Theodore Roosevelt National Park 6/20 -- 6/23, 2025 [Theodore Roosevelt Gallery] [Back to Photo Page]

Theodore Roosevelt National Park is in the badlands of western North Dakota comprising three geographically separated areas: the North Unit, the South Unit, and the Elkhorn Ranch Unit.  Theodore Roosevelt first came to the North Dakota badlands to hunt bison in September 1883.  Roosevelt put down an initial investment of $14,000 to build the Maltese Cross Cabin.  After the death of both his wife and his mother on February 14, 1884, Roosevelt returned to his North Dakota ranch seeking solitude and time to heal, and he started his second ranch, the Elkhorn Ranch, 35 miles north of Medora.  The rugged landscape and strenuous life that TR experienced here would help shape a conservation policy that we still benefit from today. 

Following Roosevelt's death in 1919, the Little Missouri Badlands were explored to determine possible park sites.  The area was designated the Roosevelt Recreation Demonstration Area in 1935. In 1946 it was transferred to the United States Fish and Wildlife Service as the Theodore Roosevelt National Wildlife Refuge.  President Truman established the South Unit of Theodore Roosevelt National Memorial Park on April 25, 1947, the only National Memorial Park ever established.  In 1978, in addition to boundary adjustments and the establishment of 29,920 acres (121.1 km2) of the Theodore Roosevelt Wilderness, the park's designation was changed to Theodore Roosevelt National Park, the only American national park named after a single person.

Getting there ...

We had an early flight from San Francisco to Denver, and then to Rapid City in South Dakota at about 1:00PM, and started our 4-hour driving to Medora in North Dakota.  Here is our Dakota (plus a little bit Wyoming) road trip itinerary for the next 10 days.

• 6/20 -- 6/23    Theodore Roosevelt National Park, North Dakota
• 6/23 -- 6/24    Devils Tower, Wyoming
• 6/24 -- 6/26    Mount Rushmore, Custer State Park, Wind Cave, Jewel Cave, South Dakota
• 6/26 -- 6/29    Badlands National Park, South Dakota

Day 1 (6/20) ...

• Painted Canyon
  We arrived at the Painted Canyon in the South Unit one minute after 5PM (so the visitor center was just closed...).   We just spent a few minutes at the overlook for the magnificent panorama of the badlands and colorful hills before went to Medora, where we would stay for 3 nights.

• Wildlife in the South Unit
  After a quick dinner in the hotel room, we headed out to the South Unit.  The sky was clearing up and we saw many wildlife, especially a herd of wild horses (and they ran beside us and crossed the road in front of us, video).

• Wind Canyon
  It's a short trail to get a spectacular view of the Little Missouri River to see the sunset.

Day 2 (6/21) ...

The North Unit of Theodore Roosevelt National Park is situated about 80 mi (130 km) north of the South Unit, and it takes more than an hour of drive from Medora.  The Scenic Drive of the North Unit is 14 miles long. It starts at the entrance to the North Unit and ends at Oxbow Overlook.  Along the way are pull-outs with overlooks and trailheads.  One confusing thing in North Dakota is that there are two time zones in the state,  and the North Unit of TRNP is in the Central Time, while the South Unit is in the Mountain Time.  In fact, when we were hiking in the North Unit, we were so confused with the time because our cell phones sometimes show different times.

• Cannonball Concretions
  These "cannonballs" were formed when sand grains from an ancient river deposit were cemented together by minerals dissolved in groundwater.  It was interesting to walk around to feel the size of these cannonballs.  We then crossed the road to walk a small section of Little Mo Nature Trail to the Little Missouri River. 

• Caprock Coulee Trail
  The Caprock Coulee Trail is a 4.3-mile loop with River Bend Overlook at about its mid-point.  The first 0.75 miles of this trail consists of the Caprock Coulee Nature Trail, hiking through badlands terrain and dry washes.  The trail becomes more strenuous as it climbs to the top of a grassy butte, follows a ridgeline with incredible views, where we had close encounters with a couple of bison on the trail. 

• River Bend Overlook & Caprock Coulee Trail
  We had our lunch break at the scenic River Bed Overlook with our favorite instant rice balls.  The trail continued along the edge of the badlands, and we got awesome views over the Little Missouri River.
  

• Wildlife on the Scenic Drive

• Oxbow Bend Overlook & Sperati Point
  The Scenic Drive ends at the Oxbow Bend Overlook, where the Little Missouri River takes a hard turn from the south to the east (with a curvy S-turn).  The river originally continued north to Hudson Bay.  During the last ice age, continental glaciers blocked its way, forcing the turn.  We took the Achenbach Trail to Sperati Point (2.4-mile flat round-trip) with even better views of Little Missouri River than at the Oxbow Bend Overlook.

• Views along the drive

• Sunset at the Painted Canyon
  After a pizza dinner in Medora, we went to the Painted Canyon Overlook for an amazing sunset.

Day 3 (6/22) ...

• Painted Canyon Trail
  Painted Canyon Trail is 4.2-mile round-trip with steep initial descent of 400 feet from the canyon rim to canyon floor (it means we need to climb back up when we return...).  The landscapes along the trail were dramatic and you could get a close look at the rock layers.  However, it was a windy and cold day today...
  

• Peaceful Valley Ranch
  After lunch at a local small cafe,  Cowboy Cafe (right next to our hotel), we went to the Peaceful Valley Ranch in the South Unit and hoped to hike the Ekblom Trail.   However, the water level of the Little Missouri was too high and it was not possible to cross the river without getting wet in your lower body. In fact, we did not even know how deep the river really was.  A guy was just standing about 10 feet from the riverbank, and the water was already to his knees.  We turned around from the riverbank and walked around the ranch, and decided to go back to our hotel in Medora to take a break.  A few minutes after we retreated to our room, it started to rain and pour hard!

• Boicourt Overlook
  The rain stopped after a couple of hours, and we went out for dinner (a little bit chilly with a outdoor seating at the deck on the 2nd floor).  Although it was still cloudy and the lighting was not too good, we still decided to drive to the Boicourt Overlook after dinner.

Day 4 (6/23) ...

We did not have any big plans today (I was originally thinking about hiking in the petrified forest areas, but we felt too cold for such a long exposed hike...).  We decided just to drive along the Scenic Drive Loop in the South Unit to see a few overlooks or walk short trails.

• Bison on the Scenic Loop Drive
  

• Boicourt Trail

• Buck Hill

• Prairie Dog Town on the Scenic Loop Drive
  Since the Scenic Drive Loop was closed for construction in its southern section, it was not really a loop and we had to turn around after a few miles at Coal Vein Trail Road.  We stopped by a prairie dog town on the western side of the Scenic Loop Drive and had a good time (~ 20 minutes) to sit close to these cute animals.
  

• Skyline Vista

Going Next ...

After a burger lunch in Medora, we headed west/south to our next destination, Devils Tower in Wyoming.

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