ARARA 2026 Field Trips

Field trips

Most trips don't have a cost. Where there is one we have noted it. You can't register directly from this page but you can see all of the field trip options in one convenient location. The field trip numbers will link to the registration pages once registration opens. So, if you want to attend the Friday Sun River field trip, clicking on the F1 link will take you to the Friday field trip registration. Or you can go to the Friday field trip page, Monday field trip page, or Tuesday field trip page and see all of the trips with their availability.

The field trip numbers (located after the field trip name) indicate what days the trips are available. For example, for the Sun River trip there are two field trips, one on Friday (F1) and one on Monday (M1). Meeting time and location will be provided in your registration email along with contact information for your trip leader. Your trip leader may ask you to carpool with others. Please take advantage of carpooling to minimize impact to the locations.

We ask that you come equipped with sturdy hiking boots with vibram type soles, sturdy long pants and lightweight long sleeve shirts.  Walking sticks are also useful. Rubber tipped ones are suggested. Also bring plenty of water, lunch, snacks, a jacket, plus whatever you need to be out in the field for up to a full day and a credit card or cash if noted in your trip description.  Binoculars or camera with telephoto lens is often helpful.

Weather in Great Falls at this time of year is very pleasant. You can expect temperatures in the mid to high 70s. Rain is possible and you should come with appropriate gear. Everyone should stay hydrated. Bring plenty of water and snacks. Please be considerate of others on the tour. Look out for each other, share the space and have a good time. Make sure that your vehicle's gas tank is full and that you have used the bathroom before meeting with your trip leader. Don't bring a dog on a field trip. Not everyone is comfortable with them. All sites have pictographs, so DStretch may be helpful. If you don't have that on your phone you may want to consider downloading it before you come.

Carpooling may be required on some trips. 

When you register for the conference you will receive a confirmation email that will include a "password" in large, bright red font. This password will allow you to register for the fieldtrip of your choice as long as space is available. 

The fieldtrip registration page will show how many spots are still open. You cannot sign up directly as a group, other than you can use the guest option for a spouse or family member who is registered for the conference. So, if you wish to travel with other friends make sure that there is enough space for them to register as well.

Fieldtrips:

Sun River F1/M1
Description: The sites are about 80 miles west of Great Falls on paved and good gravel roads. Sites to be visited in this area have typical Foothills Abstract tradition paintings. These painted sites are just inside the Rocky Mountain front, and the Sun River Style of complete wall painting was originally recognized and reported from here.
Access to the sites below the Gibson Bridge dam are short walks down a rocky slope, and access to Hannan Bluff Cave is a short walk along relatively level ground.
Difficulty: Gibson Bridge sites: Just under a half mile walk round trip. The first 100 feet is down a relatively steep (ca. 50 feet elevation drop) trail. The rest of the trail is along an old roadbed.
Hannan Bluff: A short walk along an established trail from the parking area along relatively level ground with no significant elevation change. Total walking is about ¼ mile round trip.
Distance (One Way): 80 miles
Vehicle: Any
Number of Participants: 15
Meeting time: 9:00 am
Leader: Friday: Sara Scott / Monday: Jim Keyser

Rock Creek and Elk Creek Pictographs F2/M2
Description: The sites are about 70 miles southwest of Great Falls. The Rock Creek pictographs include large shields, a lizard surrounded by a wavy line, and a shaman anthropomorph surrounded by a wavy line. Access to the site is by paved, gravel, and two-track road on mostly flat ground. It is a short easy walk from the two-track to the site, although there can be downed timber to cross.
The Elk Creek sites are across the Missouri River from Rock Creek and only about 20 miles away, but it may involve about an hour of driving because of the gravel roads. The pictographs are within the Big Belt Mountains and are good examples of sites within this mountain range with abstracts, handprints, and bear prints. All sites are near the roads with easy walks.
Difficulty: Rock Creek: About 100 feet of walking from parking to the site, on mostly on flat ground but there is no established trail. There is a pipe and a dam to cross. There can also be downed timber. Total round trip walking about 200 feet.
Elk Creek Pictos: All sites are next to the road with no established trails and no significant elevation change.
Vehicle Distance (One Way): 100 miles
Vehicle: High clearance. Most travel is on paved roads but there are short gravel and two-track sections.
Number of Participants: 15
Meeting time: 8:30 am
Leader: Dale Becker

Hellgate & Avalanche  F3/M3
Description: The sites are about 120 miles south of Great Falls. The Hellgate Gulch and Avalanche Gulch pictographs are typical central Montana rock art with handprints and abstracts. Access to Hellgate and Avalanche gulches is by paved and gravel roads. If time remains and people want to drive 20 miles to Townsend, it will be possible to visit a painted buffalo robe in the Broadwater County Museum (Open 1-5 pm daily).
Difficulty: The two main sites are immediately next to the road with no elevation gain. A nearby boulder is 500 feet from the road (no formal trail) with a total round trip walk on nearly level ground of 1000 feet.
Vehicle Distance (One Way): 140 miles
Vehicle: Any (paved and good gravel roads)
Number of Participants: 15
Friday Meeting time: 8:00 am
Monday Meeting time: 8:00 am
Leaders: Friday: Carl Davis / Monday: Troy Scotter

Writing-on-Stone Provincial Park F4/M4
Description: The site is about 145 miles north of Great Falls. This large petroglyph site is just north of the Canadian border along the Milk River. Archaic, Late Prehistoric, Proto-historic, and Early Historic biographic rock art scenes dominate the images, some of which were used in the promotional materials for the conference. Access to park is by paved road, access to site DgOv-2 is by bus from the Visitor Center. Walking in the park is on established trails, which range from easy to moderately difficult. A PASSPORT is necessary for this trip since you are crossing the Canadian/US border. Firearms can also be complicated at the border and slow down your crossing. Leave firearms at the hotel. For more information on what you can take across the border click here. 
Organize yourselves to carpool and get to the site. You will meet your leader at Writing-On-Stone. Leave Great Falls at 8:30 am; arrive Coutts border crossing at 10 am; clear the border by 10:30. Arrive at the town of Milk River at 11:00 am; buy sandwiches at Subway or grocery store in Milk River (remember, you cannot carry SEVERAL different foodstuffs across the border, so do not risk bringing food). Arrive at the Park by noon, have a picnic lunch at the campground just below Visitor Center. The Camp Kitchen is reserved for the ARARA tour and can be used as a meeting location and lunch spot.
The tour begins at 1 pm at Visitor Center, arrive early to pay for the tour and take the park bus to the main site for the 2 hour tour. Leave the park about 3:15 pm and arrive in Great Falls about 6:30 p.m.
Difficulty: The rock art site is visited on a formal tour with level trails and relatively flat access to all panels and with less than 50 foot elevation gain in total. Other areas in park: Steep trails developed for tourist access, 125 foot elevation difference from prairie level to river floodplain.
Vehicle Distance (One Way): 145 miles
Vehicle: Any
Number of Participants: 20
Meeting time: 8:30 am
Leader: Park Interpretative Ranger possibly accompanied by a Native Blackfoot Interpretive guide.
Cost: $24 Canadian/person paid by credit card or cash at Visitor Center prior to boarding the bus to the site. They also accept US$ at 1:1 exchange rate.

Painted Canyon F5
Description: Painted Canyon sites are about 40 miles southeast of Great Falls. The canyon walls and small rockshelters support paintings that date from the Late Archaic period through the early historic period. The earliest dated shield-bearing warrior and one of the only painted atlatls is here. Access to the sites is by paved and two-track  roads. The walk along the canyon bottom is mostly easy, although the climb to a painted rockshelter is difficult.
Difficulty: Access is along the canyon bottom and most sites are easily viewed from the bottom. A climb to the one high painted rockshelter is an 80 foot elevation gain. Total walking round trip about 2 miles. There is a two-track along the canyon bottom that can be followed.
Vehicle Distance (One Way): 40 miles paved with a very short two-track
Vehicle: Any
Number of Participants: 15
Meeting time: 9:00 am
Leader: Larry Loendorf

Middle and South Fork Judith F6/M6
Description: The sites are about 100 miles southeast of Great Falls. There are a variety of painted sites along the two forks of the Judith River. Access is by paved and gravel roads. Although most sites on the South Fork are next to the road, getting to them ranges from moderate to difficult. Those along the Middle Fork will involve a moderate hike along established trails. Bring lunch. There is no place to buy food in this area.
Difficulty: Middle Fork: Developed Forest Service trail. Stays at creek level for 1.5 miles round trip. South Fork: Sites are near the road but each requires scramble up STEEP, rocky slope for 150-200 yards. (NOT for the faint of heart!) There are no established trails.
Vehicle Distance (One Way): 100 miles
Vehicle: Any
Number of Participants: 10
Meeting time: 8:00 am
Leader: Patrick Rennie

Middle and South Fork Judith F7/M7
Description: This is the same trip as F6/M6 simply in reverse order so we don’t have too many people at any one site. The sites are about 100 miles southeast of Great Falls. There are a variety of painted sites along the two forks of the Judith River. Access is by paved and gravel roads. Although most sites on the South Fork are next to the road, getting to them ranges from moderate to difficult. Those along the Middle Fork will involve a moderate hike along established trails. Bring lunch. There is no place to buy food in this area.
Difficulty: Middle Fork: Developed Forest Service trail. Stays at creek level for 1.5 miles round trip. South Fork: Sites are near the road but each requires scramble up STEEP, rocky slope for 150-200 yards. (NOT for the faint of heart!) There are no established trails.
Vehicle Distance (One Way): 100 miles
Vehicle: Any
Number of Participants: 10
Meeting time: 8:00 am
Leader: Cam Dimmick

Rainbow Bear, Bear Mask F8/M8 (half day)
Description: The sites are about 60 miles south of Great Falls. These sites have elaborate bear and shaman paintings. Bring lunch. There is no place to buy food in this area.
Difficulty: The walk from the parking area to Rainbow Bear Cave is about 1500 feet and descends about 120 feet in elevation. Continuing down the canyon about ¾ mile to the next site results in an elevation drop of 300 feet. So, a return to the vehicle means gaining 420 feet in elevation in about one mile. Total walking distance is about 2 miles; no formal trails.
Vehicle Distance (One Way): 60 miles
Vehicle: Any paved and gravel roads
Number of Participants: 15
Meeting time: 9:30 am
Leader: Mavis and John Greer

Samsal Petroglyph Boulder, CM Russell Boulder, and First People's Buffalo Jump M9
Description: 
Difficulty: Samsal Boulder: 350 yard walk over level pasture. CM Russell Boulder: Short distance on sidewalks to the boulder. Samsal is a bison-form sandstone petroglyph boulder with more than three dozen petroglyphs pecked into its north side and along its ridge top. The most prominent motifs are a Biographic combat scene between two shield-bearing warriors and a spear-wielding rectangular-body human. Other images representing the Hoofprint tradition include two faces (one abstract and the other a circular head-and-neck with ears and a scalplock), a human figure wearing a bison-horn headdress, a bas-relief cloven hoofprint, and other abstracts. An historic graffito J.P.H. July 7 1894, is suggested to be associated with a Northwest Mounted Policeman from the nearby Writing-on-Stone Mounted Police outpost just across the border in Canada. 
First People's Buffalo Jump: Stairs will descend about 50 feet down to the bottom of the cliff and and then along the cliff face. There is an $8 fee at the First People's Buffalo Jump. 
Vehicle Distance (One way): 140 miles
Vehicle: Any
Number of Participants: 15
Meeting time: 8:00 am

Do It Yourself Field Trips
This section is for unofficial trips that are in the conference area. ARARA won't be providing field trip leaders or any other assistance. We will only collect the names and email addresses of people interested in these trips and then send that information out to all  who expressed an interest in each trip. You can determine if and when you want to group up to do any of the trips, before, after, or during the conference field trip days.

Bear Gulch DIY1
Description: Bear Gulch is on private land and will require a reservation to visit. Visitors to Bear Gulch will get to see some of the most unique shield-bearing warriors on the northern Plains. Named the Bear Gulch style, these warriors are often organized in groups of four to ten men, each one holding a weapon, and posed as a war party ready to head off to do battle. Typical accoutrements include face paint, standard hair styles, medicine bundles or bustles attached to shields, and a war party scout wearing a wolf hat headdress. In addition to shield figures, a few animals and other humans are also pictured. One of the most notable features of the Bear Gulch imagery is the small size of many of the drawings, with some shields being smaller in diameter than a quarter. Pictographs and petroglyphs are found in about even numbers at the site.
Difficulty: The length of the walk depends on the site tour. In some cases the tour begins at the top of the ridge across the creek from the site, and this will involve a steep walk down and up the road to the site. Total walk to and from the site from this starting point is about 1.5 miles with an elevation change of 80 feet both going and coming. From the creek bottom parking lot, it is about a 20 foot elevation climb to the trail along the base of the panel, and walking on the tour is a total of about a mile along a trail that has many ups and downs.
Vehicle Distance (One Way): 125 miles
Vehicle: Any. Paved and gravel roads.
Arrangements: There is a $20/person fee with a discount for booking online. https://beargulch.net  Typical tours start at 10:00 am and last 2-4 hours. Alternate arrangements might be possible for groups who contact the owner in advance. 

First People's Buffalo Jump DIY2
Description: This archeological site may be the largest and longest used buffalo jump site in North America. 
Difficulty: Stairs will descend about 50 feet down to the bottom of the cliff and and then along the cliff face.
Vehicle Distance (One Way): 15 miles
Vehicle: Any
Arrangements: There is a park fee of $8. For more information: https://fwp.mt.gov/stateparks/first-peoples-buffalo-jump 

Lewis & Clark Center and the CM Russell Boulder DIY3
Description: These sites are museums in Great Falls. The Lewis & Clark Center is a national park facility (fees apply) and the Charlie M Russell Museum is dedicated to this famous western artist. It also has a rock art boulder in the yard. Fee: $20/Senior Discount: $17. 
Arrangements: Lewis and Clark Museum  C.M. Russell Museum 

Gates of the Mountains DIY4
Description: This is a commercial boat ride to the Gates of the Mountains with no walking required. There is a fee of $20/adult; $15/senior. The boat tour points out a panel of pictographs with an example of Foothills Abstract tradition images superimposed by Eastern Columbia Plateau images. There is a fee but the A solid red smear produced an AMS date of 1280±50 BP or about AD 680-900 (Scott et al. 2005). At the Meriwether campground, where the boat stops for about 15 minutes, there is a pillar with penciled names of early historic visitors. Walking at the Meriwether campground is optional and is level.
Vehicle Distance (One Way): 20 miles
Vehicle: Any
Arrangements: https://gatesofthemountains.com/