What's Happening in Medora — July 1–5, 2026
America turns 250. The Library opens its doors. And the whole town of Medora celebrates.
For five days in July, a small town on the edge of the North Dakota Badlands becomes the center of America's 250th birthday. On July 4, the Theodore Roosevelt Presidential Library opens for the first time — and all around it, Medora fills with live music, food trucks, family activities, evening performances, and a drone show written across the night sky.
July 4 tickets to the Library are sold out, but the celebration runs July 2 through 5, and most of it is free. Come for the day, stay for the weekend, and plan to spend your time both inside the Library and out in the town and Badlands that shaped a future president.
The Big Moments at a Glance
July 2–5
Daily, 10:00 AM–9:00 PM
Free street festival, live music, and food trucks across downtown Medora and Chimney Park
July 3–5
Free entry to Theodore Roosevelt National Park (U.S. residents)
July 4 · 10:27 AM MT
Presidential Library Opening Ceremony
July 4 · Daytime
The Library's first public day (timed-entry tours; July 4 sold out)
July 4 · After dark
≈9:30 PM MT
Eyes on the Stars drone show
Nightly · 7:30 PM
The Medora Musical, with a patriotic finale July 2–5
July 5 & beyond
Library tours on sale, 9:00 AM–4:00 PM daily
Day by Day
Arriving July 1?
The festival officially kicks off July 2, but Medora's summer is already in full swing. Tee off at Bully Pulpit Golf Course, ride into the Badlands on a guided trail ride, catch the Medora Musical at 7:30 PM, or drive the scenic loop in Theodore Roosevelt National Park (regular park admission applies until the free days begin July 3). Get in early, settle in, and beat the crowds.
July 2 — The Celebration Begins
Downtown Medora and Chimney Park come alive at 10:00 AM with free live music, a food truck festival, a beer garden, and family activities that run until 9:00 PM. As evening falls, fire up an appetite at the Pitchfork Steak Fondue (5:30 PM) and settle in for the Medora Musical (7:30 PM).
July 3 — Full Swing
Everything from the day before, plus the start of free entry to Theodore Roosevelt National Park. Start the morning with the Medora Gospel Brunch (9:00 AM), spend the afternoon at the festival, and choose your evening: the Musical, the Fondue, or a quiet walk under some of the darkest skies in the country.
July 4 — Opening Day
The big one. At 10:27 AM MT, the Theodore Roosevelt Presidential Library is dedicated and opens to the public for the very first time — on the 250th birthday of the United States. Inside, immersive galleries trace T.R.'s life from his New York beginnings to the Badlands that remade him. The festival runs all day downtown. The National Park is free. And after dark, the sky belongs to Eyes on the Stars — a drone performance that brings Roosevelt's western journey to life over the Badlands.
July 4 Library tickets are sold out, and walk-ups will not be available.
July 5 — Your First Visit
The crowds thin, and the Library is yours to explore. Timed-entry tickets are available from 9:00 AM to 4:00 PM, the festival continues downtown, the National Park is still free, and the Musical takes its final patriotic bow. It's the most relaxed day to step inside the Library for the first time.
Free in Medora
You don't need a ticket to be part of America's 250th in Medora. From 10:00 AM to 9:00 PM daily, July 2–5, the town hosts:
- Chimney Park Festival Field — Free live entertainment, a food truck festival, a beer garden, the Mr. Bubble Kids Zone, and plenty of shaded seating
- Downtown Street Festival — Live music, food vendors, and the buzz of a town in full celebration
- Two live stages — The Cowboy Hall of Fame Stage and the Andrist Stage, with music and food vendors all day
Kids' activities (face painting, temporary tattoos, rock painting, sheriff badge crafts) and interactive souvenir experiences are available with tickets — through a festival package or day-of, while supplies last.
Walk the ground that changed Roosevelt's life.
Just beyond the Library, Theodore Roosevelt National Park protects the Badlands that a grieving young Roosevelt rode into in the 1880s — and rode out of transformed. From July 3 to 5, the park waives its entrance fee for U.S. residents, part of the National Park Service's Independence Day weekend fee-free days.
Drive the scenic loop, watch for bison and wild horses, hike a short trail, or simply pull over and let the buttes do the talking. It's the same landscape Roosevelt credited with shaping the conservationist and leader he became.
Things to Do All Weekend
Make a few days of it.
Between Library tours and the festival, there's a whole town and a whole stretch of Badlands to explore. A few favorites:
- The Medora Musical — Nightly at 7:30 PM, the rootin'-tootinest, boot-scootinest show in the West, with a patriotic finale July 2–5
- Pitchfork Steak Fondue — Daily at 5:30 PM, steaks cooked the cowboy way, on the tines of a pitchfork, against the Badlands backdrop
- Medora Gospel Brunch — July 3 & 5 at 9:00 AM, breakfast paired with sounds of praise
- The Teddy Roosevelt Show with Brunch — July 2 & 4 at 9:00 AM, a buffet morning with a living-history Roosevelt.
- Bully Pulpit Golf Course — Daily, sunrise to sunset, with Badlands views on every hole
- Guided Trail Rides — Daily, 7:30 AM–8:00 PM, the Badlands the way Roosevelt first saw them in 1883
- The Library's boardwalk and trails — Sweeping views, native prairie, and the landscape that shaped Roosevelt's spirit of adventure
- Ranch-to-table dining at the Library — Seasonal, locally inspired cooking from Executive Chef Candace Stock
Looking to bundle the headliners? Medora's Festival Packages combine Medora Musical tickets, the Pitchfork Steak Fondue, guaranteed parking, and festival extras in one purchase.
When the sun goes down, look up.
On the night of July 4, the Badlands sky becomes a canvas. Eyes on the Stars: Theodore Roosevelt and the American Westuses 1,776 choreographed drones and an original score to trace Roosevelt's western journey — his search for renewal, the frontier spirit, and the conservation legacy that shaped a nation. Moving horses, sweeping horizons, and Roosevelt himself take shape overhead in a way no fireworks display can match.
The show is best seen from the Library campus, and seating is limited. The performance is weather-dependent.