Rough Rider State Park, Medora, North Dakota

Presidential Library

The Library is new, full of tech, and was a fun experience. With all the tech, I did feel profiled upon leaving. Reading the terms of service and knowing what information and likeness the library and related services would collect seem impossible to understand. The privacy concerns aside, lets get to the fun part.

When first entering the library you are given a RFID wristband which you associate to yourself and your likeness. Kiosks are present to help you take a picture of yourself and input contact information. The Kiosks are easy and quick to use. Make sure to remove any glasses, hats, scarves, etc.. The reason to remove anything extra is to give you picture the best opportunity to be processed without present day logos or styles.

They library supplies an excellent view into Roosevelt’s life and was fascinating. We took 2 tours, then walked and read all exhibits. In total we spent 6+ hours in the library.

National Park

North Unit

The Park grounds are impressive, we were able to see wild horses, bison, a coal vein fire, and countless landscapes we have not been exposed to before. We were explored the North and South units. Both sides were interesting. For me, the hiking was best in the North where the cycling was incredible in the South. The scenic loop through the park is a popular cycling route and water is available at the campground. Which makes using the road as a training loop is possible. The traffic is minimal as I believe the park is one of the least visited (I expect this to change).

South Unit

The South unit had wonderful hiking. Cannonball Concreations was a show stopper. We took a ranger led hike here and was blown away by the geological wonders of concreations. We were also able to hike up to discover clinker rock. The North unit, like the South unit has substantial amounts of petrified wood. The below picture is interesting to me as the Bison will not eat the grass (green line in picture) as the grass is new and not known to their diet. The reason the grass is green is due to the beavers creating a marshland.

Campground life

Rough Rider State Park

This state park is awesome. Sites have water and power. The infrastructure is new. Some sites have a sewer connection.

The state park is connected to the Maah Daah Hey Trail The gravel riding on this trail is awesome.

Half the campground supplies services for equestrian travelers. We reaped the benefits of having a site in the horsing around area. Giving our dogs their own fenced area to romp (horse around) in. Our original site was next to a “manure locker” and the staff was kind enough to move us. Our new site was awesome.

Tourist Park

The campground has a interesting set of rules: The gist, only camp here if you are visiting or a tourist. If you are looking for a job, working in the city, you are not allowed and will be asked to leave. We really like the services, price, and location. The park was fun to walk through and the laundromat was close by. This was a great stop. We had a good hamburger at JL Beers in town and would recommend you to stop.

Wilderness Areas

Hiking the bluffs was our favorite part of Medora/Rough Rider State Park. Walking around on the bluffs overlooking the city and the wilderness is a experience we will likely remember forever. The views are grand, the temperature perfect, and the paths perfectly maintained. I used the Maah Daah Hey trail for hiking and cycling and enjoyed every moment of being on it.

Destinations

Medora

The town of Medora is cute, however it’s clear that it’s built for tourism. No grocery store, most of the food is fast food, ice cream shops, and pubs. A few nice places to eat exists here, although we did not partake in any fancy dinners.

Watford City

Watford city has seen a boom of oil workers and services to support the oil fields. This city clearly has substantial revenue as the building are new, massive, and anybody of the age of 18 is gainfully employed in the oil fields. It’s also clear that entry level jobs here are nearly impossible to fill as subway is offering signing bonuses to make sandwiches.