We went to Montana mainly to see the Glacier National Park (see this post), but were not prepared for the other amazingly beautiful attractions that state has to offer. One of the biggest surprises (and delight) was the Makoshika State Park – which we stumbled upon by accident. We were actually heading out of the state,  on our way to North Dakota, but decided to spend the night at a town called Glendive, just a few miles from the North Dakota border.

As we set up camp, we noticed signs referring to the strangely named “Makoshika State Park”  only 2 miles away from the camping. So we decided to go take a look and were totally amazed by what we saw. Weird, alien looking landscapes, with “mushroom-like” geological formations, clearly caused by many of years of erosion.

We later learned that Makoshika (pronounced as “ma-KO-sh(ih)kuh”) is derived from “Maco sica” the Lakota term for “Bad Land” or “Land of bad Spirits”. The Lakota are a Native American people and one of the three prominent subcultures of the Sioux people. 

Dinosaurs too

As you can see in the image at the top of this post, there is a Triceratops on the entrance sign as the park also houses fossil remains of such dinosaurs as tyrannosaurus and triceratops. One of the visitor centers at the park entrance houses a triceratops skull.

Making our way through the park we could certainly see why they referred to this area that way. Parts were downright “Spooky” and so unreal we had never seen anything like this before. Yet it was hauntingly beautiful!

Here are some pictures to give you an idea.

You could walk right through these area as you can see in the picture below, with a little bridge.

Being out there late afternoon and early evening, presented some fabulous shots too.