Sight · Theodore Roosevelt National Park
The park's original stone gateway sits in an active prairie dog town.
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The highest, rockiest slopes around here are a summer buffet for grizzly bears.
Theodore Roosevelt Tour Guide
Parkwolf is a GPS audio tour guide for Theodore Roosevelt National Park. As you drive, it chimes in with what’s ahead: hidden gems, upcoming stops, history, geology, and wildlife, right through your car’s speakers.
See the Theodore Roosevelt audio tourRecorded for this place
Old East Entrance: A Gateway in a Prairie Dog Town“Up ahead is the trailhead for the Old East Entrance Station, the park's former sandstone gateway. Choose this for a little history and a walk through an active prairie dog town.”
Plays as you drive up to Old East Entrance Station in the Parkwolf Theodore Roosevelt Tour Guide.
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“Fantastic app with many points of information… It’s great to just turn on while you’re driving and it gives you an audio tour of the national Park. We love it!!!!”
Guide
Old East Entrance Station is the small sandstone gatehouse that once marked the original eastern entrance to Theodore Roosevelt National Park. It's a focused history stop, more appealing if you like the park's built story than if you're choosing one more big badlands overlook.
You reach the station on foot from the Old East Entrance Station Trail; there is no drive-up entrance here. The walk is 0.8 mile round trip, about 0.4 mile each way, with parking at the trailhead along the South Unit Scenic Loop Drive. The approach crosses an active prairie dog town. Plan on an outdoor stop: the building's current condition and interior access aren't confirmed. The park has no restaurants or visitor services; Medora has dining and fuel near the South Unit entrance.
The surviving stone wall and gatehouse make the stop. Frame both together, with the layered buttes and junipers behind them, so the building reads as an entrance rather than a small cabin. The site has historic and interpretive exhibits and a scenic photo spot.
The Civilian Conservation Corps built the station as part of a 1938 relief project. Crews quarried local sandstone themselves and cut it by hand; the masonry is the detail to look at once you reach the gatehouse.
The station stopped serving as the park entrance after Interstate 94 replaced U.S. Highway 10 in 1968 and the entrance moved to Medora. The old gateway is a small, physical remnant of the route visitors used before that change.
The structure sits in an active prairie dog town. Look across the grass around the old entrance as you walk in; the colony gives this short stop a wildlife setting as well as a piece of park history.
Wildlife
1,082 sightingsBisonMost seen around 6 PMSighting map
346 sightingsWild HorseMost seen around 7 PMSighting map
27 sightingsWapitiMost seen around 7 AMSighting map
46 sightingsBighorn SheepMost seen around 7 AMSighting map
87 sightingsPronghornMost seen around 6 PMSighting map
162 sightingsMule DeerMost seen around 8 PMSighting mapSighting maps show where each species has been reported across Theodore Roosevelt. Wildlife moves, so no sighting is guaranteed.
Keep exploring
EasyOld East Entrance Station Trail1 mi · 24 min · 0.4 mi awayA short prairie walk to the South Unit’s old stone gateway.
EasyCoal Vein Trail0.8 mi · 39 min · 1.5 mi awayA short badlands loop through the remains of an underground coal fire.
ModerateUpper Paddock Creek Trail7.7 mi · 4.5 hr · 1.7 mi awayCreek-side badlands give way to open prairie at the rim.
ModerateJones/Lower Talkington/Lower Paddock Loop11.4 mi · 7 hr · 1.8 mi awayThree creek-country trails make an 11.4-mile Badlands loop.
ChallengingUpper Paddock/Talkington Loop15.4 mi · 9 hr · 1.8 mi awayA 15.4-mile circuit over prairie, rim, and creek country.
ModerateBuck Hill Trail0.4 mi · 20 min · 2 mi awayA short, steep climb opens the South Unit’s broad Badlands view.
ModeratePainted Canyon Nature Trail0.9 mi · 45 min · 2.1 mi awayStep down for layered badlands, then climb back up to the rim.
ModerateRidgeline Nature Trail0.6 mi · 30 min · 2.2 mi awayA quick climb into a maze of ridges, grasses, and juniper.
Sight · 1.7 mi awayBadlands OverlookLayered buttes make this the South Unit's panoramic finale.Sight · 2 mi awayBuck HillA steep 15-minute climb opens to a full Badlands panorama.
Restroom · 2 mi awaySouth Unit Scenic Drive RestroomAn accessible restroom midway around the South Unit loop.
Sight · 2.1 mi awayPainted Canyon Overlook and Visitor CenterA rim-top badlands panorama, with bison sometimes grazing nearby.
Sight · 3.4 mi awayScoria Point OverlookAn easy first look at the South Unit's red badlands.
Sight · 3.8 mi awayBoicourt OverlookA short paved walk opens onto rolling badlands and distant buttes.
Scenic pullout · 4.6 mi awayJohnson's Plateau Roadside PulloffAn easy scenic-drive stop for watching prairie dogs at work.
Visitor center · 5 mi awaySouth Unit Visitor CenterAsk a ranger about the South Unit loop before setting out.Parkwolf’s Theodore Roosevelt ranking
The audio tour guide for the drive, plus offline maps, trails, and wildlife heatmaps for when the signal drops.
