Find Painted Canyons, Roaming Bison, and Scenic Drives In This Ruggedly Beautiful National Park

Photo: Theodore Roosevelt National Park 7/21/24. Photo credit: Sharon Mollerus via Flickr. CC BY 2.0. Article by Julia Sayers.Gokhale. Midwest Living – June 1, 2026.

The landscape of western North Dakota inspired Theodore Roosevelt to establish a ranch here. Today, his namesake national park preserves the beauty of the badlands—home to wild animals, interesting geological formations, and hikes among buttes.

The road curves sharply to the right, emerging from a copse of trees to reveal shrub-pimpled badlands. You’d be remiss to keep driving, thinking there was nothing to see among the sloping stacks of monochromatic color. Halfway up the hill, there’s movement. Two dappled gray horses perch on an outcropping, the wind whipping their smoke-colored manes. […]

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