Wild Horses, Painted Hills, and Roaming Bison Steal the Show in This Overlooked National Park

Theodore Roosevelt National Park is truly unique – it definitely has a different feel than many of the national parks you’ll find in the US.

For starters, this is 100% an off the beaten track national park. Theodore Roosevelt is located in the western part of North Dakota, and it doesn’t see anywhere the number of visitors as, say, Yellowstone or the Grand Canyon or even Badlands or Bryce Canyon.

Theodore Roosevelt features badlands rock formations, protected prairie, rivers and bluffs, and gorgeous night skies and open views. But in many ways the primary attraction is the wildlife as you’ll have the chance to see bison, wild horses, pronghorn, prairie dogs, and more.

But perhaps the most unique feature of this national park is that more than conserving amazing landscapes or wildlife, it was established to honor the legacy of Theodore Roosevelt. President Roosevelt spent a great deal of time in North Dakota, owning a ranch that is located in the park, and that time impacted him profoundly.

He said,” I would not have been president had it not been for my experience in North Dakota.” Crazy right?

In addition to this, Teddy Roosevelt was a champion of conservationism, which led him to sign the Antiquities Act, which allowed presidents to declare areas as public landmarks. He then subsequently declared 5 spots as national parks, plus 18 national monuments, 150 national forests, 51 federal bird reserves, and 4 national game preserves.

Thanks in large part to his groundwork, the National Park Service was established in 1916 by President Woodrow Wilson.

So this park really honors Theodore Roosevelt’s contributions to the protected lands in the United States and conservationism in general.

19 Best Things to Do in Theodore Roosevelt National Park

Let’s dive into the list of best things to do in Theodore Roosevelt National Park in the categories of Wildlife Encounter, Viewpoints, Hikes, Other Things to Do in the National Park, and Things to Do Just Outside of Theodore Roosevelt.

>>Wildlife Encounters

One of the most exciting things to do in Theodore Roosevelt National Park is observe all the wildlife. At least, it was for our family! What really impressed us here was how abundant the wildlife was. We felt like we were seeing animals everywhere!

While the animals can sometimes be very close to the road or near the trails, make sure you respect their distance, especially with the larger animals. It is recommended to stay 75 feet away from larger wild animals.

Here are some of the main animals you can see in Teddy Roosevelt NP:

1. Wild Horses

Our little girls are obsessed with wild horses and so seeing them for the first time in real life was a big dream come true for them. We spent a lot of time looking for and at wild horses in Theodore Roosevelt, and learned a lot about the wild horses in the park!

The park has 20 bands of wild horses, and the largest band has about 20 horses in it. The horses are completely wild and are thriving in the park, but the rangers and outside groups do track the horses and have named them.

We saw the band of three horses in the picture above several times as we drove around the park! The white stallion is named Trooper, the brown horse with the dark mane is the baby and is named Harper, and the lighter brown horse is the mare and is named Mane.

Horses will often hang out by Boicourt Spring and you can see them in the bluffs near Boicourt Overlook. Keep your eyes peeled on the ridges at the top of the bluffs as you drive around Boicourt Overlook and Trail, and even down to Talkington Trail – we saw A TON of wild horses hanging out up there!

Between 2pm and dusk, the horses like to come down to the creek by Talkington Trail, so if you’re lucky, you might see them come near or cross the road near where Talkington Trail crosses the Scenic Loop Drive.

The wild horses were EXTREMELY fun for our family to watch, but remember, these are still wild animals and you should give them plenty of space.

2. Bison

There are a lot of bison in Theodore Roosevelt National Park, and it’s pretty common to see them at some point throughout the park. We saw some crossing the road, and then more while we were hiking to the Petrified Forest. You can also ask a park ranger where the bison have been spotted that day.

3. Prairie Dog Towns

There are several large prairie dog towns in Theodore Roosevelt National Park! These cute little gopher-like animals create large networks of holes and tunnels under the ground, and they are very active, running between holes, popping up and down in their holes, and standing lookout.

Watching prairie dogs run around is a really fun thing to do in Theodore Roosevelt National Park, particularly if you have kids!

The prairie dogs are most active in the morning/evening, and less so in the heat of the day, but you can still see them at anytime.

4. Elk

The elk in Theodore Roosevelt National Park have an interesting history. Elk had been native to the region, but then died out at the end of the 1800’s. In 1985, elk were re-introduced to the park to “re-establish a native ecology.” Since that time, the park rangers have had to closely monitor the size and health of the elk herd.

Today, there are between 100-400 elk in the park. They can be hard to spot, but the best area to see elk is around Buck Hill, or near the prairie dog towns around dawn and dusk.

5. Pronghorn, Deer, and Bighorn Sheep

All of these animals are also present in Theodore Roosevelt National Park, although we didn’t see them ourselves in the park (we did see pronghorn just outside the park, though).

>>Viewpoints

One of the best things to do in Theodore Roosevelt National Park is stop and admire all the viewpoint throughout the park! These overlooks showcase some of the best and most beautiful scenery in the badlands of North Dakota.

6. Badlands Overlook

This is possibly the best viewpoint in the park, at least for viewing the badlands themselves. Here you get a wide vista filled with hills, bluffs, and buttes. You see a lot more color here, with some hills being all red and some being multi colored, including some purple veining. 

While there’s a paved viewpoint right on the side of the road, take the dirt path down to the rocks in front of the official viewpoint for an even better view of the landscape.

7. Painted Canyon Overlook

Painted Canyon Overlook ties with Badlands Overlook for some of the best views (in my opinion, at least!) of the badlands in Theodore Roosevelt National Park. The hills are striated, extend far into the distance, and are nestled between rolling prairie.

This is also the start of the Painted Canyon Trail, and is next to the Painted Canyon Visitor’s Center. This area is connected to the South Unit by hiking trails, but it is most easily accessed by leaving the South Unit and Medora and heading east on I-94, where a separate exit takes you directly here to the Painted Canyon Visitor Center.

8. Boicourt Overlook

Pronounced “boe-court”, this is a great overlook to see a wide expanse of prairie land, rolling hills, and badlands formations, and you can see for miles and miles.

There’s a dirt path from the paved viewpoint area that heads straight towards the bluffs – walk down that for 30 yards for the best views over the rock formations.

>>Best Hikes In Theodore Roosevelt National Park

We love hiking, and hitting the trails is one of the best things to do in Theodore Roosevelt NP. Now, I will say that the majority of the hikes in this park are pretty easy. In fact, there are several “hikes” here that I would say are very short walks!

9. Wind Canyon Trail

Wind Canyon is a very interesting geological feature, because instead of being formed by water, as most canyons are, this one was carved mainly by wind. Because of that, the canyon walls have a rippled stone appearance (from the wind gusts).

The trail starts heading to and along the wind canyon, then turns out over the river. The river does a very picturesque horseshoe bend, curving around the land with bluffs in the background. 

This is a short and easy trail, but also a very interesting and scenic one.

• Trail Length: 0.4 mile loop
• Difficulty: Easy (but does have some stairs)

10. Painted Canyon Nature Trail/Painted Canyon Trail

This was one of our favorite trails in Theodore Roosevelt National Park! We loved getting down into the hills and closer to a lot of the rock formations. The badlands are really beautiful here and have some colors in their layers.

There are actually two hikes in the Painted Canyon area: The Painted Canyon Nature Trail (0.9 mile loop) and the Painted Canyon Trail (4 miles round trip, and connects to the Upper Paddock Creek Trail).

This was gorgeous at sunset!

11. Petrified Forest Trail

The Petrified Forest Trail is located in the national park, but outside of the Scenic Loop Drive. In fact, plan to drive out of the main entrance and along back roads for about 20 minutes to get to the trailhead. But the drive is worth it, as this was perhaps our favorite thing to do in Teddy Roosevelt National Park.

From the parking lot, you can choose to hike the North or South Petrified Forest Trail (we did the North Trail). You’ll hike a little over 1 mile on grassy prairieland with one steep incline and one steep decline until you reach the petrified wood.

There’s a large dirt and gravely area with many many petrified wood pieces scattered throughout, and you can wander freely around, looking at all the wood that has been turned to stone. Some of the stone logs are pretty cool – all gnarled and twisted. Others have calcite crystals in them and are super super pretty.

Admire as long as you like, but remember that nothing can be removed from the park!

• Distance: 3.2 miles round trip (out and back) to the first batch of petrified wood on the North Petrified Forest Trail, but you can continue and go farther
• Elevation: 354 feet
• Difficulty: Easy-moderate. There are some short but somewhat steep hills to climb.
• Longer Option: You can also combine trails to do a loop, starting with the North Petrified Trail, then picking up the Maah Daah Hey Trail, then the South Petrified Trail (or visa versa). This trail is 10 miles, more difficult, and very remote.

>>Other Fun Things To Do in Theodore Roosevelt National Park

12. Maltese Cross Cabin

The Maltese Cross Cabin is one of the places that Theodore Roosevelt resided in when he was living in North Dakota. The cabin is original, but has been restored, and the inside contains a mixture of Roosevelt’s personal belongings and original pieces from the time period.

The cabin is located right behind the South Unit Visitor’s Center and is a quick but interesting stop while you’re in the park. It is only open when a ranger is available to watch over it, but you can always walk around and peek in through the windows.

13. Biking or Horse Riding

There are more than a hundred miles of trails throughout and connecting Theodore Roosevelt National Park’s different units, so if you really want to get out in the wilderness, there are many opportunities!

Can you ride horses on the trails in Theodore Roosevelt National Park? Yes, the backcountry trails in TRNP are open to horses and even encouraged, as it hearkens back to the history surrounding the park and Teddy Roosevelt himself. Maah Daah Hey Trail in particular is a great one to explore by horse and to use to connect to the other units in the park.

We personally saw people riding horses on the Petrified Forest Trail. There aren’t any horses avilable for renting, but if you have horses, they are welcome to come.

14. Sunrise and Sunset

Watching the sunset over the badlands hills is a great way to end your day in Theodore Roosevelt. A couple great areas to watch the sunset are the Painted Canyon Overlook (where the above picture was taken), or the Wind Canyon trail.

>>Fun Things To Do in the Town of Medora

Medora is the little town right outside of the national park. The population is a whopping 117 people (it’s truly a small town), but there are actually quite a few really fun things to do in Medora.

15. Enjoy the Medora Musical

The Medora Musical is an incredible, high quality performance in an open amphitheater, with a well-designed set, a live band, and highly talented singers and performers. Horses come on stage, there’s a battle re-enactment, and lots of engaging singing and dancing as they tell the story of Theodore Roosevelt and the history of Medora.

The show runs June, July, August, and the first week of September and is really a must-do attraction when visiting Theodore Roosevelt National Park.

You can find more information and the ticket center here.

16. Medora Pitchfork Steak Fondue

The Medora Pitchfork Steak Fondue Dinner is a delicious and unique tradition in Medora that occurs in the evening before the Medora Music Festival begins. Twelve-ounce steaks are cooked to perfection on pitchforks over an open flame, and after you pick up your steak, you can help yourself to a delicious barbecue buffet.

We were extremely impressed with the quality of the food at the pitchfork dinner – the steak was *so* tender and juicy, and the sides were all very flavorful and prepared perfectly. The dinner is set up on the top of a bluff overlooking the beautiful rolling hills of North Dakota.

Plus, cooking steaks on pitchforks – how novel and fun is that?!

If you’re vegetarian, you can purchase a “just the fixings” meal, and if for kids, you can purchase a dinner with a hotdog instead of a steak.

The pitchfork steak fondue dinner is open the same nights as the Medora Musical. You can make reservations for the dinner in advance here.

17. Theodore Roosevelt Presidential Library (Coming Soon!)

Okay so this is a really fun place that I want to highlight! For almost every president, their presidential libraries are built to contain “…vast archives of documents, museums full of important Presidential artifacts, interesting educational and public programs, and informative web sites. Presidential Libraries and Museums are repositories for the papers, records and historical materials of the Presidents.” (From the US National Archives)

However, this presidential library is a completely different concept, and instead of containing historical records, is really a homage to the conservationism that Teddy Roosevelt valued.

The building itself will be an incredible avant-garde building designed to meld with nature and has world class, groundbreaking sustainable design. Instead of just being carbon neutral, will even clean the air. In the world of sustainable design, this is a big deal building.

The grand opening is still a few years out, but it’s very easy to feel excited about the vision for this building and project after visiting Medora, stopping by the site that will hold the library, and then stopping by the foundation museum about the library.

But personally, it’s also very fun because my dad is one of the main sustainability architects on this project! (Hi dad!)

18. Explore Downtown Medora

Medora is the only city of any size associated with or near the national park, and it more or less revolves around its status as TRNP’s gateway. It plays up its history as an old railroad junction and does its best Old West impression: wooden boardwalks, hitching posts in front of hotels, chuckwagon diners and plenty of cowboy boots and hats.

It can feel overdone at times, but it also kinda “works” and it does lend a form of charm to the town. So, I encourage to you roll with the kitsch and enjoy some fun buildings, unique window shopping, and great food. Speaking of which…

19. Eat a Bison Burger

See a bison during the day, eat a bison for dinner! (My apologies to all you vegetarians). You can eat bison burgers at Boots Bar & Grill and the Little Missouri Saloon. We ate at Boots and the food was all seriously good.

Planning a National Parks Road Trip? Check out my other National Parks Guides:
How to Spend One Day in Mesa Verde National Park
Your Guide to Visiting Bryce Canyon National Park with Kids
The Ultimate Guide to Hiking in Arches National Park
How to Spend One Day in Capitol Reef National Park

Helpful Information for Visiting Theodore Roosevelt National Park

How Long Should You Spend in Theodore Roosevelt National Park?

One day is enough time to see almost everything in the park, not including the longer, backcountry trails. If you want to do any of these trails, another day is a good idea.

I would actually recommend spending just over one day in Theodore Roosevelt, arriving around 5pm to hit the Pitchfork Dinner and the Medora Musical. It’s a really fantastic way to start your time off in Medora. Then, the following day you can venture into the National Park.

Practical Information

Hours: The national park is open 24 hours a day year round.

Fees: It costs $30 per vehicle to visit Theodore Roosevelt National Park, which is good for seven days. Alternatively, you can purchase the America the Beautiful Pass (also known as the National Parks Pass), which costs $80 for a year and gets you into all spots in the National Parks System for free.

Visitor Center Hours: The South Unit Visitor’s Center is open 9am-4:30pm, and is open year-round. The Painted Canyon Visitor’s Center is open 9am-4:30pm during the summer months, and is generally closed during the winter (November-May)

Time Zones: TRNP is interesting in that the North Unit operates on Central Time and the South Unit operates on Mountain Time.

Parking in Theodore Roosevelt National Park

Each trailhead had decently large parking lots, but overlooks tended to be more limited in parking. But, I will say people frequently stopped on the side of the road, especially to view wildlife. So don’t be afraid to pull over to admire an animal, just make sure you are conscientious of the drivers around you as you pull over, and don’t approach wild animals.

Is It Worth Visiting Theodore Roosevelt National Park?

Absolutely! While the landscape isn’t as dramatic as Yosemite or Zion National Park, Theodore Roosevelt has beautiful badland hills, so many exciting opportunities to observe wild animals, and a ton of history.

Plus, there are some legitimately fantastic things to do outside of Theodore Roosevelt, in the town of Medora. All in all, this is an underrated national park that definitely should be on your bucket list.