If you enjoy history you will enjoy Little Bighorn Battlefield. You are able to walk along trails within the actual battle ground so you can stand where the fighting took place and get multiple vantage points on many events of the overall battle. You don't need a ranger to explain things to you as long as you can read - there are a lot of materials available to help you interpret not only the history of the two days of battle but the history and events leading up to this famous victory for the Native Americans.
It will be hot during the summer as this is south central Montana and the temperatures routinely top 100 during July and August - but that is the way it was on June 25th, 1876 so it makes the visit more authentic. One place most people miss is Gerryowen - it is now a small town on the outskirts of the park but is actually where many of the events took place. It doesn't appear to be much from the outside but they have a nice museum with a lot of meaningful artifacts.
One interesting fact is that many of the people and horses you see are descendants of those present at the battle. Like any battlefield, you might feel more in touch with history than at other "historic" locations as this is a place where many people lost and faught for their lives in a violent conflict. Unlike many battlefields, this one has not been over-run with commercialism and modernism to the same degree as most.
Updated Dec 14, 2008
On the drive up the hill to the entrance for Little Bighorn National Monument, there is a huge protected praire dog colony that's fun to watch, but difficult to photograph.
Written Nov 26, 2008
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