South Unit, North Dakota, United States

5AC97 5:00 PM Jul 12, 2022

Driving the Loop Around the South Unit
Amazing trip! We arrived at approximately 8:30 am and made our way towards the entrance of the park. We already bought a 7 day park pass the day prior, so we showed the employee our receipt, and made our way inside. We first visited the visitor center, where we browsed through the gift shop, and then made our way inside a small museum. The museum contained several informational plaques about Theodore Roosevelts life and had several of his belongings as well. The museum was very interesting and very nicely laid out. Outside the visitor center, was Theodore Roosevelts cabin. There was a park ranger conducting a talk of the cabin and of Theodore Roosevelts life that we listened to, and gained insight to a lot of valuable information. We then toured the cabin, which contained several informational plaques as well, detailing the significance of each room. Next, we started the 24 mile one way (48 mile round trip) scenic drive along the south unit. The views were absolutely breathtaking, and there were several points along the way where one could stop, and enjoy the views around them. Each stop along the trail also contained an informational plaque that detailed what we were seeing in front of us. There were also multiple hiking trails along the way as well. We went on several short hikes, including the Skyline Vista, Boicourt Overlook Trail, Buck Hill, Wind Canyon Trail and Painted Canyon Nature Trail. Each trail was special in its own way, and contained breathtaking views of the scenery around us. We opted not to do some of the longer trails because it was scorching hot that day, and felt like we took in enough of the scenery with the trails that we did do. Part of the scenic drive was closed due to construction that day. Tip: I recommend spending 7.5 hours here if you want to have a nice relaxing drive around the park. We were able to stop at all the sightseeing stops, and hiked several trails that were all under a mile long. If you want to do more trails, then I recommend allotting more time here.

5jbwhitehouse 5:00 PM Jul 10, 2022

Cabin, Trails, and Critters--oh my
The Visitor Center has a small, worthwhile museum and offers a 17-minute overview movie. Behind the Visitor Center is the restored Maltese cross cabin Roosevelt used; a good ranger talk is given twice a day. Check for closures on the 36-mile Scenic Drive; currently it is not an actual loop due to collapsed roads to Ridgeline Trail from just south of Peaceful Valley Ranch. Special & short trails include the highest point: Buck Hill—easy 0.2 mile round trip for stunning views. Boicourt Trail is another short winner as is Wind Canyon Trail. There are at least three prairie dog towns with pull-off parking from which to view these funny creatures. The NPS has a very good information sheet on these critters.