
When is the Best Time to Visit Theodore Roosevelt National Park?.Theodore Roosevelt National Park Hiking: North Unit.Theodore Roosevelt National Park Camping: Juniper Campground.Exploring the North Unit of Theodore Roosevelt National Park.South Unit Hiking in Theodore Roosevelt National Park.Drive the Wildlife Loop Road through Theodore Roosevelt National Park.Theodore Roosevelt National Park Camping: Cottonwood Campground.Exploring the South Unit of Theodore Roosevelt National Park.

Here’s why you’ve got to make the trek to North Dakota to go camping and hiking in Theodore Roosevelt National Park. This is the perfect time for baby bison, wildflowers, sweaty horseback rides, and stargazing. There are no facilities here - just the stone foundation of Roosevelt’s cabin, gorgeous scenery, and a solemn quiet.Ī recent road trip took us through North Dakota in June when the prairie still had a bit of green and the days were just starting to get hot. This special place was where Theodore Roosevelt called home after the death of his wife and mother (on the same day). The tiny Elkhorn Ranch Unit is between the other two. Backpacking is the most popular activity in the North Unit, but there are a few easy day hikes, an abundance of wildlife, and a small campground. If you are looking for solitude, we can guarantee that you’ll find it here. The North Unit is located 70 miles from the South Unit, along Highway 85. The South Unit is the largest and most popular, in part because of its convenient location along Interstate 94 near the charming town of Medora. The park encompasses 70,446 acres of land in three separate sections: the North Unit, the South Unit, and the Elkhorn Ranch Unit. You’ll embark on an intimate and colorful experience with the burnished hills, the plentiful wildlife, and the people that call this corner of the prairie home. As with all the lesser-known national parks, Theodore Roosevelt will thoroughly reward you for visiting. This is the only national park in North Dakota, and it’s a very special place. The verdant surrounds are protected as the Little Missouri National Grassland.Part wildlife sanctuary and part Wild West, Theodore Roosevelt National Park is a vast landscape of hills, prairies, and floodplains known collectively as the North Dakota Badlands.

However it's well worth the journey for the 14-mile drive to the Oxbow Overlook, with its wide views into the vast and colorfully striated river canyon. The North Unit, which is off US 85, gets few visitors. Many visitors to the South Unit opt for the 36-mile scenic drive that begins in Medora, an appealing resort town with motels and lodges that most use as a base for exploration. The park is divided into two sections and has three visitor centers, including the more substantial South Unit Visitor Center with Theodore Roosevelt's old cabin out back. The park is vast, with only the rush of rivers and the distant hoof beat of animals to interrupt the silence. Bizarre rock formations, streaked with a rainbow of red, yellow, brown, black and silver minerals, are framed by green prairie.

A tortured region known as the 'badlands' whose colors seem to change with the moods of nature, Theodore Roosevelt National Park is the state's natural highlight.
