We took the opportunity yesterday to drive to the north entrance of Theodore Roosevelt National Park. I had been a little underwhelmed with the south entrance. I thought maybe it was because the park had been a little crowded and it was hard to find a place to pull off the road to look around. But, come to find out, it really wasn't photogenic and the north entrance was much more scenic and beautiful. I highly recommend, if you are in this area, do not miss the north entrance to the park. And, if you can only visit one side of the park, this is the one. It is about an hour's drive from Medora to the north entrance, but well worth the drive.
The North Unit is a bit off the beaten-path alongside ND Highway 85. Its ruggedness and beauty, and the solitude you'll find in this less-visited unit of the park are well worth the 50 mile drive from Interstate 94. Since it was Sunday and the park is out in the middle of sparse civilization, it was not crowded at all. With Covid, the campground in the park is closed to camping. They have put some tables out around the restrooms and ampi-theater so to allow visitors to picnic in the area. Mr. W had wanted to drive through the campground and check it out, but they had roped off the road so you can't drive through the part with the campsites to check them out. The area they had set up for picnics was very nice and we saw a couple enjoying the great weather having a cheese and wine picnic.
Plan at least 1 hour and 15 minutes for the North Unit's out-and-back Scenic Drive (28 miles roundtrip). The first half of the road traces the bottom of the badlands. Midway through, it crawls up out of the canyon to the North Unit's most iconic view, River Bend Overlook. From there, it's an easy drive along the rim of the badlands to Oxbow Overlook at the road's end. The road is almost entirely paved with only one stretch of gravel and is open to motor vehicles (including RVs, smaller RVs let me add) and cyclists.
The nature trails are great for casual hikers and nature enthusiasts. They say the backcountry trails really steal the show. However, I read one of the flyers posted by the park that warned you to be sure and take a topographical map and compass in with you if doing one of those trails. It also said that they HIGHLY recommended you NOT do one of the backcountry trails unless an experienced hiker because there was very high possibility that you will get lost. OK, they convinced me!
We saw a lot of bison. Some were right by the road and some weren't. The literature said that you can also see mule deer if you are there early in the morning or at dusk. There also are occasional sightings of big-horn sheep up on the steep cliffs for those with eagle eyes. If you want to see prairie dogs, you have to hike out to get a glimpse of them. We didn't because we had seen about a million of those yesterday at the south entrance.
I got a lot of good pics, so WARNING. Picture overload to follow. Enjoy!
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