Petroglyphs and pictographs cover the sandstone cliffs of Deer Medicine Rocks, some of which may date to two thousand years ago. People, animals, designs, and inanimate objects cover all sides of the monolith. They include shield-bearing warriors…

Located along major intertribal trade and travel routes, the Missouri River headwaters was a confluence of people as well as rivers. Faded pictographs testify to long usage by Plains and Intermontane tribes, including the Shoshones, who regularly…

Traveling through southeastern Montana in 1883, naturalist, writer, and future United States President Theodore Roosevelt was struck by what he called the Medicine Buttes. He wrote, “Altogether it was as fantastically beautiful a place as I have…

The Hamilton Hikers’ Club built this lodge in 1935-36 as a destination and meeting place for their newly formed hiking, skiing, and camping group. Named after one of the highest peaks in the Bitterroot Range, El Capitan Lodge sits on Bitterroot…

Seeley Lake is one link in a chain of five lakes nestled between the lofty Swan and Mission mountain ranges in western Montana. Two hundred acres of ancient larch trees surround the area, which has drawn visitors since the early 1900s. In 1924, the…

Breathtaking scenery forms the backdrop for this majestic mountain lodge, built by Indianapolis businessman Arthur L. McKinney on the site of a great Sioux-Nez Perce battle. In 1934, McKinney purchased this land with the intent to build a summer…

As a teenager, Alfred Croonquist guided fishing trips and dreamed of a place where eastern visitors could enjoy Montana’s bounty. In 1919, the first building on the banks of the West Fork of Rock Creek was completed. Camp Senia, named for Alfred’s…

A nearby wind-swept ridge overlooking the Cree Crossing on the Milk River was the original resting place of this ancient weather-worn effigy. There the boulder sat as the leader of a herd of reclining buffalo envisioned in an outcrop of granite.…

Pennsylvania brick mason Louis Reeder came to Helena in 1867 to practice his trade. Reeder invested in real estate and among his properties were these lots along the steep hillside of West Cutler Street. Between 1875 and 1884 Reeder constructed a…

Immense herds of bison once roamed the great North American prairies. As many as 30 million of the great shaggy beasts moved seasonally in herds of 25 to 300, following the same patterns year after year. Bison, or buffalo, were the lifeblood of the…