Theodore Roosevelt National Park

This remote and relatively unknown park was a great way to get ourselves back into travel mode. We spent the night inside the park at Cottonwood campground and started the day with camper snuggles, hot chocolate, and generally good dispositions.

It’s an easy park to explore in just a day, with a 32 mile drive that takes you through the park, accessing many of the best trails and viewpoints. The topography resembles its Badlands cousin in South Dakota, only greener. And, if not for its very remote location, this park would likely be much more popular.

We did three mini hikes through the park, starting with a stop along the river via the Ekblom Trail.

Then, we did a short hike through Wind Canyon with amazing Horsehoe Bend like views and went up Buck Hill Trail for the best overview of the badlands in the park.

We also took a few moments to pull over at various lookouts to admire the dramatic vistas (and make use of my telephoto lens).

The best part of this park though was our frequent spotting of wildlife, namely huge prairie dog villages, wild horses, and, a wonderful herd of buffalo that we caught crossing the road.

The kids earned their first Jr. Ranger badge of the 2022 season before we packed up and made the drive to Billings.