ABOUT
THEODORE ROOSEVELT NATIONAL PARK
There are 3 units of TRNP:
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SOUTH UNIT - most visited
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NORTH UNIT - 2nd most visited
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ELKHORN RANH UNIT - least visited
SOUTH UNIT
Medora is known as the gateway to the South Unit!
When you stay at Dakota Place Lodge, you are less than a mile away from the SOUTH UNIT park entrance!
Days of fun and adventure for all ages and level of adventurer.
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2 Visitor Centers
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one at the south entrance IN Medora
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second one is not a park entrance; it is located 5 miles east of Medora, called Painted Canyon Visitor Center
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36-mile Scenic Loop
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100 miles of Hiking Trails that wind through the Badlands
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Many Scenic Overlooks
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Plenty of Watchable Wildlife
NORTH UNIT
You are an hour drive away from the NORTH UNIT entrance when you stay with us at Dakota Place Lodge!
The North Unit is more compact than the South Unit.
Plan at least 1 hour & 15 minutes for your adventure through the 14-mile North Unit's Scenic Byway; 28-mile round trip. This scenic drive takes you along overlooks, trailheads, picnic areas, and ample wild life.
You will experience tracing the bottom of the North Dakota Badlands on the first half of the drive. At this point, you will inch up out of the canyon to the North Unit's well-known view, River Bend Overlook. From this Overlook, it's an easy drive along the rim of the badlands to Oxbow Overlook at the road's end. The road is almost all paved except for one stretch of gravel. The road is open to motor vehicles and cyclists.
ELKHORN UNIT
Elkhorn Ranch Unit is the most wild and remote of them all.
Nothing much exists of the Elkhorn Ranch anymore, except for small pieces of what’s left of the ranch foundation.
The purpose of visiting the Elkhorn Ranch Unit of Theodore Roosevelt National Park is for reflection!
You can hike the Elkhorn Ranch Trail to… almost nothing! Little remains of what used to be Theodore Roosevelt’s Elkhorn Ranch. The National Park Service strives to maintain the tranquility and sanctity of this site so visitors may experience the lonely freedom of the badlands that drew Roosevelt to this very place.
Always follow directions carefully to this unit; it is accessed only by non-paved/gravel roads.
The last three miles sometimes require 4-wheel drive and/or a high-clearance vehicle, especially in winter or during and after rain.
There is no cell phone signal at the Elkhorn Ranch Unit or along much of the route to it.