When cowboys returned from the Civil War, they faced problems: left untended for many months, even years, and their cattle herds became wild.

Then, came the next challenges. They battled each other, weather and the U.S. Government to restore their cattle production.  That’s when a rock south of Marmarth helped them solve their problem. Capitol Rock became both a destination and dividing point.Capitol Rock

It took months and years of solid riding to round up and corral the wild longhorns in Texas, New Mexico and even Mexico — but then what?

They faced a second obstacle.  They couldn’t get their wild herds to market.

After the Civil War, the Union set up a physical and economic blockade to stop southerners from marketing their cattle to the hungry northern cities. Only cattle from northern states were allowed to feed people in northern cities.

So what would the southern cowboys do with all this cattle?

Strength, Weakness, Opportunity, Threat (SWOT Analysis)

Strength

The blockade threatened their way of life. 

Roundup on the Sherman Ranch, Genesee, Kans. Cowboy with lasso readied looks beyond the herd on the open range to his fellow cowpunchers waiting on the horizon, ca. 1902

The National Archives and Records Administration. Public Domain.

Their only strength was themselves, their “can do” attitude, the same attitude that made the west a land of opportunity. Their strength, their dedication to hard work and self-reliance was part of the answer

 

Weakness

These were men who had no ability to negotiate with banks and stockholders of the big cities. As producers, they had the product that people in northern cities needed.  Yet, many of them had never been north of the Mason Dixon line, or north of El Paso, or San Antonio.  They had never been to Chicago, Philadelphia, New York or other large metropolitan areas. 

longhorns and bison

All they knew to do, was tend cattle. Their plan to graze their cattle on a slowly greening open range had never been tried before.

1870 Cattle Drive meal

Somewhere on a the Wyoming and Montana cattle trails, cowboys break for lunch.

So, without Google, maps, or road signs, they pointed their herds north to follow the greening open range. In order to find their way north, they used landmarks including the Black Hills, Devils Tower, the Little Missouri River, the Killdeer Mountains and Capitol Rock.

 

Opportunity

The opportunity came as a natural resource: green grass.  As spring slowly melted winter and greened up the rangeland, cattle herds started trailing north to railroad shipping points that could reach the populated markets. Kansas, Nebraska, the Montana Territory and the Dakota Territory provided opportunities.

 

Pinterest and Google.com have many old photos of cattle drives that headed north from Texas.

 

Threat

With every opportunity comes threat. In this case, the threat was manifold.  It started with doing something that had never done before: moving tens-of-thousands of cattle across the country.  It meant months of sleeping on the ground, battling storms and navigating through the continent’s midsection. That’s why landmarks such as Capitol Rock were so important.

Storms roll in from Montana, to the west of Capitol Rock on a hot July day. July 14, 2020

Storms roll in from Montana, to the west of Capitol Rock on a hot July day.

 

Capitol Rock

Capitol Rock is new to us.  Have you been there?

It’s almost dead center in one of the units of the Custer Gallatin National Forest in southeastern Montana — just barely.

It’s a very unusual rock formation…and the view shown here inspires imaginations of what it must have been like to trail thousands of cattle through the valleys like this one.

 

 

Rain and dark skies to south east of Capitol Rock. Camp Crook, SD July 14, 2020.

Rain and dark skies to the south east of Capitol Rock. Camp Crook, South Dakota

 

This summer we are exploring routes through the rugged territory connecting the North Dakota Badlands, the Black Hills and the rest of the world. Many of the usual North Dakota Badlands events have been cancelled such as rodeos, powwows, cook-off contests, parades, celebrations and county fairs. That makes it a good time to get out and explore history and beauty and social distance at the same time.

Exploring and Social Distancing

We’re social-distancing and you can too by following the back roads and historic routes like this one to Capitol Rock.

Where's Mike. (very small) hiking up grade in front of north side of Capitol Rock, extreme eastern Montana near Camp Crook, SD July 14, 2020

Where’s Mike? (Find him? He’s very small on the left.) hiking up grade in front of north side of Capitol Rock, extreme eastern Montana near Camp Crook, SD

North Dakotans are familiar with one of those routes, the famous Long X trail.  It was one of many — some are famous, some are not. Routes between the Badlands in the north and the Black Hills in the southern Dakota Territory were not precise narrow paths. They meandered according to vegetation, weather, timing,  water and landscape. Sometimes they were a mile wide — and they had to be in order to move 4,000 – 10,000 grazing cattle. 

 

South of Marmarth, west of Camp Crook, is Capitol Rock and near here was a fork in the road.  Here in what is now Montana, they found a massive outcropping of limestone that you can visit today.

It told cattle drivers to make a choice.  In this part of what is now Montana and South Dakota, cattle trails split.

Great Trails map cattle trail

Cattle trails headed for Capitol Rock, then split. If you are interested in finding old cattle trails, we recommend this Great Trails Map. You can find it on Amazon.com.

The trail skirts to the west of the Black Hills and Capitol Rock.
This map is found in many places such as in Christopher Knowlton’s book Cattle Kingdom.

 

Some point northwest, some northeast.

Some to Miles City, some to Marmarth, Medora, Dickinson or farther north to Fort Berthold and Fort Buford.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Our hunt for trails

 

Rainbow begins to form over Camp Crook, heading back east from Captiol Rock, just entering North Dakota from Montana Camp Crook, SD July 14, 2020.

Rainbow begins to form over Camp Crook, heading back east from Capitol Rock, just entering North Dakota from Montana, heading to Camp Crook, South Dakota

The passages we’ve found this summer accommodated cattle drives, covered wagons, gold miners, stage lines and ox trains. Like a spiderweb, they connected the civilized world of the 1870s and 1880s with the frontier, its ranches, cow towns, miners and mining towns.

 

Capitol Rock looks Like the U.S. Capitol

Someone familiar with the nation’s capitol decided this outcropping looked like the seat of U.S. Government and so it became Capitol Rock.

Today, it’s a natural landmark with campsites, hiking and biking opportunities that few people know about.

There are numerous opportunities for dispersed recreation activities such as hiking, horseback riding, mountain biking, snowmobile riding and cross country skiing throughout the District. There are no designated hiking trails but most of the ridges are open and provide spectacular panoramic views.

Montana Office of Tourism

 

How to get to Capitol Rock

It’s a beautiful drive, visually stimulating — but dusty.  That’s probably why it doesn’t get much use because many people avoid dust and gravel roads.

If you’re ready, head west from Buffalo, SD, about 22 miles, on paved highway 20.

From Highway 85 at Buffalo, SD drive west 22 miles to Camp Crook

It’s almost 60 miles of gravel from Marmarth to Camp Crook. The landscape is stunning, but the roads are torn up in places.

If you want a very authentic view of traveling the country as it may have looked in 1880, drive south from Marmarth, ND, to the town of Camp Crook, SD.

There isn’t much at Camp Crook but you can find a couple of places to eat. So, you’ll want to make sure you have what you need.

Head west out of town about 7 miles and you will see Capitol Rock before you get there.

It’s only 7 miles from Camp Crook to Capitol Rock. South is a Forest Service Campground. North is the two-track trail to Capitol Rock

 

 

Once you are there, find a place to park and wander around the formation.  From Capitol Rock, a spider web of two-track trails spread through this unit of the National Forest and lead to several camp sites in the region. It is an ideal place for easy mountain-biking

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This rock formation forms the dome of the capitol at Capitol Rock, west of Camp Crook, South Dakota. July 14, 2020

This rock formation forms the dome of the capitol at Capitol Rock, west of Camp Crook, South Dakota.

 

Discover Capitol Rock by driving this road, west of Camp Crook, SD, as shown in this YouTube video: 

YouTube player

 

 

Almost There

North Dakota Studies (ndstudies.gov) includes this photo and a chapter about cattle drives to the Badlands. “The Great Dakota Boom” is a great resource for classrooms to use. We’ve reviewed the site, and recommend you visit it.

It took months for cattle herds to reach this region.  By the time cowboys got here, they were fully accustomed to the vast terrain.

For us, it’s a view that’s imprinted in our minds. The view from Capitol Rock shows you where cattle herds grazed as they headed north to Montana Territory, or further North in the Dakota Territory.

The area around the landmark is open grazing, so drive carefully.  Don’t spook the cattle. And don’t run in to any.

Cattle still graze the same prairies over which thousands of head of cattle passed during the cattle drives of the late 1800's.

Cattle still graze the same prairies over which thousands of head of cattle passed during the cattle drives of the late 1800’s.

While we were at the rock, we watched a thunderstorm move toward us.  With minutes to go, we headed back down the road, in to town to beat the hail.  It reminded us of what it must have been like for the cattle herds and the cowboys that moved through here to get their cattle shipped east.

It’s that can-do attitude that stands tall and firm in the culture of the region — just like Capitol Rock.

From here, we continued our back road journey to the Black Hills just to get an idea of what it was like for travelers 140 years ago who journeyed from the Badlands to the Black Hills.

The vast scenery as we gained elevation on our drive to Capitol Rock revealed views of South Dakota, Montana, and Wyoming, as thunderstorms passed through.  Experience this on YouTube here: 

YouTube player

 

Frequently Asked Questions

Where is Camp Crook?  Camp Crook is between Buffalo, SD and Ekalaka, MT.  It’s the western end of South Dakota Highway 20.  It can also be reached on the Camp Crook road south of Marmarth.

What is Capitol Rock?  Capitol Rock is a National Natural Landmark inside the Custer Gallatin National Forest in Montana on the South Dakota border.  It’s a large outcropping of sedimentary rock, especially sandstone and resembles the U.S. Capitol when viewed from a distance

Where is Capitol Rock? Capitol Rock is 7 miles west of Camp Crook, just across the state line.


Road Trips

This summer of 2020 has changed the way we travel and tour. Road trips are a great way to get out of the house and get into vast regions of the U.S. while still social distancing.  That’s why we wrote more about this route that begins in Beach and extends to Belle Fourche.

Rock formations along the Little Missouri River are fascinating — and sometimes a little spooky.  So, follow us on Facebook to get the scoop on what’s happening in the Badlands of North Dakota.  Or subscribe to this blog to get ideas, information and inspiration from the North Dakota Badlands.

And of course, these images and hundreds more from the Badlands and nearby regions are available on our photo website mykuhls.com.  Go there to see what scenes are waiting for you to visit.  Or click the “buy” button to browse the many options you have to buy wall decor or keepsakes.