Prairie Loop

The Prairie Loop traverses the shortgrass prairie habitat that surrounds the buffalo jump cliffs, providing an immersive experience in the landscape that supported massive bison herds for thousands of years before Euro-American settlement transformed the northern plains. The trail winds through native grasses including blue grama, buffalo grass, and western wheatgrass that still cover substantial portions of the park, maintained through careful management and the absence of intensive cultivation.

Pronghorn are almost guaranteed sightings along this loop, their tan and white coloration blending with dry grass but their speed making them unmistakable when moving. Prairie dogs maintain active colonies visible from the trail, and the dense social activity of these colonial rodents attracts burrowing owls that nest in abandoned burrows, ferruginous hawks that circle overhead, and badgers that excavate aggressively in pursuit of underground prey. Horned larks, chestnut-collared longspurs, and Sprague pipits inhabit the grassland proper, while Swainson hawks nest in scattered shrubs along the loop perimeter. The rolling terrain provides changing perspectives on the cliff formation and the broad Missouri River valley visible in the distance, connecting the terrestrial prairie experience to the larger landscape of the northwestern Great Plains that defined the world of the Blackfeet people who lived here.