Is Theodore Roosevelt National Park Worth Visiting?

The verdict on North Dakota's badlands park

By Chris Hayworth, Nestward

Short answer: yes, if you like wildlife and quiet, and no, if you're chasing the kind of jaw-drop scenery you get at Zion or Glacier. Theodore Roosevelt is a different animal: a park where bison wander across the road, wild horses graze the buttes, and you can have a whole overlook to yourself. It's in far western North Dakota, which is exactly why most people skip it, and exactly why the ones who go tend to love it.

The verdict: who it's worth it for

This park rewards a specific kind of traveler. Come for the wildlife and the calm, not for a postcard checklist.

• Worth it if you want close-up wildlife without crowds. Bison, wild horses, prairie dogs, and elk are genuinely easy to see here, often from your car along the scenic loops.
• Worth it if you're already crossing North Dakota or Montana on I-94 and want a real national park stop instead of a gas-station break.
• Worth it if your kids like animals more than long hikes. The pacing here is gentle and the payoff is reliable.
• Maybe skip if you have one day and a long detour, and you're expecting dramatic canyons or waterfalls. The badlands are striking but subtle, eroded, banded, more haunting than grand.

What actually makes it special

The wildlife is the headline. Theodore Roosevelt is one of the few national parks where you can reliably see free-roaming bison and a herd of wild horses in the same afternoon. Drive the scenic loops slowly, especially early or late, and you'll likely find bison on or beside the road. Give them room; they're bigger and faster than they look. The park also protects badlands that TR himself described as "so fantastically broken in form and so bizarre in color as to seem hardly properly to belong to this earth."

The other draw is solitude. Even in summer, this is not a crowded park. You can pull over at an overlook and hear wind and birds instead of a parking-lot shuffle. The night skies are excellent too, dark enough that the Milky Way is a real event, with the occasional aurora in the right conditions.

The two units (and why it matters)

There are three units, but visitors really choose between two, about an hour apart by car:

• South Unit: the easy one, right off I-94 at Medora. It has the Maltese Cross Cabin (TR's actual cabin, worth a quick stop), the most wildlife viewing, and a 36-mile scenic loop. This is where most first-timers go.
• North Unit: quieter, more rugged, off Highway 85 about 14 miles south of Watford City. The River Bend Overlook here is the park's signature view. Plan a separate half-day; it's not a quick add-on to the South Unit.
• The remote Elkhorn Ranch Unit sits between them on gravel roads, suited for history buffs willing to work for it, not a casual stop.

Short walks worth doing with kids

You don't need big hikes to get the good stuff. A few easy, high-payoff options pulled from the park's own list:

• Skyline Vista Trail: a fully paved, accessible trail in the South Unit; a great first stop for a big view with zero effort.
• Wind Canyon Trail: short and steep-ish, with one of the best Little Missouri River overlooks at sunset.
• Buck Hill: a brief climb to a sweeping panorama; good for sunrise or sunset.
• Coal Vein Trail and the Little Mo Nature Trail: easy interpretive loops that keep curious kids busy.
• Boicourt Trail: a short walk to a dramatic badlands viewpoint.

The Junior Ranger program is active here and a good way to give kids a mission between overlooks.

Practical logistics

• Best time to go: late spring through early fall. Summer is warm but rarely brutal. Fall adds elk bugling and color. In winter, some or all park roads may close due to snow.
• Getting in: $30 per private vehicle, good for 7 days. No timed-entry reservations; you just drive in. The park is open 24 hours a day, year-round.
• Remoteness note: this is rural North Dakota. Gas up, pack snacks and water, and don't count on cell service inside the park. Medora (South Unit) has food and lodging; the North Unit has far less nearby.
• Pacing: the South Unit is a comfortable half to full day with kids. Add the North Unit only if you have a second day and want the bigger views.