Blog · October 14, 2026 · Montana
Using the Big Horn County Hunting Map
Parcel lines and public-land maps work together near Lodge Grass.
Main page: Big Horn County, MT GIS & Parcel Viewer (official map link, county facts and neighboring maps).
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Planning a hunt near Busby? A useful Big Horn County hunting map combines two sources: public areas from Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks and private lines from the county. This Big Horn County guide covers: where public hunting land is mapped, using the parcel viewer for boundaries, and how to ask for permission.
The Big Horn County hunting map: start here
Near Bighorn Canyon National Recreation Area, start with Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks for public areas, with rules that vary by area.
Where the parcel data lives
For a tract near Hardin, the official parcel map for this area is the Montana Cadastral, and anyone can open it without signing up. If you only know roughly where the land is, pan along the nearest road until the lines appear, then click inside the one you want, whether the land is near Forty Mile Colony or elsewhere in the county. Near Fort Smith, save the parcel ID from that panel; every clerk in the county will want it.
Taking the map into the field
The parcel map usually runs in a mobile browser, useful out on a road near Crow Agency, though signal can drop in rural spots. A printout of the tract near Forty Mile Colony is a good backup.
Scouting from the aerial
Switch to aerial imagery near Fort Smith, look for field edges, creek bottoms and timber lines; match each spot to its parcel.
Private land and parcel lines
The Montana Cadastral shows private parcel lines, with owner names for tracts near Fort Smith.
Places you'll see on the map
Hardin is the county seat, home to the main records offices. Smaller places on the map include Lodge Grass, Busby, Crow Agency, and Fort Smith, where town lots give way to larger tracts. Roughly 12,751 people live in Big Horn County (Census estimate, 2023) spread over roughly 4,998 square miles. Big Horn County was organized in 1913, so old deeds can run back a long way. Landmarks such as Bighorn Canyon National Recreation Area help you orient on the aerial.
Land on the county line
Big Horn County borders Carbon County, Powder River County, Rosebud County, Treasure County, and Yellowstone County, and each of those keeps its own parcel map. A tract near the line by Muddy may show up across two assessors' files, so open the adjacent map too. In and around Muddy, our state page lists each bordering county map for Montana.
Getting a yes
On ground around Lodge Grass, offer details: who you are, when you'd hunt and how to reach you, and respect a no.
Before you go
Check Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks for seasons and licensing, and know your state's trespass rules wherever you hunt near Forty Mile Colony.
Offices that can help
Deeds, mortgages and recorded plats for land near Busby are with the County Clerk and Recorder, usually searchable by name or document number. Zoning, permits and septic questions near Lodge Grass need the planning or permitting office, and the answer depends on jurisdiction.
A word on accuracy
On ground around Hardin, acreage on the record is an assessed number; just a licensed surveyor sets the real boundary on the ground. For a tract near Muddy, owner names and values update on a schedule, so a deed recorded last month can take weeks to appear.
Legal descriptions in Montana
Montana uses the Public Land Survey System, so deeds around Fort Smith reference sections and townships. Each section is nominally a mile square, about 640 acres, and a township holds 36 of them, though sections near Lodge Grass can be irregular. Write down the legal description for the tract near Forty Mile Colony for any title or survey request.
Good habits afield
Leave gates as you found them on land near Lodge Grass, and carry the owner's contact info; owners remember good guests.
Where the recorded documents are
For a tract near Bighorn Canyon National Recreation Area, the map is an index, not the title: deeds, subdivision plats and easements for parcels in the county sit with the County Clerk and Recorder. For acreage around Crow Agency, have ready the book and page shown in the record panel and the lookup takes minutes.
Questions about the Big Horn County hunting map
Are app boundaries accurate around Fort Smith?
For land near Lodge Grass, app data usually comes from county parcel layers; stay inside the lines.
Can I trust the map at the property line around Bighorn Canyon National Recreation Area?
The map isn't a survey.
How do I get a landowner's contact info in Big Horn County?
It depends, but click the tract near Hardin on the Montana Cadastral for the owner and mailing address; be specific in your request.
Is verbal permission enough near Hardin?
For acreage around Bighorn Canyon National Recreation Area, rules vary by state, so check Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks guidance.
Is the parcel map a survey around Busby?
In and around Crow Agency, parcel lines are tax drawings, not surveys, so a fence may sit off the line
Open the official Big Horn County, MT parcel map See it in the Platbookmapper directory
Not a survey. County GIS and tax parcel maps are assessment and planning layers. They are not a substitute for a recorded plat, deed, or licensed survey, especially for fences, setbacks, or boundary disputes.