Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
The museum is one of the few dedicated to recording and collecting oral histories of vari-
ous regional Native American groups.
MM
Pictograph Cave State Park
Located southeast of Billings among the sandstone cliffs that form the rimrocks,
Pic-
tograph Cave State Park
(3401 Coburn Rd., 406/254-7342,
www.stateparks.mt.gov
,
8am-8pm daily late May-early Sept., 10am-6pm daily Apr.-May and Sept., 10am-5pm daily
Oct.-Mar., $5/vehicle nonresidents, free for Montana residents) contains three caves with
evidence of human habitation that is more than 4,500 years old. Pictographs that date back
2,200 years can also be seen in one of the caves. Binoculars are helpful since visitors are
kept some distance back in order to protect the ancient artwork. In 1936 a significant ar-
chaeological survey uncovered more than 30,000 artifacts from the site, including barbed
harpoon points made from caribou horn. The park was vandalized in the 1950s and 1960s,
when much of the artwork was covered with graffiti. Today it has been carefully restored,
and in places, tracings from the initial archaeological study have been overlaid on the ori-
ginals in order to make the vivid images more visible. A nice trail system winds through the
park, and picnic facilities are available for day use only.
