Hi there!
North Dakota is said to have had a big impact on Theodore Roosevelt!
The Elkhorn Ranch is specifically one spot in North Dakota that he did spend a lot of time.
The National Park Service quotes Theodore Roosevelt to have said about North Dakota:
I have always said I never would have been president if it had not been for my experiences in North Dakota.
Hopefully you will get to experience at least a small part of that with a visit to the Elkhorn Ranch Unit of the national park named after him!
There are 3 units that make up Theodore Roosevelt National Park in North Dakota:
- Elkhorn Ranch Unit (most remote)
- North Unit (remote)
- South Unit (most convenient area)
The entirety of Theodore Roosevelt National Park is located in a pretty remote area of North Dakota, and the Elkhorn Ranch Unit is the most wild and remote of them all.
You are driving to the Elkhorn Ranch Unit for really a whole lot of nothing.
Share the Elkhorn Ranch video with the people you’ll be traveling to North Dakota with!
And the purpose of going to the Elkhorn Ranch is to see a whole lot of nothing!
More specifically, you can see the location of what used to be Theodore Roosevelt’s home, the Elkhorn Ranch. The story goes that he moved out west to North Dakota from New York after tragedy.
Nothing much exists of the Elkhorn Ranch anymore, except for small pieces of what’s left of the ranch foundation.
👆 This is your destination when you go to the Elkhorn Ranch Unit of Theodore Roosevelt National Park… yes really!
According to the National Park Service, about the Elkhorn Ranch:
Here, the strenuous life on the ranch and the lonely freedom of the West revived Roosevelt’s spirit and inspired his passion to preserve America’s wild places and dwindling natural resources.
The National Park Service strives to maintain the tranquility and sanctity of this site so visitors may experience the lonely freedom of the badlands that drew Roosevelt to this very place.
And with a visit to the Elkhorn Ranch Unit where Theodore Roosevelt spent his time, you can get a glimpse of what he experienced in North Dakota.
A visit to the Elkhorn Ranch Unit is really about using your imagination.
You will likely see few people.
More below on what the drive to the historic site of the Elkhorn Ranch is like!
🌞
Getting to Elkhorn Ranch Unit in Theodore Roosevelt Nationanal Park
From the North Unit to Elkhorn Ranch is likely to be around a 2 hour drive.
From the South Unit to Elkhorn Ranch is likely to be a drive of a little over 1 hour.
The National Park Service says not to rely on GPS when going to the Elkhorn Ranch Unit.
It is also recommended that you stop by a Theodore Roosevelt National Park visitor center to ask about directions to the Elkhorn Ranch. You can pick up a paper map there too.
That said…
I did use google maps. 😆 It was not perfect. But I did manage to make it there.
Elkhorn Ranch Unit – Theodore Roosevelt National Park is on google maps.
It was the final road to the Elkhorn Ranch Unit that was a little questionable on google maps.
But at that point, there was a sign to Elkhorn campground (part of Little Missouri National Grassland), which will lead you to the road to the Elkhorn Ranch Unit, so it worked out just fine.
If you decide to rely on google maps, then you’ll want to be sure to download offline maps before you go. (It’s free.) Even if you have no data service, GPS generally works.
What is the road to the Elkhorn Ranch Unit like?
I drove from Juniper Campground in the North Unit to the Elkhorn Ranch Unit.
The first part has you driving on normal paved roads. My route took me on ND-16.
If you only want to go to the South Unit, then take a look at the AmericInn in Medora.
If you want to go to both the South Unit and North Unit, the Hawthorn hotel in Dickinson is an in between point. Dickinson is the "big town" that's between the South Unit and North Unit. (Your indication that it's big is that there's a Walmart!)
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Then comes the turn onto the gravel road off of ND-16.
The driving time on the gravel road to the Elkhorn Ranch Unit may be around 30 minutes.
You’ll be driving the backroads of North Dakota!
The final drive along Elkhorn Ranch Road
From starting the drive on the gravel road until the time I came across the Elkhorn Campground sign was around 20-25 minutes.
Following this Elkhorn Campground sign and turning onto the road to the campground started the final drive along the road that’s called Elkhorn Ranch Road. From here, it’s just a short drive to go of around 10 minutes or less to reach the Elkhorn Ranch Unit. (map)
I don’t know what the other road (map) was that google maps was sending me down that I missed. Maybe it wasn’t even a regular driving road because I don’t even recall a road that intersected with Elkhorn Ranch Road… but I could have also easily missed it since I wasn’t looking for it.
In any case, I find it to be very possible that it’s not a regular road, and I actually recommend looking for Elkhorn Ranch Road on google maps and following that road. (map) If you’re coming from the south, it will probably direct you that way. If you’re coming from the north, it probably won’t.
Once you’re on this Elkhorn Ranch Road, it is just one road that will lead you directly to the Elkhorn Ranch Unit of Theodore Roosevelt National Park.
Basically, follow the sign for the Elkhorn campground to turn onto Elkhorn Ranch Road.
Shortly after you turn onto Elkhorn Ranch Road, in a couple of minutes, you’ll come to the Elkhorn Campground that is part of the Little Missouri National Grassland.
The Elkhorn Ranch campground also has basic bathrooms, the only bathrooms you’ll find around here.
Now, technically the facilities at the Elkhorn campground are for campers. It’s $10 a night for rustic camping at Elkhorn Campground.
So if you decide to use the facilities here, it would be nice maybe to leave a donation to support the Little Missouri National Grassland and US National Forest Service!
Driving further along Elkhorn Ranch Road, next you will come across the Elkhorn trailhead of Maah Daah Hey Trail. Once again, this is a part of the Little Missouri National Grassland.
The Maah Daah Hey Trail is North Dakota’s epic long distance trail that extends for nearly 150 miles. It is listed as 144 miles. If you are looking for backpacking in North Dakota, you’ll want to look at this trail. There is even a 100-mile mountain biking race on the Maah Daah Hey Trail!
So there are many trailheads in North Dakota that you can pick up the Maah Daah Hey Trail, and along the Elkhorn Ranch Road is one spot.
And if you want the chance to hike a part of this trail so you have the experience of hiking a part of the Maah Daah Hey Trail or the experience of hiking in Little Missouri National Grassland, you can also do so from here!
You can hike the Maah Daah Hey Trail from the Elkhorn trailhead to the Elkhorn Ranch Unit of Theodore Roosevelt National Park. This might be around a 1.5 mile hike one way, so around 3 miles round trip. This is in addition to the hiking you will be doing once you are at the Elkhorn Ranch Unit trail to reach the historic site of the Elkhorn Ranch itself.
Or, if you’d rather continue the drive to get to the Elkhorn Ranch Unit instead of hiking… keep driving! It’s just a few minutes to go.
And then you have made it to the Elkhorn Ranch Unit parking lot!
Then you can get started on the hiking trail to the former site of Theodore Roosevelt’s Elkhorn Ranch.
There will be a gate (cattle guard), and you can open this to go through.
This trail to get to the historic Elkhorn Ranch site is listed as 0.7 miles. There are many informational signs along the way. So with the reading, it might take you 20-30 minutes or more to walk back to Theodore Roosevelt’s secluded former home.
And that’s a bit about getting to Elkhorn Ranch in Theodore Roosevelt National Park!
After the Elkhorn Ranch, I went to the Petrified Forest in the outer area of the South Unit.
And leaving Elkhorn Ranch with the Petrified Forest Loop Trail as my destination, google maps was saying to turn down roads that seemed to not exist.
And then getting even closer, it does not direct you correctly at all to get there. (It tells you to turn down a road that specifically says no vehicles allowed.) Eventually you just keep driving and hoping you’re going the right way, and there was a small sign for the Petrified Forest.
So whether you’re using google maps to get to the Elkhorn Ranch or another remote area of North Dakota, use at your own risk, and bring patience! (And, you know, maybe listen to the National Park Service when they say don’t rely on google maps. 😜)
And you can consider it part of the adventures of being in remote North Dakota!
To further follow in the footsteps of Theodore Roosevelt, be sure to visit the Maltese Cross Cabin in the South Unit! It is said that during his time in North Dakota, he rode a horse from Elkhorn Ranch to the Maltese Cross Cabin!
More nationally designated sites in the Dakotas:
Plan more of your trip to the North Dakota badlands and beyond:
- Best things to do in Theodore Roosevelt National Park
- Best hikes in Theodore Roosevelt National Park
- Best hikes in Badlands National Park
- Camping in Badlands National Park
- Best hikes in Custer State Park
- Things to do in Mount Rushmore National Memorial
- Jewel Cave National Monument tour
- 10 days in South Dakota (coming from North Dakota)
HAPPY DRIVING TO THE ELKHORN RANCH UNIT!
