Staycation or Vacation? Bighorn Canyon offers plenty either way
Published: August 12, 2009
By Jim Schaefer, Executive Director
Custer Country Montana   

Newlyweds Karl and Sara Sauer enjoy the scenery of Bighorn Canyon.

If someone told you that they were going on a “staycation” would you know what they were talking about? If not, don’t feel alone.

The word is a recently coined term to indicate the growing trend to stay closer to home when vacationing. In a state as large as Montana and with so many things to offer, staycations are a great fit for folks in Montana and adjacent states.

Of course, Montana is still the destination for lots of folks outside the five-state, two-Canadian province region, but many travelers are using staycations to save a little money and still have a great experience in these economic times.

Recently, I spent time with four people on Bighorn Lake in the Bighorn Canyon, two of whom were on an in-state staycation and an out-of-state couple who were spending their vacation time in Montana’s Bighorn River area.

The “staycationers” are Gayle Fisher, executive director of Russell Country, the travel region that encompasses north-central Montana, and Carol Lindseth, president and acting executive director of the Great Falls Convention and Visitors Bureau (VIC). Gayle had never been to the Ft. Smith area, but Carol was making a return visit.

The vacationing couple who joined the group for a boat ride from Yellowtail Dam to about 20 miles south are Karl and Sara Sauer. Karl, a retired Lutheran minister, is a resident of Kakabeka Falls, Ontario, and Sara is a retired correctional officer from Mountain Home, Ark.

Though both are retired, they are still calling themselves “newlyweds,” having only been married about a year. They were staying in their 16-foot travel trailer at Cottonwood Camp three miles north of Ft. Smith. Cottonwood Camp also offers accommodations for tents and large motor homes, along with well-equipped cabins, some of which can sleep up to 15 people.   

Karl has been fishing the Bighorn River north of Ft. Smith and hunting in southeast Montana for several years, but Sara’s experiences in Montana began last year. This 10-day vacation was originally only going to include trout fishing on the Bighorn but they jumped at the opportunity to see Bighorn Canyon by boat again.

It was a beautiful day in the high 90s and a bit windy, but the canyon revealed its changing colors as the sun traversed across the horizon, illuminating different sides of the canyon walls as we followed the many turns it takes on its way to Wyoming.

Jack Joyce consults map with Carol Lindseth and Gayle Fisher.

Fisher and Lindseth were inspired to make the trip in part because the Montana Office of Tourism’s (MToT) five-year strategic plan recognizes the trend toward staycations and encourages regional and VIC officials to familiarize and educate themselves with other regions and experiences they might not know are available.

Fisher was impressed with the drive from Hardin to Ft. Smith. “It was amazingly lush compared to what I had expected,” she said. “The canyon was very beautiful, very dramatic, and I thoroughly enjoyed the scenery.”




MToT’s target demographic are “geotourists,” described as travelers who want to enjoy unspoiled scenery during the day, but who also want to be able to enjoy the creature comforts they are used to at home. Fisher noticed that the city of Ft. Smith is beginning to cater to the higher-end tourists that make up the geotourism market.

Jack Joyce, who operates the concession at Ok-A-Beh, explained that the bay is as high as it has been in years and that business is generally good. Linden Schlenker, chief ranger of the upper district, says that visitor counts at all entrances are up a little over 15 percent this year.
“Once people get a look at Bighorn Canyon, they come back again,” he explained to Fisher and Lindseth, as he pointed out the campgrounds and other features along Bighorn Lake on a map of the area.
Bighorn Canyon National Recreation Area is managed by the National Park Service. “We had a slow start to the season this year because of cooler weather, but our July was as good as last year, which was our best year,” Joyce said.

All the passengers were impressed with the sheer limestone walls of the canyon which sometimes soar 1,000 feet high. Despite the haze from a lightning-caused range fire on Sunday, the view was magnificent.
The Sauers, who spend winters in Arkansas and summers in Canada when they aren’t traveling, marveled at the sights along the route. “Our last trip along here was in our 14-foot fishing boat with a five-horsepower motor, so we weren’t able to travel as far then as we went today,” Karl said.

As for his success on the river, he said that he had caught and released about 30 brown trout the day before.

Bighorn Lake offers fishing, boating, kayaking, swimming and water skiing. During our trip, there were groups enjoying the canyon aboard pontoon boats that can be rented at the Ok-A-Beh Mairina, as well as tubers (pulled by motorboats) and even two intrepid kayakers braving the choppy waters.
“We’re seeing more kayakers than before,” Joyce says, “but they have to be aware that the narrow canyon can get difficult for them even on calm days due to the wakes of passing boats than can create some pretty big waves.”

Personal watercraft can also be used on Bighorn Lake, with restrictions. Check the Bighorn National Recreation Area website at www.nps.gov/bica for current rules of use.

Bighorn Lake is one of the great under-appreciated attractions in Montana, even though the Bighorn River, which is fed by water from the lake, is one of the premier fly-fishing streams in the world. So, whether you’re from somewhere in Montana, Ontario or Arkansas, a visit to Bighorn Lake is a great way to spend a weekend or a week.

For more information about other great places to visit in southeast Montana, go to www.CusterCountry.com.