Pryor Mountain Road (PMR) is the primary motorized access into the north Pryor Mountains.  It is a scenic drive providing great views, opportunities for bird and wildflower watching, and a drive back through 400 million years of geologic history.  (See geologic road log.)  Sage Creek Campground and Big Ice Cave picnic area are the only developed areas.  The Crater Ice Cave / Big Pryor Mountain Trail begins from Tie Flat on this road.  The Roberts Bench Hike begins near Crooked Creek Junction. The Cave Ridge hike begins from the Big Ice Cave picnic area.  (See Trail Guides for these hikes.)

Pryor Mountain Road is not well signed, but these directions should help first time visitors.  It is called, and signed, route #2308 within USFS managed land.

Pryor Mountain Road is NOT an all weather road.  The majority of the road is good gravel, but some sections are rough and rocky, or muddy when wet.  When it is dry some standard highway vehicles can make it - if driven carefully, but higher clearance vehicles like most SUVs are preferable.  Four wheel drive is not needed in dry conditions.  But when it is wet there are sections which are often impassable even with 4WD.  

PMR can provide and in and back out tour of the north Pryors, or with Crooked Creek Road can provide a loop route through the north and south Pryors.

Download a printable pdfs of these Pryors Driving Tour Directions and Driving Tour Maps keyed to the directions.

Driving Tour Directions:

Take Hghway 310 south from Bridger MT. Pryor Mountain Road turns left (east) 2.5 miles south of Bridger and 0.5 mile south of the bridge over the Clarks Fork of the Yellowstone River. (This junction is 1.4 miles south of the junction of Highways 310 and 72 from Belfry and Red Lodge.). Turn just north of the house on the east side of the highway.

All mileages below are measured from the beginning of Pryor Mountain Road. Note that odometer readings vary among different vehicles. Also road signs sometimes disappear, appear or change.

Each lettered point below is marked on the maps above.

A. 0.0 miles: Pryor Mountain Road. Turn east on Pryor Mountain Road. Just after the turn, on the right, a sign says “National Forest Boundary 24, Big Ice Cave 36.” The road is paved for 2.0 miles to where it crosses a railroad track. The road has a good gravel surface for the next 13 miles.

B. 9.5 miles: Bowler Flat. The road climbs to Bowler Flat and a big view of Big Pryor Mountain. There is now a big wind farm with more than 100 large turbines on Bowler Flat.

  C. 12.2 miles: Bowler Junction. Turn left (north). There may be no sign at this junction. There are several power poles and transformers inside a chain link fence on the right (south) just before the junction. Nothing is left of the old Bowler Post Office (add link) which used to be there. Remember to turn right at this junction on the return trip. From this junction Pryor Mountain Road follows section lines for a mile north, then a mile east, another mile north then turns east again.

15.0 miles: Enter Crow Indian Reservation. Sometimes there is a sign. Avoid trespassing off the road. The gravel road surface deteriorates between here and the old railroad crossing, but is usually OK

D. 16.5 miles: Old railroad crossing. Go straight across the four way junction. (It is actually a 45 degree left turn, but do not turn 90 degrees onto Railbed Road.) The old railroad through Pryor Gap is long gone and replaced with a road. There probably is no road sign, but the raised railroad bed is obvious. After this crossing the road surface is more dirt than gravel. The five miles from here to the Forest boundary can be very muddy when wet, and impassible even with a 4WD.

E. 21.5 miles: Junction. Take right fork. Left fork has large blue sign: “No Trespassing: Crow Tribal Members Only”

F. 22.0 miles: National Forest Boundary. Cattle guard. The next eight miles is good gravel road.

G. 22.6 miles: Junction. Follow Pryor Mountain Road straight ahead. Left turn goes to Sage Creek Campground in about a half mile.

… 29.7 miles: Route #2104 turns right to Tie Flat and the Crater Ice Cave / Big Pryor Mountain Trail.

IAlternative 2:  Crooked Creek Road and the Loop Tour

Crooked Creek Rd connects with gravel roads back to Highway 310 at Warren MT or Cowley WY.   There are views of the spectacular Crooked Creek Canyon.  Get out and walk a short way for better views or a picnic.  

From H. Crooked Creek Junction turn right (south) on Crooked Creek Rd (#2085).  The first 9 miles to the south boundary of Custer Gallatin National Forest is good gravel road.  It is not passable in the winter. Snow is late melting from this sheltered canyon road.  After the 9 miles of Forest Service road, the next 6 miles of BLM road is rougher and rocky in places.  It is passable with most highway vehicles if driven very carefully. A high clearance vehicle is better, but 4WD is not necessary when the road is dry. 

The mileages given below are measured from the Crooked Creek Junction.

H.  0.0 miles:  North end of Crooked Creek Road (#2085) at junction with Pryor Mountain Road.  

K.  9.2 miles:  Leave Custer National Forest at cattle guard and fence..  Enter Bureau of Land Management area.  The road becomes rougher and sometimes rocky for about 6 miles.

… 14.8 miles: Vermillion Valley Viewpoint: 5.6 miles south of the USFS/BLM boundary fence and cattleguard (0.6 miles before Helt Rd Junction) the road limbs out of a valley. Stop, turn around, and look back north from the Vermillion Valley Viewpoint. See the geologic story of this view.

L.  15.4 miles:  Helt Road Junction  &  15.6 miles: Gyp Springs Road Junction

There may not be road signs.  These two road junctions are only 0.2 miles apart.  Both are right turns to the west from Crooked Creek Rd.  Both roads lead back to Highway 310 at Warren MT.  The Helt Rd route is about 2 miles longer (16.4 miles vs. 14.3 miles to Warren), and the first part is somewhat rougher (but no worse than the BLM part of Crooked Creek Rd).  Helt Rd is more scenic, skirting the southern edge of the Pryors.  About 7 miles from Crooked Creek Rd, Gyp Springs Rd  ends at a “Y” junction with  Helt Rd at point M on the map.

At point N on the map Helt Rd intersects paved Quarry Rd which continues to Warren MT on Highway 310.

Alternatively it is about 10 miles to Cowley WY on Highway 310. from the Helt and Gyp Springs Junctions.  Continue on Crooked Creek Road (not on either Helt or Gyp Springs Rd).  After about 1.7 miles, a sharp left turn, and crossing a deep gulley is a “T” junction.  

“T” Junction.  Turn right on County Rd. 7 ½  (the left turn is onto Gypsum Creek Rd.).  Continue mostly south ignoring several prominent bentonite mining roads to the left and right..  (Some of these junctions may have no road signs.)  5.4 miles south of the “T” junction,  County Rd. 7 ½ changes from dirt/gravel to pavement as the road from the county airport joins from the left (east).  It is 2.7 miles of paved road from the airport junction to Cowley Wyoming and Highway 310.