When: Friday, July 22 to Wednesday, July 27, 2022 (five nights)
Where: The Crossings Campground (Belfield, North Dakota)
Cost: ~$180 total (with taxes and fees) (different rates for weekdays and weekends)
Beer: Phat Fish Brewing (Dickinson, North Dakota)
Bucket List: Theodore Roosevelt National Park

After deciding to live full-time in our RV, our third major stop was Theodore Roosevelt National Park. It’s the only national park named after a single person.

We loved it! We spent close to three days exploring the park. Here’s what we learned, and some things you may want to know.

About Teddy Roosevelt National Park

Before he became America’s 26th President, Theodore (“Teddy”) Roosevelt came to the North Dakota badlands in 1883. Born in in New York City to wealthy parents, Roosevelt struggled as a child with ill health such that he soon became an advocate of the strenuous life. While hunting bison in the Dakota Territory in 1883, Roosevelt fell in love with the badlands area near the Little Missouri River for its harsh beauty and rugged lifestyle. He built the Maltese Cross Ranch (now at the South Unit Visitor Center) a few miles south of Medora, North Dakota, but returned to New York to pursue his political career. When his wife gave birth to a daughter on February 12, 1884, all was going well for Roosevelt. But the just two days later, the unthinkable happened: both his wife and mother died on the same day. His mother succumbed to typhoid fever while Roosevelt’s wife died of an undiagnosed case of kidney failure.

Roosevelt sought solace once again in the badlands of North Dakota. That summer, he started building another ranch named Elkhorn about 35 miles north of Medora. He also wrote extensively about his adventures, publishing three books on his life in the West: Ranch Life and the Hunting Trail, Hunting Trips of a Ranchman and The Wilderness Hunter. After a severe winter in 1886-87 caused most of his cattle to starve, he returned to the east to pursue politics. His pursuit of conservation policies as the 26th President of the United States was influenced by his time in North Dakota. "I never would have been President if it had not been for my experiences in North Dakota,” he wrote.

While president from 1901-09, Roosevelt established the United States Forrest Service and helped create five new national parks: (1) Crater Lake, Oregon; (2) Wind Cave, South Dakota; (3) Sullys Hill, North Dakota (later re-designated a game preserve); (4) Mesa Verde, Colorado; and (5) Platt, Oklahoma (now part of Chickasaw National Recreation Area). The 1906 Antiquities Act also granted the president the authority to create national monuments on federal lands to protect significant natural, cultural, or scientific features. Under this new legislation, Roosevelt created eighteen new national monuments.

President Truman created Theodore Roosevelt National Memorial Park in 1947-48. In 1978, the area was given national park status and the name was changed to the Theodore Roosevelt National Park. Today, the national park includes three main areas. The South Unit is situated about 70 miles from the North Unit, and the Elkhorn Ranch lies between them. The three units are accessible from different routes so it is very difficult to see them all in one day.

The South Unit

Painted Canyon Visitor Center

Painted Canyon at Theodore Roosevelt National Park

Because we were driving from the east from nearby Belfield, North Dakota, our first stop was the Painted Canyon Visitor Center (Exit 32) just off Interstate 94. A sidewalk provides excellent views of the badlands, and a 1-mile nature trail provides visitors with a good feel for what to expect with the rest of the park. This was my FAVORITE SCENIC HIKE during our visit to Theodore Roosevelt National Park so if you have the time, make this a part of your itinerary.

Of note: This area is COMPLETELY FREE. However, there is not access to the South Unit's Scenic Drive, which begins 7 miles west in Medora and requires payment of the entry fee or a national parks pass.

South Unit Visitor Center

With an entrance situated right near a quaint (but touristy) part of Medora, the South Unit is were most folks will start their visit to Theodore Roosevelt National Park. A 36-mile scenic drive accessible from this entrance forms the core of the South Unit. There are several pull-outs along the route, and opportunities for hikes. Our stops included:

Wind Canyon Trail at Theodore Roosevelt National Park

Skyline Vista. A 0.2 mile-round trip on a paved path lead to gorgeous views of the Little Missouri River.
Peaceful Valley Ranch. We hiked about 0.3 miles to dip our feet in the Little Missouri River.
Wind Canyon Trail. A 0.4-mile loop next to a cliff edge provides more great views of the Little Missouri River. We saw a herd of bison crossing the river.
Buck Hill. A short 0.2-mile hike up the hill takes you to the highest accessible place in the park.
Coal Vein Nature Trail. This 0.8-mile loop highlights the coal veins that burned for years in the area. The National Park Service has a booklet that explains some of the numbered stops along the trail, and this was one of the most interesting/informative stops that we made.
Old East Entrance. This out-and-back 0.8-mile hike took us to the park’s original entrance and right through a large prairie dog town.

We were able to complete all of this in about 6-7 hours.

The Petrified Forest

Petrified Forest at Theodore Roosevelt National Park

The South Unit is also home to the third largest collection of petrified trees in the United States. On our second day visiting the national park, we drove about 10 miles from the Medora along Forest Service Roads 730 and 730-2 through private land to a small parking lot for a trailhead. From that parking lot, there are two petrified tree stump areas – each about 1.5 miles away. We randomly decided to head south at the fork to complete our 3-mile round trip journey. There’s an extended 10.5-mile loop as well, but we were not that ambitious.

Our trek took us through some pristine grasslands, a few hills, and finally to a distinctive area where the glistening tree stumps were readily apparent. These artifacts were formed when a forest was buried by a flood or volcanic ash, but there is not enough oxygen around for the tree to decompose. Groundwater moving through the silica-rich volcanic ash slowly replaced the organic compounds inside the trunks with quartz. Because the upper branches of the trees were not submerged and had sufficient oxygen for normal decay, only the stumps of the trees become petrified.

Our journey and exploration of the Petrified Forest lasted about 1/2 of a day.

The North Unit

The North Unit was about an hour drive from our campground and is not really near any towns, and perhaps its remoteness is why I liked it a little more than the South Unit. A 28 mile out-and-back scenic drive (14 miles each way) forms the core of the North Unit. Our stops included:

Cannonball Concretions. These perfect spheres of rock were my favorite geological features of the park. Visitors can climb the areas around the rocks. Unfortunately, many of the cannonballs have been defaced with grafitti.
Little Missouri Nature Trail. A paved 0.7-mile loop leads to the Little Missouri River. That loop can be extended for another 0.7-miles on an unpaved section. However, the Little Missouri Nature Trail also intersects the Buckhorn trail, which provides a shortcut to an overlook of the river that probably adds on only 0.3 miles. From that vantage, we watched a large herd of bison congregate a few hundred yards from the river. The National Park Service provided a booklet on the trail that explains some of the numbered stops along the trail.
Prairie Dog Town. A two-mile out-and-back trail (via the Caprock Coulee Trailhead to the Buckhorn trail; about one mile each way) trail takes you to a very busy prairie dog town. These dogs are perhaps the most docile I’ve ever encountered. We could get within just a few feet of them before they would dart into the ground. And, there were several mounds built directly on the trail itself!
Riverbend Overlook. A very short trail leads to a shelter built by the Civilian Conservation Corp in the 1930s. It’s a great stop to have lunch and take in the view.
Oxbow Overlook. The end of the scenic drive is an expansive vista accessible by short paved trail.

Our journey and exploration of the North Unit took about 6-7 hours.

Where To Stay By Theodore Roosevelt National Park

In our opinion, there are not a lot of good RV options in the area. especially for big rigs. Not surprisingly, neither the Juniper or Cottonwood campgrounds in the national park itself were big enough for our Entegra Accolade. In addition, neither of the national park campgrounds had any utility hook-ups.

The Crossings RV Campground in Belfield, North Dakota

We opted to stay at The Crossings RV Campground located in nearby Belfield, North Dakota. The location is great. Located near the intersection of I-94 and Highway 85, the Crossings is less than 25 minutes from the Medora South Unit entrance and is less than an hour to the North Unit entrance. Although there are full hook-ups, the campground is pretty bare-bones. There’s no shower house or bathroom facilities. There isn’t even a camp-host. During our stay, there were only a handful of other campers there, and we thoroughly enjoyed not having neighbors next to our site. For that reason and the location, we would definitely stay there again.

Other Nearby Activities

Medora is a total tourist town, which did not appeal to us. Instead, we opted to check out nearby Dickinson, North Dakota. Dickinson is about 20-25 minues from The Crossings Campground. We wanted to give a shout-out to two things in Dickinson.

Badlands Big Sticks

Teddy Roosevelt in the Mascot for the Badlands Big Sticsk

On our first night in the area, we took in a Badlands Big Sticks baseball game. We were suckered into a Teddy Roosevelt bobblehead give-away and purchased $13/person tickets right behind home plate on the day of the game. The team is part of the Independent League, a summer collegiate baseball league. Other teams include the Canyon County Spuds (Caldwell, ID), Casper Horseheads (Casper, WY), Fremont Moo (Fremont, NE), Hastings Sodbusters (Hastings, NE), Spearfish Sasquatch (Spearfish, SD), Western Nebraska Pioneers (Gering, NE), North Platte Plainsmen (North Platte, NE), Gem City Bison (Laramie, WY), and Nebraska Prospects (Omaha, NE) .

We didn’t know what to expect, but thoroughly enjoyed our time at the ballpark. We got to high-five a Teddy Roosevelt mascot roaming the stands, checked out the merch store, and gorged ourselves on reasonably priced ballpark food. And, we got our first taste of the Pronghorn Peach Wheat craft beer from Phat Fish Brewing for just $6 (which was just $4 during a ½-hour “happy hour” from 5:45 to 6:15 pm at the ballpark) . Yet, the best part was seeing all of the kids interact with the players. Little boys and girls joined the team for warm-up throws and even escorted the starting line-up onto the field. The team seemed so dedicated to its community and provided a wonderful experience for us as fans.

Phat Fish Brewing

Phat Fish Brewing in Dickinson is the only brewery for miles around. We did fall in love with the Pronghorn Peach Wheat during the game, so much so that we made another trip to Dickinson to visit the brewery. In addition to a great craft beer selection, the place has a full menu too. We enjoyed a never-ending pile of nachos that was so BIG we had to take home our entire pepperoni pizza. The brewery is also Harvest Hosts venue with plenty of room for big rigs. Don’t like craft beer? Well, Phat Fish is one of the only craft breweries we’ve visited that also serves domestic beers like Bud Light and Coors Light. In fact, a lot of the brewery’s signage (like the Harvest Host sign and table top menus) had Budweiser logos on them. Now, that’s an interesting partnership.

Visiting Theodore Roosevelt National Park