Friday,
July 28th – Thursday, August 3rd
Billings
KOA, Billings, Montana
Leaving Helena, we headed east on scenic mountain roads, so
much nicer than taking the boring interstates. We drove around and through the
Helena National Forest and the Lewis and Clark National Forest, such beautiful
scenery. We didn't know what to expect in Billings so we had only booked 4 days
at the Billings KOA Park. It looked like a very nice park and it was right on
the Yellowstone River, so we hoped to do some kayaking. Approaching the
Billings area we we're driving over a high desert plateau, when we were able to
see the Billings Valley. It’s a very large city, quite green and beautiful due
to the rivers and creeks. Billings is the largest city in the state of Montana
and it was quite obvious that it is a heavily agricultural, oil and gas, industrial
town. One of the most significant features in Billings is the sandstone bluffs
surround the city known as the Rimrocks. The “Rims” range in height from 200 to
500 feet. It is such different geology than we have seen anywhere in the
northwestern states.
We had discovered that there were a couple of major mountain
bike trail systems in the Billings area. The next day we headed out to Phipps
Park, after visiting a local bicycle shop for some repair parts and trail
advice. These trails were on the top of one of those Rimrock plateaus. They
were actually a lot of fun once we got up there, but there was at least a mile
long, steep climb up a single-track to the top, it was brutal. The views from
the top of the Rimrock were spectacular, looking back into the Billings Valley
and on the other side to the agricultural and suburban communities. A few of
the trails were not rideable due to rock fall and lack of maintenance, so we
just stayed on the very top rim trail.
We were able to arrange a taxi shuttle so we could get our
kayaks out on the Yellowstone River. We put in upstream at a public boat ramp
and paddled back to the campground. The river was moving very swift and we
actually did 20 miles and just about 3 hours. Along the way we were truly
surprised to see six bald eagles; one pair in trees, two juveniles in trees and
then near the end of the paddle we saw two adult bald eagles just sitting on
the shoreline of the river. It was amazing to see that many eagles in one day.
We had a really fun time, the weather was perfect and it was a great day.
There was a scenic drive that headed south of Billings and
down into Wyoming called the Beartooth Scenic Byway. We took the dogs and planned
to spend most of the day driving the amazing road. As we began heading south on
the byway the elevation started changing rapidly. We went through the town of Red
Lodge at elevation of 5500’, then after 7 miles of switchbacks up into the
mountains, we were able to see the peaks and glaciers of the Beartooth Mountains.
At one point we rose up into the tundra area which was quite flat and beautiful.
There were several vista points and rest areas which made it even more
wonderful for the views. At one point we passed over the 45th parallel which is
also the Montana-Wyoming border. At this point we drove out of the Custer
National Forest and into the Shoshone National Forest. We drove to the highest
elevation which was the West Summit Overlook at 10,947’ above sea level, with
amazing 360-degree views of the Beartooth Plateau and other mountain peaks. At
that point and after 40 miles, we turned around and headed back to Billings. It was a wonderful day
although it was a little bit overcast in some places. We were very glad we had
taken the time to experience this Scenic Byway and see the amazing mountain
range and the valleys.
The next day we headed out to a different mountain biking
trail called the Zimmerman Trail. This trail was on the south side plateau of
the Billings Valley and was actually much better than the previous trails we
had ridden. We enjoyed them so much we went there two days. We truly enjoyed
the mountain bike trails there, along with all the other activities.
Billings turned out to be an unexpected pleasure, we
ended up staying a full week there and we were busy every day. Also the
Billings KOA is an outstanding park, one of the nicest we have ever stayed at
in the whole country. It also is the first KOA ever created. We don’t usually
stay at KOA’s, due to the high prices, but this one was worth it.
This visit to Billings Montana really sealed the deal on how
much we love this state. Everyone there was so nice and friendly, just good
people! Again, we were sad to leave such a favorite place, but we were ready to
head into North Dakota for adventures there.
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