2 days ago
A Hidden Gem: North Dakota's Theodore Roosevelt National Park
The unique geography of North Dakota's Theodore Roosevelt National Park impresses visitors.
When mentioning Theodore Roosevelt National Park to fellow travelers, they often respond with 'never heard of it' and 'where is that?' The 70,447-acre park, located in two separate areas in the Badlands of western North Dakota, is largely unknown, near no major cities and sparsely visited outside the summer tourist season. It's a long haul to get there—nearly a 5-hour drive from Fargo or a 4-hour drive from Rapid City, South Dakota—but it is certainly worth the journey.
The park's geography is stunning, and its wildlife—buffaloes, wild horses and prairie dogs—is a joy to observe. Buffaloes are visible soon after entering the South Unit entrance in Medora, where hotels accommodate most tourists. The North Unit is about an hour's drive on a bumpy paved road—68 miles northeast of Medora—and then a 28-mile roundtrip within the park before 68 miles back to Medora.
Buffaloes roam wild at North Dakota's Theodore Roosevelt National Park.
There are 23 designated walking or hiking paths in the two units, ranging from a 10-minute walk to a 12-hour hike.
An easy-to-moderate hike, for example, is Sperati Point via the South Achenbach Trail—a 2.4-mile jaunt roundtrip in the North Unit that begins at the Oxbow Overlook and takes an estimated 1 1/2 hours to complete.
'A gentle walk leads to an overlook of the Little Missouri River,' the park service's newspaper for visitors says about the Sperati Point hike. 'Along the way, the trail crosses rolling prairie. This trail is a ranger favorite for wildflowers in the spring and early summer.'
The unique geography is just one of the attributes of Theodore Roosevelt National Park in western North Dakota.
The 10.4-mile Petrified Forest Loop in the remote northwest corner of the South Unit is classified moderate to strenuous and takes five to six hours, but the rewards are great. Hikers view Badlands wilderness and the third-largest concentration of petrified wood in the National Park Sevice.
The park service warns visitors to keep a 'long-distance relationship' with buffaloes and other wildlife, which include elk, bighorn sheep. coyotes, badgers, deer and pronghorn. Pronghorn can reach a speed off 60 mph and are the fastest land mammals in North America.
There are no restaurants, services or lodging options in the park. Half the sites in the South Unit's Cottonwood Campground are by reservation, and the other half are first come, first served. All sites in the North Unit's Juniper Campground are first come, first served.
More than 200 wild horses roam in Theodore Roosevelt National Park.
Theodore Roosevelt first went to the Dakota Territory in 1883 to hunt bison. He credited his trips to the area for influencing his moves later as president to preseve U.S. lands from development and create national parks and forests, according to the National Park Service.
Roosevelt had no hand in the creation of Theodore Roosevelt National Park. It was established in 1947 as a memorial to honor him and allow visitors to expeience his beloved Badlands.
The park service's related brochure includes a 1918 quote by Roosevelt: 'I have always said I never would have been president if it had not been for my experiences in North Dakota.'
