Scenic pullout · Theodore Roosevelt National Park
A quick geology stop in bighorn sheep country.
Overview
Map
Plan your stop
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.
Recorded for this place
Slump Block Pullout: Layers on the Move“Slump Block Pullout is coming up, a quick geology stop with a sidewalk and exhibit. Stop if you're curious about how these slopes change: a slump is a chunk of earth sliding downhill largely intact.”
Plays as you drive up to Slump Block Pullout in the Parkwolf Theodore Roosevelt Tour Guide.
More stories near here in the app
“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
Slump Block Pullout is a roadside geology stop on the North Unit Scenic Drive, with a sidewalk and interpretive exhibit. It’s a brief pause, not a hike. The full drive is 28 miles round trip, so give the drive at least 1 hour 15 minutes. There are no restrooms along the North Unit drive; the nearest facilities on the route are at Juniper Campground and Picnic Area.
A slump block is earth that slides downslope largely intact. In the North Unit, wet bentonite clay can absorb water, swell and move downhill after heavy rain or snowmelt, carrying layers with it. That movement is part of what shapes the banded badlands around this stop.
The North Unit is good bighorn sheep country. Local sheep disappeared by the early 1900s, and reintroduction began in 1956. Look along steep cliff edges as you continue the drive; careful observers may spot them there, but don’t count on seeing one at this pullout.
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
ChallengingBuckhorn Trail11.4 mi · 7 hr · 1.1 mi awayA full-day loop through prairie dog towns and difficult open prairie.
EasyLittle Mo Trail — Unpaved Outer Loop1.1 mi · 38 min · 1.5 mi awayThe unpaved 1.1-mile loop pairs river-bottom woods with open badlands.
EasyLittle Mo Trail — Paved Inner Loop0.7 mi · 36 min · 1.5 mi awayA short paved loop beneath the cottonwoods, with a creek footbridge.
ChallengingAchenbach Trail18 mi · 11 hr · 1.8 mi awayA full-day loop with two Little Missouri crossings.
ModerateCaprock Coulee Trail4.3 mi · 2.5 hr · 2.8 mi awayA wooded coulee climbs to a narrow ridge over the Little Missouri.
EasyCaprock Coulee Nature Trail1.6 mi · 1.3 hr · 2.8 mi awayA short badlands walk where water has drawn the walls into folds.EasyPrairie Dog Town via the Buckhorn Trail1.5 mi · 1 hr · 2.8 mi awayA short Buckhorn walk to a prairie dog town.
ChallengingNorth Achenbach Trail5.5 mi · 4.5 hr · 2.8 mi awayA one-way badlands crossing to Oxbow's river overlook.
Scenic pullout · 0.6 mi awayLonghorn Steer PulloutA good roadside pause for the longhorn story, not a sure sighting.
Campground · 1.3 mi awayCCC CampgroundA trailhead campground just across the river from the North Unit.
Sight · 1.5 mi awayCannonball ConcretionsSpheres reach about five feet across, just off the scenic drive.
Campground · 1.5 mi awayJuniper CampgroundThe North Unit's only campground, where bison may wander through.
Visitor center · 2 mi awayNorth Unit Visitor CenterA 17-minute film before the North Unit's 28-mile out-and-back drive.
Sight · 3.7 mi awayRiver Bend OverlookA CCC stone shelter frames the Little Missouri River's bend.
Sight · 4.2 mi awayBentonitic Clay OverlookA quick stop for the badlands' blue-gray and yellow layers.Parkwolf’s Theodore Roosevelt ranking
The audio tour guide for the drive, plus offline maps, trails, and wildlife heatmaps for when the signal drops.
