Thanks to my mother-in-law and father-in-law, we’ve been going on medicine rock hunts near Wolf Creek for years. I had never heard of these type of medicine rocks before moving to Helena. And still, I don’t know much about them, such as for sure how they are formed or the cultural history behind them. So if you have any information and knowledge on them, please share in the comments so we can all learn something!! 🙂
So what are medicine rocks? They are perfect circles of various colors and sizes found on pieces of shale. They appear to be painted on, but it’s completely natural. Sometimes you’ll find pieces of shale that are broken where these circles are, and you can see the circles go deep. Some of the circles are simply white. Others white with a smaller dark or red circle in the middle. They really are all unique, which I think makes the hunt for them even more fun! Searching for neat medicine rocks is one of my favorite types of rock hunting. I can actually participate in it for longer than 20 minutes!
The drive to the medicine rocks is an easy, short, fairly scenic drive from Helena. Perfect for a morning microadventure! We’ve taken our adult family and friends here, too, so it’s not just a microadventure for the kids. 🙂 In fact, our boys searched for awhile, but then found other things to explore, such as some small cliffs, tree stump holes, and simply wandering around while Roy and I continued to look around for neat medicine rocks.
The drive to the medicine rocks is an easy, short, fairly scenic drive from Helena. Perfect for a morning microadventure! We’ve taken our adult family and friends here, too, so it’s not just a microadventure for the kids. 🙂 In fact, our boys searched for awhile, but then found other things to explore, such as some small cliffs, tree stump holes, and simply wandering around while Roy and I continued to look around for neat medicine rocks.
How to get here – The map below gives directions if you’re coming from Helena. Once you turn off the interstate onto Recreation Road, you follow that for approximately 1.5 miles until Lyons Creek Road. There is a little pull-off right there as well where people can picnic. Follow Lyons Creek Road for less than half a mile until you reach a T in the road. There’s a road sign showing Lyons Creek Road to the right and Medicine Rocks Road to the left. Go left. Follow this narrow road, and when you come to a Y, go left again. Going right is private land, and there is a sign that says this, as well. Keep going until you pass through a gate/gate opening that then tells you that you are now on public land. Shortly after that, there is a pull-off to the left. I suggest parking here. We have driven further, but I suggest only doing so if you are comfortable with narrow, steep, rocky parts of the road. 4WD is necessary if you choose to drive further.
Once you’re parked, get out and explore! There are not any trails, although the road is more like a trail than a vehicle road… But choose a hill, and start hiking and looking at the ground for medicine rocks. You can even find them right off the road. But it is easy and fun hiking going up, and if you have kids, the little rock cliffs up higher are pretty fun for them.
Some rock hunts require extra gear, such as shovels, pickaxes, or mining screens. The nice thing about medicine rocks? You really don’t need anything! Just eyes to look at the ground.
We’ve found this a fun place to explore Spring-Fall. If it is a high water year, there may be water over Lyons Creek Road from Little Prickly Pear Creek during the late Spring. If you do like to fish, it’s a fun place to bring the fishing rods and make a day of it here! Fish in the morning and then hunt for some medicine rocks. 🙂
Do you have any of these rocks where you live? Or do you have other rocks or minerals that are unique to your location?