Picture of a Rocky Mountain Bighorn Sheep

Updated 02/11/23 7:04 PM

Theodore Roosevelt National Park

Theodore Roosevelt National Park is one of those little known gems of the National Parks system in the beautiful badlands of North Dakota. Situated walking distance from I-94 the entrance to the park is in the charming little town of Medora, North Dakota.

North Dakota

2013, 2019

About The Park

I only know of two national parks this close to an interstate much less one that has so few visitors. And when I say right next to the interstate I mean that literally. Actually there are two exits from I-94 which access the park and visitor centers. If you’re coming from the east you’ll hit the Painted Canyon Visitor Center first which has the usual exhibits and some beautiful views of Painted Canyon right outside the visitor center.

About 10 miles west of the Painted Canyon Visitor Center there’s the small town of Medora, North Dakota. It, too, is right off the exit ramp and the entrance to the park is at the edge of the town which comprises about four streets. I would have to speculate that being in remote western North Dakota may have something to do with the park receiving so few visitors. The Medora Visitor Center is located here.

The North Dakota Badlands are very similar to those in South Dakota’s Badlands National Park which is about 250 miles to the south. The scenery in between these two parks is not continuous badlands by any means; farmlands mostly and not at all interesting.

The park is divided into a North and South unit which are separated by about 40 miles of the Little Missouri National Grassland. The South unit is the part that is next to Interstate 94. The North unit is about a 70 mile drive through North Dakota farmlands where sunflowers seem to be a big crop. They, too, made for a pretty sight. You’ll also see oil rigs along the way sometimes in a rectangle carved in the corner of a lovely field of sunflowers. The oil rig sits along with the tanks and other peripheral equipment common to drilling pads. A study in contrast!

In between the North Unit and the South Unit is the Elkhorn Ranch which was where Theodore Roosevelt, in the 1880s, made his home while he was involved in the cattle business. It was here that Roosevelt became aware of the damage that was being done to the land, and its wildlife, especially the destruction of some big game species and the decimation of the buffalo herds. As a result of his experiences in, what was then, the Dakota Territory he became an ardent conservationist. As president he created five national parks and 51 wildlife refuges, national forests, established the U.S. Forest Service and signed in 1906 Antiquities Act. The Elkhorn Ranch is a separate protected unit of the National Park that sits between the North and South units and is accessible by a 35 mile drive over gravel roads – 4WD recommended.

When you look at the photo gallery you’ll see the last picture is of a bison and port-o-san. The story behind that picture is this. On the way out of the North unit my wife wanted to use the restroom. She had used a restroom in a restroom building inside the park that she said smelled badly. I had no such experience with the men’s room. That being the case we recalled this port-o-san right at the entrance to the North unit and she thought she would use that. When we reached it there was this rather large bull bison grazing next to it. Knowing that there was little in the way of facilities between the North and South unit (there was a gas station along the way) we decided to try to wait a bit to give the bison time to move on. Trying to use that port-o-san with the bison nearby was absolutely out of the question. Unfortunately the bison was in no hurry and after about 10 minutes of watching him move but a few feet we gave up and my wife had to wait the 20 miles or so to the gas station.

Wildlife

Lots of bison, wild horses, prairie dogs, elk, bighorn sheep, mule deer, white-tailed deer, badgers, cougars, golden eagles and many other species of birds.

Lodging

Rough Riders Hotel

The town of Medora prides itself on its connection to Theodore Roosevelt. The best of the two hotels in town is the Rough Riders Hotel. It’s a historic hotel with a lot of charm. Roosevelt stayed in the original version of the hotel that has since been updated and renovated and, one would have to assume, that subsequent to his death eventually became the Rough Riders Hotel. The rooms were very nice and the restaurant’s dining was excellent especially for such a small town. The public areas had a lot of books and interesting artifacts. Medora is a walking town; there is no need to drive anywhere because anywhere you want to go is no more than about a two block walk.

Hiking and Touring

The park is very colorful, unusual and dramatic which makes for some really nice hiking and driving.

South Unit

36-mile loop drive

The South unit has a 36-mile loop drive where you can drive through herds of bison and see wild horses. We came across a stallion with his harem of mares and it made for an interesting picture in the photo gallery. These are wild horses, and like all wild animals, you need to give them space. They are capable of a nasty bite. At one point we came across three mares by the side of the road. One of them might have been pregnant and possibly about to give birth. When we stopped the car to look, the other two mares became agitated and that was our sign to move on.

There were also several prairie dog towns that were right next to the road and that’s always fun to see. You see them scurrying between their burrows, barking to warn of strangers approaching and standing on their hind legs watching you.

Coal Vein Trail

The loop drive passes by several scenic overlooks which are short walks from the road itself. The Coal Vein Trail is an easy loop hike and nature trail with a brochure that you can ‘borrow’ at the trail head to explain what you are seeing.

Petrified Forest

There is also a Petrified Forest which is near the park’s western boundary. Hiking there from the scenic loop drive is either a 10 or 16 mile round-trip depending on where in the National Park’s Service you get your information. The national park brochure says 16 miles but if you go on the NPS.gov website and look at the hiking trails in Theodore Roosevelt National Park it says it’s a 10-mile round trip. There’s a dirt road west of the town of Medora that will take you north about 8 miles up to the western edge of the park from where the Petrified Forest is about a 3-mile hike. I didn’t have time to drive up there (much less hike it) so I can’t say anything about TRNP’s Petrified Forest.

With the loop road encompassing a good part of the park you have a number of trails that can be hiked from a trail head on one side of the road across the badlands to another point on the road several miles away. This works best with two cars with one at each end. These trails can also be combined with others to make longer loop hikes should you only have one car.

In 2019 part of the loop road was closed for repairs so it was about a 25 mile one-way out-and-back drive. Check the NPS website if you are planning to visit any time soon.

We spent the first day at the park checking out the visitor center, driving the loop road and taking a few short walks at the scenic overlooks. The road winds, the overlook sites worth stopping to see, the speed limit is low (not that you’d want to drive fast) and you can easily spend several hours on just the loop road.

North Unit

The scenic drive in the North Unit is a 14-mile out and back drive. There’s pullouts and overlooks and more interesting scenery.

Cannonball Concretions

Especially interesting was the Cannonball Concretions pullout. These concretions literally look like concrete cannonballs stuck in the side of the Badlands bluff. You can see pictures of them in the photo gallery.

Caprock Coulee Trail

The Caprock Coulee Trail is a great hike, which is listed as a 4.4 mile loop, and takes you through beautiful Badlands scenery. At one point it crossed the road and the hike led up to a scenic bluff overlooking the Little Missouri River. It was a beautiful hike, not too long nor with significant elevation changes, and I would certainly recommend it. It was the one trail in the national parks brochure that wasn’t a short walk (a mile or so) or a 10 plus miler. Our tendency is to look for hikes in the 3 to 7 mile range.

Sperati Point

The North Unit hike to Sperati Point is a nice, relatively easy, 2.5 mile out-and-back hike. You hike along a ridge overlooking dramatic badlands scenery culminating at a beautiful view point.

Other Points Of Interest

Medora Musical

When I booked a room at the Rough Riders Hotel, and on several subsequent phone calls, whoever I spoke with asked about whether I had tickets to the Medora Musical. When I said that I didn’t they tried hard to pitch it. I always declined thinking it would be some kind of local hokey thing. When we arrived in Medora and checked in they did so again and, not have anything to do that evening, my wife wanted to see it and so we did. That turned out to be a real treat. The venue was right outside the town, up a switchback to the top of a mesa. The parking was on top of the mesa and you walked down to your seats in a fairly large natural amphitheater (with regular stadium seating) created by the Badlands. From your seats you are now looking down on a stage framed by the Badlands scenery behind it. It was early evening and still light out. As it turned out the musical had a number of acts with singing, dancing, a contortionist and some hokey cowboy humor. It ended with a beautiful finale. In the evening darkness, to the sound of a song about North Dakota, a spotlight was trained on a Badlands mesa behind the stage where a cowboy on a white horse made his way down the slope. It was a very memorable and enjoyable end to the evening.

Theodore Roosevelt National Park Photo Gallery

Other Resources

Theodore Roosevelt National Park - on the National Parks Service website - NPS.gov

Theodore Roosevelt National Park - Wikipedia

Other National Parks and National Monuments Within a Day’s Drive

Wind Cave National Park has a cave with unique formations and is 307 miles south and about a 5 hour drive.

Badlands National Park bison, bighorn sheep and South Dakota’s badlands are 335 miles south and about a 5.5 hour drive.

Devil’s Tower National Monument this iconic monolith is 265 miles south and about a 4.5 hour drive.

Jewel Cave National Monument is another interesting and famous cave which is about 301 miles south and about a 5 hour drive.

Rapid City, South Dakota has Mount Rushmore, Iron Mountain Road, the Needles Highway and the famous wild west town of Deadwood. It is 250 miles south and about a 4 hour drive.
*N*P*Z*

Panoramic view of the badlands of Theodore Roosevelt National Park

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