Terry, Montana, United States
There’s a remote place called the Terry Badlands about 40
miles west of better known Makoshika State Park. The formations are somewhat
similar but what I read about it makes it sound like much more of an
adventure. The area is managed by the BLM
(Bureau of Land Management) and constitutes a wilderness study area, but BLM
lands are just not very well known to the public, much less so than national
forest lands or state and national parks.
Prairie County now has under 1,100 people for a population
density of under one per square mile.
According to Wikipedia, the population was over 4,000 around 1920, so it’s
one of those semi-abandoned areas. And
it shows in the town of Terry, the somewhat ramshackle main town of the county
just off the highway where the only eating place is a takeout stand a few
blocks from town toward the highway.
This is the real wild west. You know it’s tiny by its county courthouse,
a nondescript one-story building. Even in most small counties across the plains
states the county courthouse is an architecturally significant building, often
the most grandiose in town.
The road to the Terry Badlands is called the Calypso Trail
and starts at a bridge across the Yellowstone River, probably the longest
one-lane bridge I’ve ever crossed. I actually
found it a bit scary, not because there might be a vehicle coming in the
opposite direction, because you can see all the way across and there are
probably only a few cars that cross it each day, but because of its
construction; the bed is wooden railroad ties with spaces in between and a
metal track for your wheels. It didn’t
seem like it was in the best of shape, but I convinced myself before crossing that
many far heavier vehicles than mine have crossed it recently.
The Calypso Trail heads eight miles into the badlands and is
a pretty much of a four-wheel drive road. My hiking guidebook warned that it’s
one of those placed that turns to “gumbo” and quickly becomes impassable even
for Jeeps in the rain. The sky looked a
little dark when I started out, but the forecast was quite good so I figured I’d
chance it. Skies cleared nicely so all turned out well.
My destination was a four-mile round trip trail to two
natural bridges in the badlands. While most of the trails I’ve encountered in
eastern Montana outside of the state parks are little more than suggestions as to
where to go, the one here was surprisingly well maintained and lined with metal
markers. The trail was quite pleasant with several ups and downs through draws
and hills on the prairie and eroded gulches. The destination was a bit hidden
in the ground but great when I got there.
And what’s this? I was promised two natural bridges, but there are definitely
three lined up across the gully, each wide enough to walk across and
surprisingly long.
And better yet, I had the place entirely to myself except
for some pronghorns. It was, in fact,
what I’d call extreme social distancing.
I didn’t see a sign of another human my entire trip into and out of the
badlands from the bridge, not parked trucks or anything to indicate anyone else
was around. I find that to be pretty
cool.
2025-05-22