August 2018

We camped in Williston, North Dakota, which is about 60 miles north of the North Unit of Theodore Roosevelt National Park. The South Unit is another 60+ miles south of there. Since we wanted to see both Units of the park we got up early and set off for the long drive to the South Unit.

After about a 2 1/2 hour drive to the South Unit, our first stop was the visitor center. We got a map and checked out the Maltese Cross Cabin, the rustic headquarters of Roosevelt’s first ranch with some of Roosevelt’s personal belongings.

We started out on the 36 mile scenic loop stopping at the Prairie Dog town to watch some of these cute critters scurry about. They are so cute!

 

Continuing on the loop we spotted our first buffalo right by the road, very exciting! We were told at the visitors center that we could see them anywhere in the park but you never know…

We were also told that there were feral horses in the park. They are descended from domestic horses that were released into the wild. After turning the next corner we came upon a wild horse right rear the road. We followed him for a while and then he took off into the brush.

Soon we came upon more of these beautiful animals, some of them hanging out with the buffalo. They are spectacular and I could have watched them all day but we had a lot more to see!

We stopped at Buck Hill and climbed up the steep trail for a 360-degree panoramic view of the east end of the park. After leaving there we saw some deer-like animals and then some more Prairie Dogs.

We made one more stop at the Wind Canyon Trail for magnificent views of the Little Missouri River.

Then spotted a group of buffalo on the mountain side and one more huge one along the road.

After completing the scenic loop drive we exited the South Unit and headed back north to the North Unit. We got there just before 3:00 and didn’t bother stopping at the visitor center since we already had a map and a plan to drive the 14 mile scenic drive to the Oxbow Overlook.

Right away we spotted several buffalo and the beautiful blue, red and beige stripped buttes.

I took  a couple of final pictures of the park from Oxbow Overlook. Spectacular!

This is a fantastic park and be sure to visit both the North and South Units since they each have unique features that you won’t want to miss!