9 Best Sights in Billings, Little Big Horn, and the Montana Plains, Montana

Focusing on Native American and early homestead settlement, the 35-acre Bighorn County Historical Museum and Visitor Information Center complex comprises 24 historic buildings that have been relocated to the site. The buildings are open May 1–October 1, and interpretive exhibits in the museum explore the region's Native American and pioneer history. Friendly staff and volunteers help bring life to the museum.

The Bowdoin Wildlife Refuge Headquarters, at the main entrance to Bowdoin, provides information on refuge conditions, species lists, a variety of mounted birds and mammals, and instructions for a drivable tour route.

The Bowdoin Wildlife Refuge Headquarters, at the main entrance to Bowdoin, provides information on refuge conditions, species lists, a variety of mounted birds and mammals, and instructions for the auto tour.

There are three staffed field stations in the refuge: the Sand Creek Wildlife Station, the Jordan Wildlife Station, and the Fort Peck Wildlife Station. Although they have no public facilities, they are conveniently scattered around the park, and are good sources of information, including maps, road conditions, and points of interest. If they're in, the rangers will help you with directions or problems.

The Crooked Creek Ranger Station, past the south entrance of the park in Wyoming, is staffed during the summer and offers information as well as a restroom.

The 18,000-square-foot Fort Peck Interpretive Center features interpretive displays recounting the history and significance of the dam's construction, wildlife of the lower river and Missouri River Breaks. You'll find one of the most striking life-size dinosaur displays in the West, a reproduction of Peck's Rex, a tyrannosaurus Rex unearthed near Fort Peck, as well as other local dinosaur discoveries. The center also features the largest aquariums in Montana, filled with the native and introduced fish species of Fort Peck Reservoir and the Missouri River. Guided tours of the dam and its power plants are available April through October.

Follow the trail that the Corps of Discovery traveled 200 years ago (1803–06) in search of an overland route to the Pacific Ocean and experience their struggles and successes. The center shows what it was like for travelers and Native Americans of the era through films, exhibits, and live programs. Take the self-guided tour, and watch the costumed interpreters conduct demonstrations.

The Missouri Breaks Interpretive Center puts the fabled Missouri Breaks in perspective, and offers a virtual glimpse of the river to those not floating down the Mighty Mo and maps for those who do. The front of the building, on Fort Benton's historic levee, looks like the stunning White Cliffs of the Missouri; the rear resembles the deck of a paddlewheel steamer. Inside, photos and films of the river and its wildlife, interactive exhibits, and history lessons await. Don't miss the rifle surrendered by Chief Joseph of the Nez Perce.

The Yellowtail Dam Visitor Center in the northern unit features exhibits focusing on the life of Crow Chief Robert Yellowtail, the Crow people, the history of the Bighorn River, the dam's construction, and the wildlife in the area, including the wild mustangs that roam the high grasslands of the Pryor Mountains above the canyon.