Bismarck to Medora: A Long Weekend

135 miles · about 2 hours · straight west on I-94

Bismarck is the closest city of any size to Medora, which makes this the easiest version of the trip: leave after work Friday, be at dinner in the Badlands. It also means you can afford to stop on the way, which is the point of this page.

Below: what is worth pulling off the interstate for, and how to fill two or three days once you arrive.

Two visitors on the trail at Painted Canyon Overlook, with layered badlands buttes stretching to the horizon under a bright sky

On the way west

  • The Enchanted Highway — Exit 72 at Gladstone, about 70 miles out. Geese in Flight stands 110 feet tall right by the interstate and holds the Guinness record for the largest scrap-metal sculpture in the world. The full run is 32 miles south to Regent, past Teddy Rides Again, Pheasants on the Prairie and the World’s Largest Tin Family. Budget 2 hours for the round trip, or just look at the geese from the highway and keep going.
  • Dickinson — the last real town before Medora, 35 miles out. Good place to fuel up and eat.
  • Painted Canyon Overlook — Exit 32, and the first proper view of the Badlands. Do not skip this one; it is right off the road.
The Theodore Roosevelt Presidential Library on the butte above Medora, with the badlands below and storm clouds overhead

Saturday: the Library and the park

  • Morning at the Theodore Roosevelt Presidential Library. Give the galleries two to three hours, walk the Boardwalk out over the bluff, and have lunch at the Library Café.
  • Afternoon on the South Unit scenic loop in Theodore Roosevelt National Park — 36 miles, about 1.5 hours with stops. Bison, prairie dog towns and wild horses are all common. Get out at Wind Canyon for the bend in the Little Missouri.
  • Evening in Medora. In summer, the Pitchfork Steak Fondue and the Medora Musical; book both ahead. Otherwise dinner in town and sunset back at Painted Canyon.

Park once and use the free Medora Trolley — it runs between town and the Library.

Wide view of banded badlands buttes and eroded draws in the South Unit of Theodore Roosevelt National Park

Sunday: pick one

You are two hours from home, so you can afford a real morning before you leave. Three options, roughly in order of effort:

  • Medora on foot. The Chateau de Mores State Historic Site, the North Dakota Cowboy Hall of Fame, and the original storefronts downtown. Easy, and you are on the road by early afternoon.
  • The North Unit of the national park — about 90 minutes north, and much quieter than the South Unit. The scenic drive ends at the Oxbow Overlook. Longer views, fewer people, longer day.
  • The Elkhorn Ranch site — the ground where Roosevelt built his home ranch. Nothing is left standing, which is the reason to go. Gravel roads, no services, half a day. Check conditions with the park first.