Theodore Roosevelt National Park

We were up early and got on the road quickly knowing that we had a five-hour drive from Spearfish Canyon to the South Unit of Theodore Roosevelt National Park in North Dakota. We arrived at the visitor center in the South Unit in the early afternoon and had a picnic lunch in our car, before going into the visitor center. We watched an informative video on the national park and walked through the Maltese Cross Cabin located behind the visitor center. This restored cabin was built by Theodore Rooseve in 1883 and was originally located on his Chimney Butte Ranch in the Dakota Territory.

The Maltese Cross Cabin

The rest of the afternoon was spent driving the 36-mile scenic loop through the South Unit of the park. We stopped frequently at the overlooks and did a few short hikes at the Wind Canyon Trail, Coal Vein Trail, and the Ridgeline Trail. It was a pretty drive through the badlands where we saw lots of bison and even a few of the wild horses that roam freely through the park.

The Little Missouri River

We spent the night in the historic Rough Riders Hotel in Medora before heading farther north into North Dakota to explore the North Unit of the national park. We only had a few hours to spend here but we made the most of it by doing the 14-mile scenic drive. Our first stop along the scenic drive was at the Cannonball Concretions Pullout to see these near perfect spherical boulders made of sandstone.

We continued along the scenic drive enjoying the views from the rim of the badlands. 

By midafternoon we were back on the road driving back to Rapid City, South Dakota for our flight back to Fresno the next day.