Park Attractions: Things to Do

The park offers a host of outdoor attractions like hiking, trekking and camping. One of the most popular sites for visit is the Painted Canyon Overlook and the visitor center located in the South Unit. Providing a splendid panoramic view of the North Dakota badlands especially during the sunrise and sunset, the site has picnic shelters as well as a one mile nature trail.

A visit to the South Unit would bring you to the visitor center located at the entrance of Medora which has a information desk and a short movie about the park history. The visitor center also has a small museum. The Maltese cabin owned by Roosevelt stands adjacent to the center.
For those wanting to enjoy the sights and sounds of this amazing natural landmark, a drive along the Scenic Loop road is a must. The loop offers scenic overlooks and a range of trails to explore. One can stop at the Wind Canyon or the Scoria Point to glimpse into the beautiful world of the park. Not only does the park offer scenic beauty, but a large variety of wild animals can also be spotted. This includes the bison, the prairie dog, elk, pronghorn and many others. Visitors should however take note that the bison can get quite dangerous especially during the calving season.
For people desiring to enjoy hiking, there are 100 miles of fascinating trails along the park like the Ridgeline Trail and the Coal Vein Trail. The park also offers various campgrounds like the Juniper campground with 50 camping sites in the North Unit and the Cottonwood campground with 78 sites in the South unit. While no hookups or showers are available, there are facilities like water, picnic tables, fire pits and paved pads. The campgrounds are usually available on a first come first serve basis.

Far from the bustling urban centers, the park offers a perfect getaway to people who would love to enjoy the solitude and beauty of the place which has remained unchanged from the days Roosevelt described it as a "chaos of peaks, plateaus and ridges".