What is Pictograph Cave State Park?

Pictograph Cave State Park is a place where there are three large caves carved by wind and water in the towering sandstone cliffs. Thousands of years ago, people came to live in the caves while they hunted. These people didn't live here all of the time, but they left behind pictures that they painted on the walls and some of their belongings.
Montana and the Northern Great Plains Region are known for extensive landscapes and scenic beauty. It is a beautiful place, but survival long ago was difficult here. Hot, dry summers and cold, windy and sometimes snowy winters threatened the very lives of the first people who lived here.
Shelter, water and food were abundant. Even though this area was not continuously inhabited like many prehistoric sites in the southwestern United States, it was used as a temporary camp for thousands of years. The cave provided shelter from the summer sun, the rains of spring and fall, and the winds and snows of winter. A spring flowed in a coulee near the caves, and game was plentiful in the surrounding plains. Travelers and hunters probably relied on this site as a place to rest, repair tools and weapons and to cook and dry meat.
Pictograph Cave State Park is located seven miles south of Billings, Montana in the majestic sandstone cliffs that are characteristic of this area. Visitors can walk paved paths to see the three ancient caves, called Pictograph Cave, Middle Cave and Ghost Cave, once the living quarters of prehistoric hunters. In Pictograph Cave, they see the ancient paintings that these people created, telling the stories of their time. Visitors also learn about the people who lived here as well as about the plants, animals and geological formations of the 23-acre park. The park is accessible April 15 through October 15. Montana Fish Wildlife and Parks, Pictograph Cave State Park Trail Guide, 1997.