Theodore Roosevelt National Park (TRNP), located in western North Dakota, was the 40th location in the United States to receive designation as a National Park. Park status was first proposed in 1919 and Jimmy Carter finally designated TR as a National Park along with the Badlands in 1978. If you are interested in why it took so long you can read about it here.

The Park is named after the 26th President of the United States, who was born in New York City but spent many years in the Dakota Territory becoming a cowboy and then healing his grief after a tragedy. Theodore Roosevelt first visited the Dakota Territory in 1883 to hunt bison and he later established two ranches there.

In 1884, while in the New York State Legislature, he experienced great personal tragedy. Both his wife and mother died on the same day within a few hours of each other. Theodore’s mother succumbed to Typhoid fever and his wife died a few hours later due to an undiagnosed kidney disease. She had given birth to a healthy daughter two days earlier but the pregnancy had concealed her disease. Roosevelt summarized the experience in his diary show below.

He retreated from politics and returned to the Dakota Territory to heal.

TR National Park comprises over 70,000 acres. It is divided into three Units: South Unit; Elkhorn Ranch and North Unit. The South Unit is the most visited because it is adjacent to the town of Medora, SD which provides lodging, restaurants and other entertainment for visitors. The North Unit is a 90 minute drive from the South and is far from any populated towns. We drove through the South Unit and camped for a few days in the North Unit.

The Elkhorn Ranch, which no longer stands, can be reached by driving 90 minutes over unpaved gravel roads. Because our rig does not have the adequate ground clearance we did not visit.

Similar to Badlands National Park, TRNP is comprised of stunningly beautiful rock formations, protected grasslands and the river banks of the Little Missouri River, a tributary of the Missouri River.

The different color layers reflect the local environment which changed from sea, to subtropical forest, to open savanna. The layers are exposed by water erosion that has taken place over thousands of years.

TRNP is also the home of many large and small mammals. Bison, Bighorn Sheep, Elk, Wild Horses, Prairie Dogs and other mammals can be found throughout the park.

Unlike most Prairie Dogs that we have encountered, which are quick to disappear into their holes, the prairie dogs in the North Unit were not the least bit wary of visitors. I was able to photograph these normally shy animals from only a few feet away.

The North Unit of the Park also has a unique geology that is not found in any other location in the badlands, Cannonball Concretions. These round rocks are exposed by the erosion of softer rock by rain and running water.

A concretion is a mass that forms when minerals precipitate in cracks and cavities, or through the build-up of sediment. Concretions are common in sandstone. Cannonball concretions in TRNP are formed by the cementation of silt and sand by calcite.

Theodore Roosevelt National Park is filled with wildlife and spectacular geography. If you choose to visit the Park and are only able to visit one unit, I would recommend visiting the North Unit This Unit has many fewer visitors and less auto traffic. You are much more likely to find yourself totally alone while enjoying the views and close proximity to wildlife. There are no reservations for camping in the North Unit. Sites are available on a first-come, first-served basis and only water and bathrooms are provided.