Makoshika: Land of Bad Earth
Makoshika means "bad land" or "bad earth" in Lakota, and Montana's largest state park wears the name honestly: 11,538 acres of hoodoos, ridges, and eroded spires at the southeast edge of Glendive, all of it carved out of the Hell Creek Formation - the most famous dinosaur-bearing rock unit on Earth. We rolled in on July 11 ready for badlands and bones. What we got instead was a master class in one of the other great truths of RV travel: 104 degrees on arrival day, 112 the next, and the badlands will still be there in the morning, but your composure will not.
Dinosaur Country
The science here is the headline. Sixty-six million years ago this was a low, swampy flood plain on a Cretaceous coast, and the creatures that died in its rivers and muds became some of the most celebrated fossils ever found. More than ten dinosaur species have turned up in the park - Tyrannosaurus rex, Triceratops, Edmontosaurus, Thescelosaurus among them - and the K-T boundary layer, the thin band of clay that records the asteroid strike that ended the dinosaurs, is visible in the park's rocks. The visitor center displays a Triceratops skull and does a genuinely good job with the story; the first significant finds here drew attention as far back as the 1890s, and paleontologists are still pulling secrets out of these hills today.
Seeing It (Honestly)
Our visit: we ran the generator to keep the rig cool on arrival, then took the scenic drive and the visitor center the next day while the thermometer pinned at 112. The park's striped badlands in full sun are almost otherworldly - red and tan bands, cap rocks balanced on mudstone pedestals, and not a tree tall enough to cast shade. The Cap Rock Trail is the classic short walk; the Bluebird Trail starts right at the visitor center parking lot. There are two disc golf courses, and the night skies are world-class - though at 10 p.m. the generator curfew arrives, and with interior temps our air conditioner could not beat, we made the call every RVer eventually makes: the badlands would keep. We shortened the stay and pointed the rig toward the campground with 24/7 power and air conditioning near Theodore Roosevelt National Park.
Practical Notes for Big Rigs
Three things to know before you go. First, vehicles over 20 feet are restricted to the first two miles of the park road, so plan your sightseeing accordingly. Second, there is no dump station in the park - plan your tanks for Glendive, ten minutes away, which also has your groceries and fuel. Third, summer heat out here is not a suggestion; spring and fall are the kind seasons. Come in June or September and Makoshika will treat you far better than it treated us.
Even shortened, it earns its place on the 2026 list. Where else can you watch the sun go down on the same rock that holds the grave of the dinosaurs - and a T. rex on the ridge against the dusk?