Bighorn Lake

Wyoming & Montana

Boating on Bighorn Lake

If you have ever been to Lake Powell and loved it, you would also love Bighorn Lake! Imagine winding through a canyon in a boat, looking up at the beautiful red rock with the stark blue sky against it. Our family has loved boating Bighorn Lake for years and could never get tired of it! The lake is 70 miles long and takes about a day to boat from the Horseshoe Bend boat ramp up to the Yellowtail Dam and back, especially if you explore some of the side canyons and spend some time water skiing or wake boarding.

We usually arrive at the lake between 7 or 8 in the morning and drive the boat all the way up to the dam. Then on the way down we either waterski or explore the canyons. The canyon walls are full of beautiful arches, most that I haven't discovered their names. On our most recent trip in September 2025 we counted at least ten arches, more than we'd ever seen before. We pack extra gas in our boat so that we can fill up at the dam before our return trip, but you can also purchase gas at the dam (at a very hefty price!) and you can also grab a snack while you're there.

One of the most fun parts about this lake is that as you are driving through it, you pass from Wyoming into Montana, and then back again on your return trip. There is a sign on the water telling you where the state line is. The bends in the lake are labeled by number, beginning with 59 and ending with 1. On our most recent trip to the lake I took photos of the lake as we progressed through each number, beginning with the highest and down to the lowest, and then back again. Here is a map of the lake:

The boat dock at Horseshoe Bend. This is where we always put in unless the water is too low.

The ramp at Horseshoe Bend

Horseshoe Bend boat ramp

The first number we saw on our trip was 56. The numbers continued in descending order as we drove north through the canyon.

Number 55

Number 54

Number 53

There are so many caves along the lake as well

Number 52

Number 51

There's a tiny window in the rock that you can see light through

Number 49

Coming up are 2 arches, although it's misleading which holes are arches -- because of the sun my photos don't really show that the top opening along the ridgeline is an arch, but photos I have taken in the past do show light through that upper arch. The larger hole on the bottom is also an arch, as will be obvious from the other photos I took. Part of perspective is how high the water is, and 2 years earlier when we came the water was high enough that we could see through arches that we could not see through in September 2025.

In this photo taken in 2023 you can see the light through the upper arch. We were too low on the water in 2025 to see the light through the arch, so that it didn't appear like an arch at all in 2025.

This is another photo taken in 2023, with the arches labeled

Number 47

In 2025 we could not ever see the opening through the upper arch at #47, in the morning or afternoon

The lower arch we could see the opening because we saw the canyon wall moving behind it as we drove

zoomed-in view of the lower arch

zoomed-in view of the upper arch, which you can't even tell is an arch from this view. In 2023 when the water was higher we could see the light through this upper arch.

another try at the upper arch of Double Arches

This was our first view of Devil's Canyon Overlook Arch, which is the arch that you can access from above the canyon wall at Devil's Canyon Overlook. You can read about how to find it at my blog post here: Devil's Canyon Arch

Devil's Canyon Arch is located at #44. I would never, ever have noticed this arch if I hadn't known where it was and taken a while to search for it from the water. It is not easy to spot.

The arch disappears from view as you get too close to the canyon wall

The arch has disappeared from view because we drove too close to the canyon wall

This is the other perspective of the arch. In this photo you can see the top of it but not the opening

You can just begin to see the opening of the arch in this photo - on the far left of the photo, in the center. You can also see on the far right along the ridgeline the fence for the Devil's Canyon Overlook

This photo you can see a little more of the opening in the arch, as well as the fence on the right for the overlook

This is a zoomed-in photo of the arch, with bushes behind it.

This photo has the arch on the far left in the center, as well as a view of the fence of the overlook, and the pinnacle on the water that is the sign that you are near where you can view the arch.

Devil's Canyon Arch - bushes behind it

It would have been really fun if I had taken this photo when someone was inside the arch.

The pinnacle on the right in this photo is on the water and is your sign to start looking for the arch. The arch is near the left in this photo, in the center. Bushes and sand are behind it.

The arch is in the very center of this photo. Pinnacle on the right

Number 44

Number 43

Number 42

There is a small opening in the rock up on the ridgeline

I named this Chimney Rock

This arch at #41 I named Heart Arch

Number 41

Heart Arch with my zoom lens

Number 41

another tiny opening

Number 40

Number 39

Number 38

Number 37

Number 35

Number 33

Number 32

This view of the Pryor Mountains in the background is where we hiked to Sykes Arch

Number 31 - notice the tiny arches on the ridgeline

Number 31

Tiny arch on the ridge

This is a tunnel arch that appears to be only a cave until you get right next to the canyon wall. There is another tunnel arch very close to it that you can only see on the way back down the canyon. My husband wanted to name them the Worm Holes because it was as if a worm had gone into one and out the other. I also like to call them the Tunnel Arches. The first one I like to call the Bat Tunnel because it looks like an upside-down bat. These tunnel arches are viewed on the east side between 30 and 29.

As the boat moved we began to see the background move behind the Bat Tunnel Arch.

These photos were taken with my zoom lens

Above the canyon it may appear to just be a hole in the ground

It's so impressive that plants can grow inside the arch

Number 29

Number 28

Number 27

Number 25

Number 24

Number 23

Number 22

Number 21

I call this curious rock the Caterpillar

The Caterpillar

Number 19a

Number 20

Number 19

Number 19 - notice the tiny window on the left

Our first sight of #18 and 18 Arch - the one arch that is on water level

18 Arch

Number 18

18 Arch

Number 16

The Anticline

Number 9

Number 4

Number 1

You can purchase gas here if you didn't bring extra

You can go up those stairs and buy a snack at the cafe

Yellowtail Dam

My kids like to jump off this rock when we stop to have lunch

The Ok-A-Beh boat ramp

Turning around at the northern edge of the lake (the Yellowtail Dam) and heading back down the lake:

Number 1

Number 2

Tiny windows on the ridge

Number 5

Black Canyon

Black Canyon is at #5 on the east side

Black Canyon

Number 5 - back out of Black Canyon and into the main lake canyon

Number 5

Number 7

Number 9

This arch is on the west side of the canyon exactly at #14 and is only visible as you are going south in the canyon. It's on the other side of the Anticline.

Number 14

This is the reason I decided to call this arch Winking Arch - because of the cave beside the arch, which makes it appear as if a person has one eye open and one closed, as though winking.

Number 14

Number 16

We decided to explore Dry Head Creek & Hoodoo Creek on the west side of the lake

Dry Head Creek

Arch in Dry Head Creek

Hoodoo Creek

We thought this rock looked like a man's side profile

The Man in the Canyon

When the canyon got too narrow we had to turn around

Leaving Hoodoo Canyon and heading into Dry Head Canyon

Dry Head Creek

Tiny arch in Dry Head Creek

Heading back out of Dry Head Creek onto the lake

Number 18

18 Arch again

Number 18

The opening in Arch 18 isn't very apparent from this side in the afternoon

Number 19

Number 19a

Back to the Caterpillar

We went in this little alley in the lake to eat lunch. It wasn't a full canyon and didn't have a name on the map.

It didn't go very far

While we ate lunch we stopped to fill up our tank with gas from one of our extra tanks

We could see lots of fish in the water

My husband filling our tank

Heading back out of this little side alley to the main lake

Number 21

Number 22

Number 23

Number 24

Number 25 - we headed into Deadman's Creek on the west side

Deadman's Creek

Heading out of Deadman's Creek

Number 27

Number 28

Number 29

Number 29 - right after this the second of the Tunnel Arches will come into view

The tunnel arch is in view where the red rock starts in this photo

The Tunnel Arch appears to be a cave in this photo

No light seems to be visible through the arch yet

As we got closer to the wall it became more apparent that it was an arch

The light is still not visible through this tunnel arch

The bottom right of this photo is the arch opening

Triangle Tunnel, the first of the Tunnel Arches, is best viewed when driving south on the lake. The second Tunnel Arch (Bat's Arch) is only a minute away. They are both on the east side of the lake

Triangle Tunnel

Our last view of Triangle Tunnel Arch

Only 2 minutes later we were viewing Bat Tunnel Arch again

Bat Tunnel Arch

Bat's Tunnel Arch

The light disappearing from Bat Tunnel Arch

Gyp Creek

Heading into Gyp Creek

We saw a bald eagle in Gyp Creek

Our bald eagle

leaving Gyp Creek and heading back out into the lake

You can't tell from this photo, but as you leave Gyp Creek there is an arch directly opposite it, which I call Teddy Bear Arch

Teddy Bear Arch, across from Gyp Creek

I called it Teddy Bear Arch because of the rock and trees on top that make it look like it has 2 ears

Teddy Bear Arch

These caves look like they could possibly be arches, or someday will be

Number 30

The Penguin

Number 31

Number 32

Close to #32 are 2 arches close together -- you can see the light through one of them in this photo. They are on the west side

This is the arch on the right

I call these "The Ogre" because together they look like two eyes on an ogre. This is the right eye

You can't tell it's an arch yet, but this is the left eye

This is the left eye

You wouldn't even know it's an arch unless you get close to the canyon wall so that you can see through it

The Left Eye

The Ogre - the left eye and the right eye - with only the right eye showing light through it

The Ogre

one last shot of the right eye

Number 33

Number 35

Number 36

Barry's Landing boat ramp

Number 37

Tiny arch on the west side directly across from #37

Zooming in on the arch makes it look as though there might be 2 arches there

This photo looks like the arch is a window in a small cottage. That's why I call it Cottage Arch

This photo makes the part that I suspected was another arch appear to be just a large rock

triangle cave

Number 38

This is a very long arch on the east side directly across from #38. I call it Long Arch

Long Arch

Long Arch is shaped like an eagle

Number 39

Number 40

Number 41

A tiny arch

back at Heart Arch again

Number 42

Number 43

Near #43 I call this arch "The Lookout"

The Lookout

Number 44

When you see the Pinnacle on the water around #44, you know that you are close to Devil's Canyon Arch

Looking up at the sheer cliffs, too close to see the arch from the water

This is where the arch is located, but we are still too close to the canyon wall to see it.

Finally the arch has come into view

Devil's Canyon Arch

This is best viewed from inside Devil's Canyon, which is adjacent to the arch and #44

The arch is behind the rock

Now the arch is visible

There's bushes and rock behind it, but the arch is still visible, as is the Pinnacle on the right in this photo, which is on the water

The arch is still visible

Slightly closer look at the arch

In this photo the arch is still visible, in the center on the ridge line

One last look at the Devil's Canyon Arch

Back to Double Arches at #47 on the west side

Double Arches

The upper of the double arches is on the left

You can begin to see a rock wall inside the cave behind the arch

We almost missed it because of its position next to a bush, but here is the state line between Montana and Wyoming. All of the arches are in Montana.

Number 49

Number 51

Number 52

Number 53

Number 54

Number 55

Number 56

Number 59

Heading back to the boat ramp to head home

Here is the map of Bighorn Lake with stars where all the arches we found are:

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Boating Along

Bighorn Lake

Bighorn Lake

Wyoming & Montana

Turning around at the northern edge of the lake (the Yellowtail Dam) and heading back down the lake:

Black Canyon

Dry Head Creek

Deadman's Creek

Gyp Creek

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