Forum Discussion

cgaskins's avatar
cgaskins
Explorer
Oct 26, 2015

Theodore Roosevelt National Park

We are planning on going to the Black Hills next summer after our failed attempt this year (long story). Anyway, I was hoping for some in put on Theodore Roosevelt National Park up in ND. Is it worth the drive up there for a day or so?

Thanks,
Chris


  • Photo from the North part.

    By the way, 60 miles north is the town of Williston ND. Home of the LARGEST OIL RESERVE IN THE WORLD. This town make the USA the largest producer of oil in the world and gave us $2.00 gas. Needless to say it is a BOOM TOWN. When I was there in 2010, it took an hour to purchase a hamburger. So many people and the stores had not been built to accommodate them.
  • bukhrn's avatar
    bukhrn
    Explorer III
    We spent 3 days in Cottonwood CG in TRNP, like dahkota mentioned, a great place to wind down after the hustle & bustle of the Black Hills area, Besides the Park it's self, which we loved, the North Dakota Cowboy Hall of Fame in Medora, while small, was very interesting, well worth the time.
  • We camped in a tent for several days at Theodore Roosevelt. Wild horses drank at the river at the end of our lot. I loved seeing the prairie dogs and wished the bookstore had information on them. If you have children with you, find out something about them before you go. Buffalo visited the campground.

    There was no place to buy groceries near by other than a gas station but we were there in late September.
  • I always check out the National Parks as I believe they have that designation for a reason, and I have rarely, if ever been disappointed.
  • I think it is a great somewhat overlooked Nat'l pk. The scenery and the wildlife interesting. I don't think we've ever visited a national park that really disappointed us and that includes Roosevelt. The town (forgot the name) that is right by the north unit is an added bonus. There is a nearby natural ampitheatre with great shows.
  • TRNP is a great relief after the Black Hills. It is a wonderful place to decompress and relax after fighting through the traffic and hordes of people and noise of the Black Hills area.

    In the Black Hills (and Custer State Park) we couldn't turn around without stepping on someone - it is like the Smoky Mountains during leaf peeping season. At Teddy Roosevelt, we nearly had the campgrounds and the roads to ourselves. Well, if you don't include the horses and buffalo. It was so nice we stayed longer there than the Black Hills.
  • We spent two days visiting the south unit in 2012. Besides bison and great numbers of prairie dogs, we watched the wild horses that roam free in the park. If you are like us and enjoy seeing wildlife, then put Theodore Roosevelt on your list.

    ps: Closer to home, have you checked out the bison herd in the Wichita Mountains, west of Lawton, Oklahoma? They were put there by Theodore Roosevelt back when bison were almost extinct. There are Longhorn cattle living free and wild on the reserve, and lots of prairie dogs, too. If you like to watch birds, you can see lots of painted buntings there in spring and summer.
  • We spent two days in both the North and South units in 2009. We included a write-up and some pics on our blog. The entries for the two parks starts here if you would like to check them out. I believe all of our National Parks are worth visiting.