Theodore Roosevelt National Park, in ND

@maezee (41985)
United States
July 24, 2021 7:28pm CST
Hi, I wanted to document some of the places I went on my last driving road trip, which was just out from Minneapolis to South Dakota to North Dakota and back to Minneapolis, MN. It was an interesting drive - even North Dakota wasn't as bad as I thought it would be (no offense North Dakotans...I just thought it was going to be flatter, like Nebraska). But one of the new parks I went to was Theodore Roosevelt National Park - which is located in Medora, ND - on the western side of North Dakota close to the border of Montana. It's a pretty park, that you can drive through, stop and take some hikes, go to the visitor centers for videos and ranger-led activities. TRNP is one of the least-visited national parks in the system - but a beautiful one! Some simple facts: *Elevation is between 2,200-2,800 feet. *Entrance fee for TRNP is $20/vehicle for 7 days *The land is hilly, with grasslands, some river areas, with some small buttes. *Animals found in the park include bison, elk, prairie dogs, coyotes, badgers, wild horses. When I was there - I saw 2 elk, a ton of prairie dogs, a band of wild horses, and MANY MANY packs of bison. I was super pumped to see a ton of bison. Wow! I went on one ~5 mile hike, and it was SUPER hot with very very very limited shade. Was also on edge most of the time during my hikes as it was hilly and I was concerned about stumbling onto a large group of buffalo/bison. There are many nice overlooks and stopping points and a nice scenic loop to drive (half of it is closed currnetly for whatever reason so you literally have to turn around and come back). On the way out, you can stop at this historic small town ("Medora") that has some shops and restaurants/bars. I enjoyed this park and would definitely suggest it for the different terrain and for the wildlife viewing. I would have enjoyed more hikes, but it was simply too hot and the trails were not shaded at all. Have you been here before, if so, what was your thoughts? Or visited any new places / seen any new wildlife as of late?
2 people like this
1 response
@crossbones27 (52905)
• Mojave, California
25 Jul 21
That's a neat photo, those guys are rare and I like playing red redemption you kill one they all charge you, They like crows, they look out for each other. I imagine you as limited in population as they are , they will come up with plans to save their species. Animals no dummies. Glad you had fun, sounds like my kind of trip, just nature no people please.
1 person likes this
@maezee (41985)
• United States
25 Jul 21
Ok, so that was my fear as I was hiking - I couldn't really see exactly where I was leading myself into - I was afraid a bunch of bison would pop out and start charging at me! I actually saw quite a few different packs of bison (probably at least 50 total) in my travels, it was really cool. I like the creatures -they're only aggressive if they're messed with (kind of like me, heh heh). I agree 100% - I love nature but not people. That's what is nice about this park - it's not a very popular one, not like Zion or Grand Canyon where people are EVERYWHERE and you can hardly get a moment of peace! How have you been doing?