Theodore Roosevelt National Park
If your family is planning a vacation to North Dakota, consider adding a visit to Theodore Roosevelt National Park.
Three very different sections in the park
The park was first established as a memorial park in 1947 and renamed as a national park in 1978.
Three completely different sections make up the park: the North Unit is near Watford City; The South Unit is near Medora; and Roosevelt’s Elkhorn Ranch sits in the middle.
The Maah Daah Hey Trail
All three sections are connected by the Maah Daah Hey Trail, which in the Mandan Indian language means “an area that will be around for a long time.”
This trail is 101 miles long. It connects with seven campgrounds. If you walk the trail, you may see horseback riders, hikers, and bicycle riders.
Teddy Roosevelt made the park famous
Roosevelt made the area famous in the days before he became our 26th president.
He hunted buffalo there in 1883. The place fascinated him with its jagged cliffs, rounded hills, and steep slopes.
Wildlife in the park
There are many wild animals in the park. A wire fence surrounds the park to protect the wildlife and keep them inside the park.
You might see elk, bison, bighorn sheep, mule deer, white-tailed deer, pronghorn, coyotes, and badgers. Also the prairie dogs are fun to watch, but they bite so don’t feed them or get too close.
Bison look like they don’t run fast, but keep your distance. When bothered, they can be temperamental and may attack.
Wild horses
Other special animals to see in the park are the wild horses. In the old West, wild horses often roamed freely. Theodore Roosevelt National Park is one of the places you can watch these beautiful horses run. They are often seen on the east side of the South Unit.
-Sandra Merville Hart
Sources:
Flynn, Sarah Wassner. National Geographic Kids: National Parks Guide U.S.A., National Geographic Society, 2012.
McHugh, Erin. National Parks: A Kid’s Guide to America’s Parks, Monuments, and Landmarks, Black Dog & Leventhal Publishers, Inc., 2012.
“Theodore Roosevelt: National Park, North Dakota,” National Park Service, 2014/12/16 http://www.nps.gov/thro/index.htm.
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