Theodore Roosevelt National Park

Where the Buffalo Roam and the Skies are Not Cloudy All Day

On Day #15 of our 30-day, 9376 mile, road trip to see more of America we visited the Theodore Roosevelt National Park in Medora, North Dakota.
 
Named after the 26th President of the United States because of his ties to the region, the Theodore Roosevelt National Park is a national park located in the western North Dakota badlands with three geographically separated areas; the North Unit, the South Unit, and the Elkhorn Ranch Unit. The park has 70,446 acres (110.072 square miles) of land.
 
Teddy Roosevelt first came to the North Dakota to hunt bison in 1883 and subsequently fell in love with the rugged lifestyle and the "perfect freedom" of the West. While in Medora Roosevelt invested in the Maltese Cross Ranch. Then in 1884, following the death of both his wife and mother, Roosevelt returned to North Dakota and purchased the Elkhorn Ranch, located 35 miles north of Medora. A life-long outdoorsman and hunter, Roosevelt's time in the badlands impacted him deeply and helped shape many of the policies that he implemented during his years as President of the United States (1901-1909).
 
We visited the South Unit of the park on a perfect day – great weather and not many people. During our visit we hiked many of the trails and were able to see, up close and personal, bison, turkeys, prairie dogs, and wild horses (click on any photo to start the slideshow):

​If you want to learn more about the Theodore Roosevelt National Park, or other things to do in the Medora area, here are a couple of links to check out:     
 
https://www.nps.gov/thro/index.htm
 
https://www.ndtourism.com/best-places/8-things-see-and-do-theodore-roosevelt-national-park
 
https://medora.com/do/outdoor/theodore-roosevelt-national-park/


As a side note, to get to the Theodore Roosevelt National Park we drove the Killdeer Mountain Four Bears Scenic Byway. The terrain and sights were stunning. This drive is certainly one of the prettiest in North Dakota. (click on any photo to start the slideshow):

Here’s are links to all of North Dakota’s scenic highways and some of the specific sights on the Killdeer Byway:
 
https://www.ndtourism.com/best-places/north-dakota-scenic-byways-and-backways-and-more
 
https://www.ndtourism.com/best-places/5-stops-killdeer-mountain-four-bears-scenic-byway
 
https://www.beautifulbadlandsnd.com/history-and-landscape-in-the-mid-section-of-this-badlands-scenic-highway-22-part-2/