The Terry Badlands Wilderness Study Area (WSA) is located three miles northwest of Terry. With vast distance between the overlook and the only nearby small town, you're likely to catch a starry show on cloudless nights. Stargazers can drive to the overlook, or stop along the dirt road, for an unencumbered view of the cosmos above.

Access the scenic overlook through a westbound, rustic dirt road directly off "The Big Sky Backcountry Byway" Highway 235 on the eastern side of the WSA.

The Terry Badlands WSA, consisting of 42,950 Bureau of Land Management acres, is triangular-shaped, measuring about 10 miles wide at the base adjacent to the Yellowstone River. Here you’ll find soft marine and non-marine sedimentary rock which has been eroded into incredible, rugged natural features. Landforms reach up to 2,900 feet in elevation in some areas. Be sure to ask a local about the bootleggers using this area during the Prohibition. Although there are no facilities available within the WSA, dispersed, non-motorized camping is allowed. Contact the BLM office in Miles City for details. If you don’t feel like roughing it, there are also are lodging options available in nearby Terry. 

Be prepared and stay aware! Be sure you have a full gas tank, bring plenty of water and watch your step — venomous prairie rattlesnakes are common here. And note that cell service is spotty at best.

During the Day

• Hike the Natural Bridges Trail, accessible via the primitive Calypso Trail.
• Go rock hunting – keep an eye open for Yellowstone agates.
• Fish, boat, float the Yellowstone River.
• Visit the Prairie County Museum and Evelyn Cameron Gallery.

Note: Wheeled traffic, including bikes, is not allowed off the two-track roads within the WSA. 

Getting there 

FROM TERRY: At the HWY 94 / HWY 253 interchange, go north on HWY 253 for 2½ miles. Turn left onto Scenic View Road (one-lane traffic only; need high-clearance, 4WD vehicle; impassable if wet) and go about 6 miles to overlook.