The Park is located in the western part of the state. Drive 130 miles west from Bismarck on I-94 to the entrance at Medora. From the south, drive north to Belfield on US 85, then west on I-94 for seventeen miles to Medora. US 85 north from Belfield will take you to the North Unit entrance (fifteen miles south of Watford City).
WHEN TO VISIT
Open year round. Peak visitor season is May through October. Portions of Park roads may be closed during Winter due to snow. Trail ride concessions are closed September to May. Visitor Center at Painted Canyon are closed October through March. Most attractions in Medora are closed Labor Day to Memorial Day. Summer temperatures are warm, ranging from 75 to 86 degrees F; Winter temperatures are cold, ranging from 0 to 24 degrees F.
POINTS OF INTEREST
The Park includes scenic Badlands along the Little Missouri River and part of Theodore Roosevelt's Elkhorn Ranch. Roosevelt first came here in 1883 to bag a buffalo. Cattle ranching was a failure for him, but he returned many times during the next 13 years and became a confirmed conservationist. He learned a healthy respect for nature from the rugged Badlands. "I would not have been President," he later said, "had it not been for my experience in North Dakota." The Park is seldom crowded, so you can also experience the splendid loneliness of the Badlands as he did a hundred years ago.