Superintendent Message

Jerry Case, Superintendent of Bighorn Canyon NRA

NPS

The Grandest Canyon in the Northern Rockies!

I wish I could take credit for coining that phrase because it truly
describes Bighorn Canyon!

Welcome to Bighorn Canyon National Recreation Area- your park, your place of refuge, your place for rejuvenation and recreation. Bighorn Canyon has been called the “Grandest Canyon in the Northern Rockies” and I’m certain after you’ve had an opportunity to explore you will agree.

New Interpretive Programs
I take great pleasure in thanking our new Interpretive Division, the folks responsible for bringing you this website. They are also responsible for the packed schedule of
interpretive and educational opportunities planned throughout the upcoming year. This publication will provide you with details of many of those activities. I am very excited about the upcoming summer programs and activities and I hope you are as well.

Viewing Wildlife
If you have never visited Bighorn Canyon before, you might expect that you
will need a boat to see the canyon and the elusive Big Horn sheep. Not so! Bighorn sheep, wild horses, deer, antelope, and bear are readily sighted from the roads and trails that traverse the north and south districts of the park. Even without your own boat you can explore the canyon by lake on a rental pontoon boat from the Ok-A-Beh Marina, or on a commercial tour boat trip down lake from the Horseshoe Bend Marina.

Leave No Trace
If you are returning to “The Canyon” for a second, third, or even the 100th
time, you will notice some new changes in the park. Among those changes are efforts in making park operations more sustainable, saving resources, and spending your tax dollars more wisely. We are stepping up our promotion of “Leave No Trace”.

The Canyon is a wild place and in respecting this fragile environment, we are asking our lake users to bring their trash back to the marinas and drop it off in the dumpsters provided. Much time and tax dollars are spent hauling trash from the lake. Being responsible for disposing of your trash will contribute toward Leaving No Trace in the backcountry of Bighorn Canyon.

Zebra Mussels
Exotic zebra mussels are invading bodies of fresh water in many, many lakes and streams in the United States. They have not made it to Bighorn Lake and we want to do everything we can to keep them out of this beautiful lake. With your help and due diligence we can do it! You can read more about our efforts on this website.

In your wanderings through Bighorn Canyon every day is a new adventure, and it’s here for you to enjoy!