after you cross from Wyoming into Montana.  

Caroline Lockhart Ranch 

Caroline Lockhart was a journalist, author, and rancher that lived in Southern Montana after moving here from Cody, WY in 1926. The ranch dates back to 1900, when it was settled by Lincoln Hannon and his wife, Alice and their two children.  The ranch changed owners multiple times until Lockhart purchased it in 1926.  She resided here until 1955, when she returned to Cody, WY.  It was then owned by Issac Tippets until he sold portions of his ranch to the National Park Service in 1980. 

Root Cellar 

The bottom was built by previous owners and the upper portion during the Lockhart era. 
It was the home of her chief foreman. 

Cowboy bunkhouse 

Caroline owned a car as well as had a blacksmith shop. 

Stables 

Primary residence 

Primary Residence 

This is a less visited unit of the NPS with only 200,000 visitors a year.  A secret that needs to get out! Doug and I give it an 8/10.  Some of the trails need work or are called a "trail" but not really a trail.   

Total miles traveled: 1,923.5

Total campgrounds: 5

Miles hiked: 6