ahoyne9The longest drive of the trip was to an unknown national park, on a global scale. Honestly, I didnโt even know this park existed. I was looking for places to stop on the way to Montana and Wyoming and I came across this hidden gem.
This park is great for those that have difficulty walking, you can see most of the park by driving thru it and get great views with lookouts that have a parking lot. A few quick notes about Theodore Roosevelt NP:
- Entrance fee is $30 per vehicle
- Established in 1978
- 70,446 acres in size
- Prairie Dogs & Buffalo/Bison
- Best for hiking & scenic drives
Day 1 โ Arrive 06.07.2020
An 11-hour drive from Voyager National Park we finally arrived in Medora North Dakota. The plan was to catch the sunset at Theodore Roosevelt National Park but we were too tired to do anything and just wanted to relax. Traveling with a travel trailer is a lot more work than we anticipated. The benefits of luxury have a negative side. We arrive and then spend an hour getting everything all setup and leveled.
We stayed at Red Trail Camp Grounds which wasnโt the nicest place I stayed at but the cost and location were perfect. Having to check out at noon the next morning, we decided to go to bed early to get up and drive through the NP.
Day 2 โ Drive-Thru the Park 06.08.2020
Heading to the NP from our campground I ended up going the wrong way and had to take the next exit off at the freeway to turnaround. I found a small scenic backroad to go down which was worth it. Cutting through sully springs we went through some farmland and had great views of the hills. When we arrived, we didnโt see anywhere to pay, and I wasnโt sure if they were accepting payment during COVID so we didnโt end up paying. I did end up buying America the Beautiful unlimited national park pass later on during the trip, so I donโt feel as guilty haha.
When you enter the park the first part is going up a hill, once youโre at the top you can pull over and enjoy the overlook of the park and the freeway. At the time the long drive around the park was closed โScenic Look Driveโ. We took east river road down to the other end of the scenic look drive, we were able to follow the scenic look drive and then came across road construction which explained why it was close.
Since we didnโt have too much time to hike and my grandmother was in the truck we parked at a few overlooks and we stopped at Prairie Dog town to see some prairie dogs. Unfortunately we also saw a coyote hunting for the poor lil prairie dogs We didnโt see any bison, but lucky for us the next Park was Yellowstone, which is almost a guarantee to see some bison.
Off to Wyoming, with a stop in Billings, MT to break up the drive.
If youโve been to this park and done some camping or hiking, please let me know. Iโm interested in here how well the trails are.
Cheers!