{"id":40407,"date":"2026-09-14T17:12:36","date_gmt":"2026-09-14T22:12:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/unitedresourceconnection.org\/cannon-ball-nd-58528\/a-history-of-the-bear-lodge-mountains\/"},"modified":"2026-09-14T17:12:38","modified_gmt":"2026-09-14T22:12:38","slug":"a-history-of-the-bear-lodge-mountains","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/unitedresourceconnection.org\/cannon-ball-nd-58528\/a-history-of-the-bear-lodge-mountains\/","title":{"rendered":"A history of the Bear Lodge Mountains"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Devil\u2019s Tower near Hulett, Wyoming<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

An inland sea once split North America right across where eastern Wyoming is today. Vast flood plains that once sustained the dinosaur extended wide from each shoreline, and the waters teemed with the most fearsome array of aquatic beasts the world has ever seen. But a conical uplift began on the sea bed, and after the dinosaurs went extinct 65 million years ago, the sea bed kept rising to eventually become the Black Hills.<\/p>\n

These hills would rise to twice their present day height, and rivers would flow east out over the prairie to the Missouri River. The land they watered was a verdant parkland full of mammals evolved to replace the dinosaur at the top of the food chain, including Entoledont, a massive cow-sized wart hog looking animal with long jaws full of wicked teeth. But the tectonic plates the continents rest on continued to shift and as they did the water courses flowing east changed. The Cheyenne River looped around the Black Hills from the south, collecting all the stream before they could flow east, denying the parkland water, and creating the present day Badlands. People erroneously believe the Badlands are ancient, but they are actually one of the newest land formations in the area.<\/p>\n

To the north, the Belle Fourche River spiked almost all the way to the Montana border before cutting back down along the edge of the Black Hills. The Redwater River basically splits the Bear Lodge Mountains from the South Dakota Black Hills. It flows into the Belle Fourche River which flows into the Cheyenne River which eventually reaches the Missouri River. Between the spike of the Belle Fourche River and the eastward flow of the Redwater River, lies the Bear Lodge Mountains.<\/p>\n

Although there are officially no bears in the South Dakota Black Hills (black bears and grizzly bears sometimes wander over from Wyoming), the last native bear was shot dead south of Deadwood over a hundred years ago, but the Black Hills once teemed with bears. The first American to see the Black Hills was Jed Smith. In 1823, he arrived at Beaver Creek which carved the Buffalo Gap and was promptly mauled by a grizzly bear several miles east of the gap. It took ten days to recover and Jim Clyman stitched his almost severed ear and scalp back into place.<\/p>\n

The heavy bear population extended all the way into the Bear Lodge Mountains, but here too, civilization exterminated all native bear populations not long after the turn of the 20th<\/sup> Century.<\/p>\n

Smith eventually continued through the Hills and used Devils Tower as a landmark reference point as he crossed the Bear Lodge Mountains. There are two other major elevations near Devils Tower each over a thousand feet higher than the tower: Warren Peak and Inyan Kara. Inyan Kara means rock gatherer in Lakota and these two peaks are less than a thousand feet smaller than Black Elk Peak (the highest point eats of the Rocky Mountains) to the south, and much higher and more rugged than most people realize.<\/p>\n

Only gravel roads offer access to the heart of the Bear Lodge, and if one wants to enjoy the beauty of the Black Hills with none of the tourism traffic, the Bear Lodge are an excellent option. Alongside one of the gravel backroads, there are sloped covered with wild raspberries, which can fill up buckets. The nearby fields are home to big billy goats who will come to the fence to visit but be warned they have a strong odor. It is easy to see why bears once called this home, because of the preponderance of wild berries.<\/p>\n

At the center of the Bear Lodge is Keyhole State Park with Keyhole Reservoir. Ten species of gaming fish call that reservoir home, from small mouth bass to northern pike.<\/p>\n

Back in the late 17th<\/sup> Century, several tribes started converging in the Bear Lodge Mountains and that was sometimes a good thing and sometimes a bad thing. The Cheyenne and Lakota made fast friends and both considered these mountains sacred for rock gathering and sundance ceremonies. The Crow also frequented the Bear Lodge, and when they ran into Cheyenne or Lakota, sparks flew. The Bear Lodge were not the safest place for any tribe unless they brought adequate backup.<\/p>\n

Tribal presence in the Bear Lodge these days is minimal, there are no nearby reservations. But the mountains still hold huge cultural and spiritual significance<\/p>\n

Unlike the South Dakota Black Hills, black bears are starting to make a permanent home in the Bear Lodge. They cross over the prairie from the nearby Bighorn Mountains. Grizzlies also cross over, abut they are easier to spot, sometimes leaving claw marks on tree trunks eight feet off the ground. The only other dangerous animals would be mountain lions, and if you are small enough, bobcats. The large cats are not a problem as they are very furtive and few in number but a bear is not furtive by nature and he has a hard time blending into his surroundings because he has no natural enemies but other bears and requires no camouflage. Grizzly bears are tranquilized if found in any part of the Black Hills and transported back to the Big Horns. They are tagged, and should they return, they are harvested.<\/p>\n

The charm of the Bear Lodge Mountains is that they are isolated and offer an immersion in the wilderness that used to spread from coast to North American coast. In order to visit Warren Peak and Keyhole Reservoir and then on to Devil\u2019s Tower, you must leave the pavement and commit to miles and miles of gravel backroads. If that is your goal, you will not be disappointed.<\/p>\n

(James Giago Davies is an enrolled member of OST. Contact him at skindiesel@msn.com)<\/p>\n

The post A history of the Bear Lodge Mountains<\/a> first appeared on Native Sun News Today<\/a>.<\/p>\n

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Visit Original Source<\/a><\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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Devil\u2019s Tower near Hulett, Wyoming An inland sea once split North America right across where eastern Wyoming is today. Vast flood plains that once sustained the dinosaur extended wide from each shoreline, and the waters teemed with the most fearsome array of aquatic beasts the world has ever seen. But <\/p>\n

Read More<\/a>
Shared by Native Sun News Today<\/a> September 14, 2026<\/p>\n

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