Bighorn County High Point Trip Report
Date: July 2000
Author: Dave Covill
We did this one from the WY (South) side. While the road from the N through the Crow Reservation is
possible, and is in better condition, the drive out to Lodge Grass MT, about 40 miles to the NE, is very
long, and is entirely through Indian land from the exit on the interstate. Most cohp'ers would give
serious consideration to doing it from the WY side. From the pass on Alt. US 14 over the crest of the Big
Horns, just a mile E of Medicine Wheel NHS, you take a nice gravel road N along the crest of the Big
Horn Range, and I mean ON the crest, for about 10 miles. Terrific views! It dives off to the E then, and
you stay on top on a bad dirt road a few more miles. You reach the state line at a fence, with a sign
welcoming you to the Crow Reservation, with an open gate. At this point, you can leave the car there and
walk a half-mile W, up about 200', to the BH MT cohp, right along the fence.
We chose to drive into MT, whereupon the "road" instantly turned to just a mere trace of a double track
through a grassy meadow, up ~100' over a 1/4 mile, to the county road in MT. We then turned W and
went about 1/4 mile to a spot where the road turned away to the NW, and there was a small 2-track
coming N out of the woods from the HP knob/hill. This area looks on the topo exactly as you will find it.
When we left, we were looking for a road directly to the E, which would take us back into WY, but never
spotted it, and spent a LONG time getting out to the interstate, maybe an hour.
The roads on the reservation weren't all that great, especially right at the hp area, as it probably had
recently rained. They hadn't been bladed in a long time, for sure. The road on the WY side right at the
end was no worse, and probably better, than the MT side. The access from WY is also close to where you
would be if you were to do the cohp of Sheridan WY; reckon it depends where you're coming from, and
where you want to go. The roads in MT looked confusing to us, without a MT Delorme atlas, so I would
suggest it might be easier to find the cohp from the S. This is really one of my most memorable cohp's for
the views, the reservation, and driving along a ridge crest for 10+ miles, mostly in open grass, above timberline.