Friday, June 17, 2022

Theodore Roosevelt National Park - North

The park has three units, South, North and Elkhorn Ranch, all within the Little Missouri River National Grasslands. Each has a separate entrance. We visited the South Unit in 2015 and  the North Unit this time. The North Unit has a 28 mile out-and-back scenic drive, a campground, and a temporary visitor center. We did not go to the visitor center. The scenic road has pull offs, overlooks and access to several trails. The trails form a long loop of over 25 miles or can be hiked individually.
Very little is accessible so this is mostly a scenic drive for people with mobility issues. The Little Mo Nature Trail is paved and accessible but a couple sections were flooded during our visit so we had to backtrack. The trail starts at the campground office where there's a small parking lot. Large RVs will not fit.
The Cannonball Concretions Pullout is large enough for RVs. The round sandstone rocks are visible from the parking lot but the trail is not accessible.
River Bend Overlook has a short, hard-packed and accessible gravel trail to a view of the Little Missouri River floodplain. The trail continues down steps to a shelter built by the CCC in the 1930s. The parking lot has room for RVs.
Oxbow Overlook has RV parking spaces but the parking lot is sloped. The trail to the overlook is paved and has uphill and downhill grades. Wheelchair users may need assistance.
The campground has an accessible site directly across from the pay station. All of the sites are paved so most are usable although they don't have accessible tables. We chose one with a short path to a view of the river. Park  47.59966, -103.25582

4 comments:

  1. We enjoyed our visit to both sections of the park a few years ago. Instead of touring with the car, we parked the car and used the motorhome. Enjoyed the Buffalo, the Wild Horses, and other wildlife. Stay safe, always enjoy seeing where you all are at.

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    1. Hi Dave! Looks like you're having a great time visiting with everyone this year. :-)

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  2. We spent a few days in the North Unit a while back -- the scenery is quite remarkable. Loved your pics!

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    1. Thanks! I have a new computer and somehow got signed out of Blogger. I did get signed in on my Blogger page but I'm still signed out to comment on other people's pages. I'll be just one of those anonymous commenters until I get that figured out. Still reading your blog though!

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