Restaurant · Theodore Roosevelt National Park
A pitchfork-cooked steak dinner above Medora, with a Badlands view.
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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.
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The Coyote’s Hunting Pounce“If you see a coyote spring into the air and land in the grass, it may be hunting a mouse. Coyotes use their sharp hearing to locate small rodents, then pounce on them.”
Plays on the road 0.7 mi from Pitchfork Steak Fondue in the Parkwolf Theodore Roosevelt Tour Guide.
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Guide
Pitchfork Steak Fondue is a summer-season, separately ticketed outdoor dinner at Tjaden Terrace in Medora. The signature plate is a 12-ounce New York strip: cooks spear each steak on a pitchfork and dip it into hot oil. The steak comes medium-well, so diners who want to choose their doneness should plan on another meal. The dinner is a separate ticket from the Medora Musical at the neighboring amphitheatre.
This is an event-style buffet with shared outdoor picnic tables. Tickets are encouraged ahead of time, and lines vary, so leave some slack if you're pairing dinner with the show. The buffet includes familiar sides such as baked potatoes, beans, garlic toast, coleslaw and dessert; a buffet-only ticket is also offered.
The terrace is a broad outdoor gathering space on a butte above Medora, with views across town, the Burning Hills Amphitheatre and the Badlands. Its name honors Rod Tjaden, a longtime president of the Theodore Roosevelt Medora Foundation. Live music and yard games add to the summer-evening atmosphere.
Parking at Tjaden Terrace is free and first-come. The meal runs seasonally in summer and is outdoors, so check the next season's schedule before planning around it. Visitors repeatedly praise the cooking spectacle and the view, while opinions split on steak quality and value. If you want a lively Medora experience, that setting is the reason to come; if you want a quiet steakhouse dinner or precise doneness, this may not be your pick.
Wildlife
1,082 sightingsBisonMost seen around 6 PMSighting map
346 sightingsWild HorseMost seen around 7 PMSighting map
27 sightingsWapitiMost seen around 7 AMSighting map
45 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
ModerateMaah Daah Hey Trail — South Unit8.4 mi · 4.5 hr · 1.1 mi awayA one-way crossing through the South Unit's Big Plateau Wilderness.
EasySkyline Vista Trail0.3 mi · 10 min · 1.5 mi awayA short paved walk to a seated badlands overlook.
ModerateLower Paddock Creek Trail3.6 mi · 2 hr · 3.5 mi awayWalk through a prairie-dog town and follow Paddock Creek upstream.
ModerateBig Plateau and Ekblom Trail Loop5.4 mi · 2.5 hr · 3.6 mi awayA high plateau loop with two river crossings and badlands views.
ChallengingBig Plateau Trail1.8 mi · 1.5 hr · 3.6 mi awayA short, strenuous climb opens onto a wide grassland plateau.
ChallengingLone Tree Loop9.1 mi · 5.5 hr · 3.6 mi awayA steep loop to a spring basin and broad badlands views.
ModerateJones Creek Trail4.5 mi · 2.5 hr · 3.6 mi awayA creek-valley traverse through the South Unit badlands
EasyCCC Trail0.9 mi · 30 min · 3.6 mi awayA flat grassland path to the Jones Creek junction.
Sight · 0.1 mi awayBurning Hills Amphitheatre (Medora Musical)A Medora summer revue with horses, fireworks, and a Badlands backdrop.
Sight · 0.3 mi awayTheodore Roosevelt Presidential LibraryA half-day of Roosevelt, hands-on galleries, and rooftop Badlands views
Sight · 0.4 mi awayChateau de Mores State Historic SiteSee the preserved home behind Medora's short-lived meatpacking boom.
Visitor center · 0.8 mi awaySouth Unit Visitor CenterAsk a ranger about the South Unit loop before setting out.
Sight · 0.8 mi awayMaltese Cross CabinAn 1883 cabin that traveled from the World’s Fair to the Badlands.
Scenic pullout · 0.9 mi awayMedora OverlookA quick look from Medora to the Little Missouri River
Sight · 1.4 mi awaySkyline VistaA quick paved walk to a broad Little Missouri badlands view.
Scenic pullout · 1.8 mi awayJohnson's Plateau Roadside PulloffAn easy scenic-drive stop for watching prairie dogs at work.Parkwolf’s Theodore Roosevelt ranking
The audio tour guide for the drive, plus offline maps, trails, and wildlife heatmaps for when the signal drops.
