Welcome to the Pryors

Layout Creek, Bighorn Canyon National Recreation Area. (Photo by Dick Walton) Layout Creek, Bighorn Canyon National Recreation Area. (Photo by Dick Walton)
Welcome to our Virtual Visitor’s Center for the Pryor Mountains.  And welcome to the Pryors.  If you are not already familiar with the Pryors, we hope this website will introduce you to a very special piece of the Montana landscape.  If you already know the Pryors, we hope this website will remind you of wonderful times you have spent there – and help you dream of future trips.

In either case we hope you will visit the Pryors to experience this enchanted island above the prairie.  Travel gently whether on foot, horse, mountain bike, skis, or motor vehicle.  Travel slowly.  Be sure to get out of (or off of) your vehicle (motorized or not) to watch wildlife, birds, flowers, butterflies; to study the geology or botany; to consider the over ten thousand years of human cultural history; or to just sit quietly and enjoy spectacular views and the solitude.  Do not hurry home.

We hope you will join us in our attempt to preserve this natural treasure for visitors many decades into the future.  Help us convince the federal land managers to increase their efforts to protect the Pryors from abusive activities and other threats.  Encourage development of management plans that better preserve the unique landscape and ecosystems, and the opportunities for all respectful visitors to enjoy this special landscape.

Why are the Pryors Special?

Photo Gallery

Maps of the Pryors

Hiking in the Pryors – Trail guides for 8 hikes

Pryor Mountain Road – Vehicle access to the Pryors and a Driving Tour

Natural History – Birds, Botany, Butterflies, Geology, Reptiles and Amphibians, Wildflowers, Lost Water Canyon Research Natural Area

Cultural History – Archaeology, A Sacred Landscape, The Homestead Era

Camping in the Pryors

Land Management – Issues and Concerns

Should the Pryors be designated as a National Monument ??»

Currently most of the public land in the Pryors is managed by the Forest Service (USFS) and the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) according to typical USFS and BLM management policies. Some people think this small island in the prairie is sufficiently important culturally and ecologically that this landscape should be more carefully protected for the future with National Monument designation or something similar.

Tell us what you think. Click here.