Southeast Montana

Southeast Montana is a region in Montana.

Cities

• 1 Billings — the largest city in Montana
• 2 Colstrip — named for the coal mines the town was created for
• 3 Crow Agency — governmental headquarters of the Crow Native Americans
• 4 Forsyth — "City of trees" along the Yellowstone River
• 5 Glendive — in the Badlands, with Makoshika State Park
• 6 Hardin — hosts the Big Horn County Historical Museum
• 7 Lame Deer — governmental headquarters of the Northern Cheyenne
• 8 Miles City — started as a fort town, now major agriculture town

Other destinations

Bighorn River Canyon

Get in

By plane

Billings Logan International Airport BIL ^IATA is the major airport for Eastern Montana, and the busiest airport in the state.

By car

• I-90 connects Billings to Wyoming.
• I-94 joins I-90 at Billings heading east to Miles City, Glendive and North Dakota.
• U.S. 87 connects Billings with Roundup.

Get around

As with most of Montana, travel by car is the primary way to get around. In this rural area there are very few additional options. The larger towns, such as Miles City, do have a taxi cab company.

See

The Battle of the Little Bighorn

Little Bighorn Battlefield National Monument in Crow Agency memorializes the US Army's 7th Cavalry, Crow, and Arikara scouts and the Lakotas, Cheyennes, and Arapaho in one of the American Indian's last armed efforts to preserve their way of life.

The Yellowtail Dam near Crow Agency is part of the Bighorn Canyon National Recreation Area. It offers boating, kayaking, fishing, hiking, camping.

Do

The Bucking Horse Sale held in Miles City in May is a major auction of rodeo stock with parade, quick draw art contest, horse races, rodeo, horse sales, street dances.

Makoshika State Park near Glendive features rugged badlands covering over 11,400 acres, and is part of the Montana Dinosaur Trail.

Eat

Check for restaurants on the Southeast Burger Trail to enjoy some local diners.

Drink

Montanan's enjoy craft beer and the southeast steps up with several breweries. The larger towns also have tap houses offering selections from all across the state.

Stay safe

During the winter, smaller secondary roads are often closed entirely, and even the Interstate can shut down rapidly when the weather turns poor. Verify weather conditions and road status here before setting out, and travel with emergency supplies. Unpaved roads are typically impassable for over half the year.

During the summer, the distances between towns means gas stations and services are far apart. Be sure you have extra water in the car in case of a breakdown. These are also the badlands, lots of rock formations with sparse trees. So when you're out exploring, again, bring water.

Go next

• Dickinson, gateway to the Badlands, is to the east
• Rapid City to the southeast offers several tourist attractions
• Yellowstone National Park - there are three entrances easily accessible on the western side of Southeast Montana, Cody, Cooke City, and Gardiner.