Reviews of Pictograph Cave State Park (Park)

Jared Knowles

The park is a short drive from Billings and well worth the stop. There is a recently added interpretative center which helps you understand the timeline of the caves and the significance of pictographs. The caves are a short hike. At first the pictographs seem faded, but with some looking you can start to make out the faint paintings of cave residents from hundreds or thousands of years before. You get a good sense from the landscape why people have been drawn to this place for thousands of years. It's peaceful and awe inspiring.

Peter Sorensen

Very light hike to get to the caves. Just enough trails to keep it interesting, but not exhaust anyone. The staff is very helpful, informative and courteous. Also has a shady picnic area. Be wary of snakes and dont panic if you see one. Just get the staff and the will be happy to safely move it to safety!

Lawrence Todd

One of the key sites defining Plains prehistory, and great place for relaxing stroll

Johnna Ramirez

This was pretty neat

Andrew H

A hidden Montana gem!

Dave York

Really cool place. Off the beaten path. Handicap accessible. Trails are kept up. Friendly park rangers. Glad we stopped. And reasonably priced to go see. Dog friendly also.......just be sure to pick up after your dog like a responsible human should.

Doris Blunt

Visitor center was friendly and informative, trail was very well maintained

Jewelry Maker

loved it. and the gift shop had nice gifts.

Jim Comings

So informational. Original indian pictographs.

Wynona Larsen

Nice place, lots of birds.

Ted Lapis

Sadly most of the pictographs have faded, or sloughed away. The recovered artifacts are well displayed, and the area is nicely kept. The staff were friendly, and helpful. We saw a very large raptor perched high on the cliff, that looked like a golden eagle. Magnificent!

Andy Wildenberg

Very cool to see human history on this timescale so close up. Unfortunately, it was during the big spring melt, and the water darkened stone made it very hard to see the drawings

Grace Huertas

Super fun, perfect family outing. Awesome area with picnic benches and a tipi.

Jesse Franzen

Great place to see history and it's a great outdoor setting.

Jennie Bennett

Just absolutely amazing. Bring good walking shoes. There are parts of the trail that are sandy, has stones and uneven...but an easy walk. Watch for Rattlesnakes.....bring a camera.

Dennis Woods

Interesting place to visit. Kids had fun.

Kraig Grose

A little disappointing. I realize the pictographs are old, but they are barely viable. I respect the significance of their presence, just expected clear, bold pictographs.

Jacob V.

A short distance from Billings, a short managed trail half is concrete other half is packed gravel. Pictographs can be a bit hard to see but the valley has some nice acoustics and is home to cliff swallows. The park also has some shaded picnic tables and a small grass patch.

Brooke Gardner

The park is set up very nicely and is free to visit for Montana residents. It is very close to Billings and a great short day hike.

Laura Patriquin

Most of the pictographs are gone. It appears that with time, the cave walls have crumbled and took the drawings with them. It is a lovely and scenic area to walk around in and enjoy the flora and fauna and the outdoors. The visitors' center has a lot of great information and neat stuff to buy.

Christopher Usler

Interesting but unfortunately the pictographs are no longer visible. You can see a little bit but it's all so weathhred that barely anything remains

Rebecca Bright Wings

Very interesting, yet, peaceful place. Learned a lot about the history of this area. I went here with my nephew to help him with inspiration from writers block. He loved it here. Helped him with some great ideas for the second half of his book.

Major Rettig

A neat bit of nature and trip back in time

Scott Colbert

Not very much too see. Sadly have to be honest and say not worth the detour.

Rita Csaszar

Very interesting area

Daphne Sutton

Much better place to visit now than a few years ago. Nice visitor center and paved walk to main cave.

Muriel Safroniuk

Self guided exploration

Stephanie Tardiff

Cool place. Doesn't take long to get through but still worth the $6 for out of state visitors.

Brynna Marion

Very nice place and very quiet

楊慕賢

Here you can see beautiful landscape, cave, great view and rattlesnake. Watch out!(^_-)

John Derums

Nice quick visit. The actual pictographs were a little hard to see. About 3/4 mile loop. Trail to pictograph cave is paved, reportedly accessible. I think it would be hard for wheelchair just because it is so steep. After the cave the trail becomes gravel and also is steep. Visitor center staff friendly. Entire facility was in good condition.

Maria Adiletto

Great place

JZN 89

Good place to walk around. Be careful of the giant wolf spiders.

Jessica Fischer

Great place to see some history! Family friendly trail. We had 5 small children ranging in ages from 2-9 years old, and everyone was able to hike up the side walks and trails to see the caves. A lot of the paintings were hard to see, but the ones painted in red were still visible! Highly recommend seeing this piece of history!

Jonathan Towles

Pretty intriguing place. Definitely recommend stopping in, if you have the time. It's a easy/moderate hike. Less than a mile.

J B

Friendly staff full of great information and an amazing location.

Sasch Mayer

Fascinating scenic/historic State Park off the beaten track. I ended up in Billings with a few hours to kill, so I decided to check out Pictograph Cave State Park. It's quite a small venue, but an utterly fascinating one. The visitor center contains a display detailing the site's history of human habitation and providing an insight into the archaeological excavations carried out here. The path up to the main cave is only about a quarter of a mile long, but it's quite steep. All on all there are three caves along the one mile loop trail, though only the main one holds any pictographs. Pro-Tip: If you're walking the whole loop, the "Un-maintained Trail" is actually a much easier as well as scenic way of getting to the third cave, than the main path.

Jerry Grimes

Great afternoon looking at the scenery and the swallows in their nest.

Daniel Stephenson

Cool history. Can't really see the pictographs very well anymore, but they're there.

Joseph Barrett

Neat place for a visit or for those who enjoy history.

Crystal Fullmore

Wow wow wow breathtaking , beautiful place. Bring a water bottle. Binoculars so you can see better. Watch out for snakes .. Beautiful place . I loved it. It very informative. $6.00 for out of state visitors.. GREAT PLACE..

Wendy Graham

Such a great experience a must see

Mike Scherback

Really cool place. Well worth the visit.

Colleen LaRock

Take binoculars. The drawings are visible without them but most simply look like marks until you magnify the view. It's a short steep climb. There are good signs to help identify where and for what you are looking.

Sela Young

Great little stop as we were driving through. Not too far off the highway. Nice shaded picnic area, flush toilets, and cold water. The walk to the caves was short yet steep, but worth it.

Jean Buer Mott

The markings are on caves are dissipating with time. It is a great history marker, the story is still there. It is a distance from billins although the drive is very pretty. The center provides great information and is clean

Michael Smith

Great place to explore and learn about the history of the area.

Clinton Kegel

Neat place to spend a few hours.

Ashley Culwell

Went here for my birthday was not disappointed

Kevin Brueseke

Nice park, hard to see the images but they are very old

Nick Rose

Great for a hike. The pictographs were just soso

Jeremie McCoy

Worth the drive!

Robert Hopkins

Not actually much to see. The walk is short and easy. The scenery is nice, but the arent really cave paintings to see. There are a few, but they are faded almost to non-existence...

Tyler Free

Short trial with cool pictographs. Free to residents (or if you have MT plates on the rental car)

Thomas Hansen

Stopped here on our honeymoon. Cool place to see.

Adam Raver

I brought my nephews here and definitely had a lot of fun. Its like a small adventure/travel through time kind of place. It doesn't require a lot of hiking so if you just need an easy walk with beautiful scenery, its a great visit.

George Allen

Cool place to make a quick stop at. Better go see it while you can! Very interesting

K KRAMER

Super cool place to go and visit... very interesting

RZM TingleWink

Very beautiful loved to cost and see all the pictographs! Beware of rattlesnakes!

Debra Barney

Lots of great information about our history.

Jan C

Very interesting look into the Native history of the area. Sadly, the pictographs are fading over time, but some are still visible, and that's neat.

Rebecca Anadale

This was an enjoyable stop. It is hard to see the black colored pictographs so bring binoculars. I thought I could just come in with my phone camera but they were still mostly not visible. It is a fairly quick stop for $6 a car. The ranger said we could get in to other parks with the same pass that day but we didn't have time. It was a nice piece of Native American history.

Jean T

Very nice little park. The walk is a bit steep but easy and short, less than a mile. The walk to ghost cave has a few steps, which could be navigated with a stroller if adventurous. We just parked it and walked. I don't think a wheelchair could do it, at least not easily. Half the walk is paved, half is gravel. The visitor center is small, cute, and sells a few things, but no binoculars. I'd suggest bringing your own. There are a few picnic tables, so you can bring food and eat. This is not a large park, but it's worth the trip, especially if you are in the area. Non residents pay $6 per car.

Glenda Stickel

Well worth the short time away from Billings. Great information and easy to navigate.

Kenny Collett

Really awesome to see history and nature here!

Bryan Habeck

Beautiful natural features, important historical pictographs

Graham Martin

Pitographs from hundreds maybe thousands of years ago

vinh nguyen

Great place for a pit stop and stretch your legs out on long drives. The visitor center has restroom and artifacts to check out. Watch out for snakes! Expect to pay for parking.

Howard Parham

Sorry wasn't much left to see. It was a really nice area

Dustin Nunley

The Pictographs is a pretty little park with a quick trail and some really nice and interesting views. I normally bring any guest that i have in town here as a warm up to any other hikes we may be doing and for some history regarding the Native Americans. The park is always clean and everytime i have gone has never been crowded and the rangers are always super informative. If you enjoy history I recommend stopping by the visitor center and talking with the ranger on duty and reading through the boards.

Kayleen Hunt

Awesome stop along the way to Yellowstone. Nice visitor center. Beautiful sights. Well worth it

Tiffany Richardson

The pictographs you can't hardly see them. Was very disappointed

Michael Mike

Nice little easy hike with a few offside trails.

tyco411

Montana is a beautiful state, and there is alot to see. This is not one of those things. I was disappointed. While the grounds are. Beautifully kept, the actual pictographs are little more than completely faded marks on a wall. Park staff were very nice.

Miranda G

This is a great short visit or stop for a break on a long car trip. The hiking trail to the cave is steep but short and paved. Not likely easy to access by wheelchair. The other trails are gravel and also steep with some stairs. The visitors center is very nice with a small gift shop and stories about the caves and area. Very knowledgeable rangers are there to help with questions.

Desiree Griffith

Had good day there it so georgeous..me kids loved I was here when I was a little kid too..

Christina Lipscomb

Great scenery, little workout for the tweenagers.

Lynnea Mae Cramer

Very beautiful! It was hot but very worth it!!

Cheryl Flick

This is a small park. The pictographs are fading

Dr. Kevin O'Connor

This is a great stop. The ride to get there is beautiful, you can park in a very short walk see places that humans have inhabited for 9000 years, twice the age of the Great Pyramids. The staff and volunteers were wonderful, very engaging and pleasant. It's a $6 stop to see such an ancient place. The swallows nests are cool, too.

Molly Smith

This was a stop I have wanted to make for awhile and finally made the time. Part of the trail is paved and the other part covered with gravel. I would suggest going with someone if you have mobility issues. It gets a bit steep in parts. Take a pair of binoculars. Yes, the pictographs are faded, but they are super old!! The interp signs do a wonderful job giving info and guiding you to the images locations. Beautiful area. Make sure you stop at the visitor center.

Lori Mack

Pictograph cave was an easy walk on paved walkway. Ghost cave trail in gravel, and steep for portion. Pictograph s have faded so a little hard to see.

Frederick Coen

Pictographs were really hard to see in the dry summer weather. Ranger says they are easier when it is wet.

Krystal Hankins

The caves weren't really "caves", they were more like indents in the side of the mountain. The pictographs were so hard to see, you really couldn't tell they were there without the whole park to point toward them. There were a lot of yellow jackets hanging out on the trail and the GRASSHOPPERS OH MY LORD. It was like an apocalypse of locusts just EVERYWHERE. Park Rangers need to introduce some birds to the area or something to get that under control. There were also little red and black beetles all over everything in swarms - encasing the tree near the teepee, all over the benches and picnic tables. If you're afraid of bugs or even a little iffy on bugs, don't go here. I love to support the parks...but this is too much.

Sonja Holt

Always love this place, bring plenty of water to drink on your hike

Adam Allsworth

The caves were amazing. What a beautiful state. Sadly, the park ranger at the visitors center was one of the rudest people I've ever met and I was appalled at the way I was treated once he learned I wasn't a resident of Montana. I paid my day pass fee, he literally threw my recent down at me. I would never expect to be treated with such indignity when taking my friends 10 year old son to a state park for a day outing.

Connie Andren

Definately should visit this before it's gone.

Jesse Peterson

Great fun for the whole family & close to Billings. An easy hike to the cavern

ghost mcnutt

Very beautiful. Short hike. Bring your camera!!

Patrick Conroy

I've lived in Billings for over 30 years and it seems like the pictograph caves have went downhill and of course they modernized it and of course they've added a fee

Micki Steele

Loved it! Sad that time has taken its toll!

Diana Rush

It's a REALLY good hike!!....For those who sit on the couch all the day eating potato chips!! In the summer when your there you'll definitely need a water bottle, cuz you're going to die of heat!... so I'd recommend going inside the building, because they have air conditioning inside!! But for those of you that haven't gone you should go!! You could get really great pictures the View once you hike!!

Bradley Wyss

Easily accessible park for an hour long visit, not much to do as the loop is about a half a mile long and the paintings are almost completely faded but it's still a cool to see.

Michael Baker

Interesting place. The girl working the visitor center was nice.

Darrell Jones

Interesting place. Thanks

C G

I was disappointed. You could only see, kind of, maybe six pictographs. The ranger was super friendly and helpful and the interpretive center was interesting. But I went for the pictographs, which really there was not much. The hike was okay. Not too challenging and suitable for almost anyone. Interesting rock formations.

KAT KRAMER

Very cool place to take the kids and just explore

D Gordon

A amazing place, feels almost spiritual.

Mark Crawford

Another must see if you're in the area

Rob Anderson

Gotta see it, before it's gone..

Justin McCarley

I love an interpretive center, but was disappointed that the pictographs were hard to see. If you go, go after it's been raining. Makes them easier to see. Still, it's fascinating to put yourself in the shoes of the ancient native Americans.

Tim S

An easy drive out from Billings, It's a small park but we enjoyed wandering around the short trail. The pictographs were a bit hard to see but the signage gave us a good idea of what was there. At $6 a car, it was worth the trip.

matt miller

Lots of walking good could use a little more information at stops

Mandy Dess

Awesome place!! Make sure to stop in the little gift shop for a children's workbook, then they can earn a jr ranger badge!! We even saw salamanders and lizards on the rocks!

Riley Ockerman

I enjoyed visiting the pictograph caves but was really disappointed in the quality of the pictographs themselves. They're hardly visible. It's no one's fault, really, some of them are nearly 2,000 years old and you can't expect them to last for ever. Overall it was a really nice area. I can see why people considered it a sacred spot in ancient times.

Mike Mestas

Drawings were iledgable to read. Not much in the way of the times. Glad we went. $6 worth the money to help preserve the caves.

doug richards

This place should be a world heritage site. Absolutely amazing, beautiful, well staffed, clean and friendly. I'll be bringing my entire family back. The bad reviews on here must be from someone who thinks 6$ a car load is too much to ask for the preservation and viewing of the oldest evidence of human existence on the northern plains. This place is what every state park should be: engaging, educational, relaxing, and astonishingly beautiful.

Brandkon McCullum

Kinda hard to see the markings right away.

Janeth Dominguez

We had a great time walking around and taking pictures highly recommended

Dave Fischetti

Went in January so trails were snow covered, made some places unattainable as far as " off the beaten trail" but beautiful, definitely something to experience. Google the area while you're there or after you leave. You'll be amazed. ✌❤

Deniz Nesrin

Beautiful area but not well preserved not ADA complaint as listed. You have to be able to walk or you cannot visit this site. The paved area is too steep for any scooters or motorized wheel chairs and doesn't cover the entire site. The markings on the rocks are way too faded to locate and the markers do not help you locate them at all. If you are an able, healthy person and enjoy the wide-open spaces, the site is quite beautiful but doesn't live up to the hype of being a great historical site.

Erin Murray

Absolutely gorgeous views, extremely informative, nice easy hike-took our littles and dog, great little visitor center!

john Kelleran

An inspiring little walk, combine it with Four Dancers for a lovely couple hours.

Matt

Great little walk make sure u have shoes and water

jim freeman

Very nice place to visit with the family. Nice area to get a fairly easy hike in.

loismar

The cave were amazing but many of the pictographs are fading. Watch the movie in the visitors center.

Craig Turner

Not much to it for the price. Was advertised as being more than we experienced. More of a picnic area than actual pictographs.

Kevin Werner

So, this place pops up high on the things to do in Billings. We were passing through on our way to Yellowstone so we gave it a try. Frankly, its just ok and I would not recommend going out of your way for it. If you are in town for a while and have an extra hour it's worth it. The visitor's center was ok and gave an decent introduction to the pictographs. However, when you get to the caves it is hard to see much and the directions at the caves is less than adequate.

Tamala Schmidt

Really fun to explore some Montana history.

Charlene Watters

Most the pictographs have worn off, but it's a nice hike and little taste of history.

Charlie Rowe

Great day trip. Nice museum. Bring a picnic lunch and relax after your hike.

Seth Fontenot

Beautiful scenery

Suzanne Purtee

Nice place to walk, lovely setting, interesting. Small, easy for families.

Miss Swan

Pretty scenery but the pictographs are barley visible so that was a let down but still nice place to go to

David Dejarnette

If you're near make it a point to see this historical land mark, it wont be here forever!!

Halle Bayne

Its impossible to not feel the power of the Native American's history when your standing in those caves!!

Kevin Rice

Very interesting place. Got lots of info from one of the caretakers there.

Steven Flis

Great place to stretch the legs on the way into Yellowstone

Mirian Oyola

Its Beautiful...amazing to witness...love the hike and great staff!!!

Jennifer Daniels

The perfect place for a family outing. We visited in July and everyone in our family enjoyed it. The hikes to the different caves were varying degrees of difficulty but we made it to each one with no trouble. The visitors center offers a great insight to the caves' histories. The gift shop is small but we managed to leave with some fun memories and souvenirs from our trip.

Enrique Childress

Nice little walk

Melody Monyok

A very simple park with a short hike that gives you a great leg workout. They do a good job of including interesting reading accompaniments to each cave and lookout. You will spend about an hour here.

Andrew Tracy

Great scenic trail

Brandon Brookes

Great short hike to see the old pictographs at the top. Very short hike less than a milestone, easy access to parking which does require payment to park unless you've got the Montana Parks Pass (thankfully we did). There's a lower area with a grass park with picnic tables, a tipi, and other cool and interesting exhibits. The trail has some closed areas that are a better hike, one branches off half way up and goes pretty far in but does not lead to the pictographs.

Duncan Craig

I would recommend a visit if your in the area. An interesting part of the history of the area. The caves were one of the few natural areas of shelter and so were bused by multiple peoples over the years. As it's only a short way out of Billings I would make the detour.

Nick Barnett

Very cool place. Just wish I could have seen the pictures before the rock started crumbling.

shay costigan

Cave is awesome and was a great place to take are dogs for a walk

William Graves

It is really cool place. Unfortunately the oldest pictures are nearly faded away.

John Smith

One of the neatest places I've visited in my life, and I've seen many ancient sites, and other pictographs, I just don't get tired of seeing them, and especially in the West.

Marguarita Marion

Very hard to find the pictographs.

Abhi Kaushal

Good trail alot to see

John Thurow

It's cool but aging, damage, and poor preservation in the old days have left a lot of the pictographs difficult to see. Interesting history, nice short hike and a good state park overall.

Daniel Blair

Must have really been something 75 years ago. Not much left. Mother nature has taken its toll.

Chris Kirkham

Really interesting.

Angelica hoffman

Don't go there waist of time and money. 20 min hike not allowed to touch anything boring!

Kerry S.

Kind of a cool place. Close to Billings and easy to to walk around if you are in moderate shape. I did not see any snakes, but saw some small little gecko looking things. The visitor center has some cool artifacts and restrooms.

Janine Hirschklau

Gorgeous and cool piece of American history

Wyoming Rayne

This was a very nice place to visit. Not much there as far as actual pictographs that are visible. When they say watch for rattle snakes, they are not kidding! Came across a baby one on the trail.

Chelsey Beck

Such a beautiful historical landmark. One of a kind experience to see these caves and imagine what life was like hundreds of years ago for the people who lived here. And to see some of the pictographs appear the same as they were years ago is so awesome!

Rob Ashford

I could not see the point of this place? The cave was not really a ‘cave’ and the drawings were none existent. Probably a nice walk but on this day it was far to hot.

B Wash

Beautiful. Fun walk. Nice place for a short day trip. Has picnic benches for a lunch.

Kari Struble

Nice park

Red Faux

Not much to do here. Nice scenery but shouldn't be called a cave. It's actually more like a concave dent in the side of a hill. 1 hour and your done here.

Ken Luke

Great history, nice short walk. Do watch for snakes!

Raven Kai

It's beautiful and amazing but sadly, it's been vandalized and most of the images are faded. Definitely worth visiting if you have a couple of hours to take your time and enjoy it.

Janice Adcock

The history and the views.