Theodore Roosevelt National Park, ND

The fine-dining room of Medora's historic Rough Riders Hotel, the best table near the park, plating buffalo and hickory ribeye in a handsome period setting. It is the dressed-up dinner after a dusty day on the badlands trails. Worth the short trip out of the park to Medora.

A classic Western saloon and dining room in nearby Medora, all wood and local color, serving hearty plates after a day in the park. It is the relaxed spot for a steak and a beer where staff trade trail and wildlife tips. The easy evening landing after the South Unit.

A big, easygoing bar and grill in Medora with locally crafted beer on tap and a broad menu of burgers, steaks and salads. It is the roomy crowd-pleaser for families and groups coming off the trails. Dependable American fare a short drive from the park gate.

A casual pizza-and-saloon spot in Medora for a relaxed, family-friendly meal off the trail, with pies and a cold beer across the bar. It is the lighter alternative to the steak rooms, good for tired kids and big appetites. Unpretentious and reliable near the park.

A quick Medora burger joint named for Roosevelt's old cattle brand, griddling patties and shakes for a fast fill before or after the park. It is the grab-and-go option when you want food without a sit-down. Simple, cheap and friendly at the gateway.

A homey Medora breakfast-and-lunch cafe for the morning fuel-up before a day in the badlands, strong on hearty plates and baked goods. It is the easy first stop in a town built on early park starts. Warm, simple and welcoming.

A short, easy trail off the middle of the South Unit scenic drive leading to open plateau views over the badlands, with a spur to a dramatic canyon-edge overlook. It is the ideal hop-out-of-the-car walk for a big payoff with little effort. A quick taste of the backcountry on the loop.

A short interpretive loop on the South Unit scenic drive that climbs a ridge through prairie and badlands with signs explaining the geology and ecology underfoot. The brief climb earns a tidy panorama, making it a good stretch-the-legs hike for all ages. Educational and quick.

A five-mile South Unit loop that climbs onto a high plateau for 360-degree views across the park, crossing river bottom and open badlands prairie. It is the park's best longer day hike, with strong odds of crossing paths with bison and wild horses. For walking deep into the landscape rather than viewing it from the road.

A long loop in the park's remote western reaches leading to one of the largest concentrations of petrified wood in the country, stumps and logs turned to stone scattered across the prairie. The distance and exposure make it a committing day, rewarded with surreal scenery few visitors ever see. The park's wildest, quietest hike.

A 24-mile paved loop through the South Unit that strings together the park's overlooks, prairie-dog towns and trailheads, with bison and wild horses often grazing roadside. It is the essential first act of any visit, doable in an hour or stretched across a day with stops. The badlands at windshield pace, with the trails branching off it.

A legendary long-distance singletrack threading the badlands between the park's units, a bucket-list ride and hike across buttes, river crossings and endless prairie. Day-trippers tackle sections from trailheads near Medora; the committed ride the whole rugged span. The best way to get deep into the badlands under your own power.

A nightly summer variety show in an open-air amphitheater cut into the buttes just outside the park, part Theodore Roosevelt history and part song-and-dance spectacle under the badlands sky. It is the centerpiece of a gateway evening and a genuinely fun, only-here night out. Beloved across generations.

A public golf course carved through the badlands near Medora, routinely ranked among the nation's best, with middle holes that plunge into the colored canyons. Even non-golfers come to gawk at the setting. The most scenic round in North Dakota and an easy add to a park stay.

The park's grand first impression, a rim-top overlook off the interstate where the badlands fall away into a banded sea of red, ochre and grey. A visitor center and short trails make it an easy stop, and the colors shift hour by hour with the light. The view that sells the whole park in one glance.

A wind-sculpted clay bluff on the South Unit scenic drive looking down on a sweeping bend of the Little Missouri River. It is the park's signature sunset spot, where the river curves silver below soft, eroded walls. A short step from the road to one of the park's defining views.

The spare log cabin that Theodore Roosevelt lived in during his ranching years, now behind the South Unit visitor center. Inside the three small rooms it becomes real how this raw country reshaped a grieving young man into the conservationist president. A short, quietly powerful stop on the way into the park.

One of several sprawling black-tailed prairie-dog colonies along the South Unit scenic drive, alive with chirping sentries popping up from their burrows. It is a guaranteed wildlife stop, a favorite with kids, and a window into the keystone species that feeds the park's hawks and snakes. Easy roadside fun on the loop.