Section 3, Cut Bank, Mt to Dickinson, ND, 550 Miles
Buffalo Jump State Park just west of Great Falls is where indigenous people used the natural mile-long sandstone cliff to stampede buffalo when harvesting them for meat, bone, and fur. There is a short hiking trail at the base of the cliff where you can see bones to this day. From the top of the cliff there is a spectacular panorama of the Missouri River, the Rocky Mountain front, and the buttes and grasslands of the Great Plains.
Great Falls was named for the falls on the Missouri River found here. The falls were a formidable obstacle to the Lewis and Clark expedition when they passed through this territory. The expedition spent several weeks negotiating the 18 mile portage. Today the falls are obscured by hydroelectric development.
