Terry Badlands WSA

Terry Badlands WSA is a protected study area covering about 19,000 acres of heavily carved terrain in eastern Montana. The landscape consists of deep gullies, sandstone walls, and flat-topped buttes that create a maze-like pattern across the rolling hills.

The badlands took shape over thousands of years as wind and water carved away at sandstone and rock layers, creating the current landscape. In the 1800s, United States Army troops passed through and left inscriptions on Sheridan Butte, marking their presence in the territory.

The name comes from the nearby settlement of Terry, which developed during westward expansion. Today visitors walk among the canyons and overlooks to experience this remote landscape and its geological wonders firsthand.

The area sits a few miles northwest of the town of Terry and is accessed primarily via Scenic View Road from Highway 253. Visitors should wear sturdy footwear and come prepared for uneven terrain and exposure to the sun in this open landscape.

The area holds one of the easternmost populations of limber pine trees in North America, a species usually found in higher western mountains. This isolated pocket represents an unusual eastern extension of a species that is typically found much farther west.