Its not hard to see why Native American tribesconsidered the ancient sandstone pillars of the Medicine Rocks in southeastern Montana sacred.The remote landscapeis both peaceful and beautiful, coveredwith strangegeological rock formations. In the 1800s,Sioux and Northern Cheyenne camped near these unique perforated rocks, which are filled with holes and tunnelscrafted by rainfall and wind over 61 million years.

The Medicine Rocks site is populated with chained and isolated arches, and caves and spires reaching 80 feet high and 200 feet across.Tribes came here searching for medicinal plants to use in theirvision quests, as well as lookout pointsfor hunting bison and resting spots whiletraveling from the Yellowstone River Valley to the Black Hills. Later, in 1883, future President Theodore Roosevelt visited the land and wrote, As fantastically beautiful a place as I have ever seen.

The 320 acres of Medicine Rocksstill offers physical reminders of the past. Youcan find thousands oftribal petroglyphs that predate European settlement, signatures of cowpunchers, a sheepherders famous profile of a woman with a flower beside a bird, and recent inscriptions of elk, cattle brands, and military mentions.

Carving into the rocks isprohibited and park officials ask you be careful not to vandalize the site or disturb earlier markings. Instead,they recommend climbing the swiss cheese rocks and taking in the sights ofthe golden eagles flying in the skies above, and the mule deer and sharp-tailed grouse moving on the prairiebelow.

Medicine Rocks is setabout 11 miles north of Ekalaka and 30 miles west of both the North Dakota and South Dakota borders. The sitewas privately owned until Carter County, Montana seized the property inthe 1930s. Thestate of Montana took over ownership in 1957 and in 1993 it hadthe site declared a primitive park. Today, the parkis managed by the stateDepartment of Fish, Wildlife and Parks.

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Medicine Rocks State Park - Atlas Obscura