Good times in the Badlands - visiting the North Dakota Badlands

Sierra, May-June, 1995 by Reed McManus

To most Americans, North Dakota conjures images of bleakness, blizzards, and occasional mentions of record-low-temperatures by television meteorologists. But one of the state's most famous former residents expressed another view: awestruck by North Dakota's "desolate, grim beauty," Teddy Roosevelt proclaimed, "I never would have been president had it not been for my experiences in North Dakota."

T.R.'s conservation consciousness was molded in the state's southwest, where wind and rain erosion have shaped the terrain into the breathtakingly eerie clay and sand formations known as the Badlands. This rugged landscape was formed when the Little Missouri River, rerouted during the Ice Age, began carving its way through the area's soft seabed sediments some 600,000 years ago. Today, infrequent but hard rains continue sculpting the vulnerable soils into buttes, tablelands, and valleys punctuated by gravity-defying ledges and monumental outcrops called "rain pillars."

In honor of the Badlands' presidential patron, Theodore Roosevelt National Memorial Park was established in 1947, and redesignated a national park in 1978. It's home to pronghorn, coyote, wild grouse, golden eagles, prairie dogs (now severely threatened), and burgeoning new populations of bison and elk, once nearly extirpated from the Great Plains. Among the nooks and crannies you'll find 500 species of plants, including the prairie coneflower, plains prickly-pear, wild strawberry, and, in the ravines, ash and cottonwood. The easiest access to North Dakota's Badlands is through the national park. A 14-mile scenic route curves through its 24,000-acre north unit, and a 36-mile road traverses the Badlands of the larger south unit. Trails crisscross both sections, which together contain roughly 30,000 acres of designated wilderness.

But Teddy's park encompasses only a

little more than 70,000 acres, or one-tenth, of North Dakota's vast Badlands terrain. Its three small parcels (which include the site of Roosevelt's ranch) are surrounded by the million-acre-plus Little Missouri National Grassland. The Little Missouri River provides one of the easiest routes through this area. Canoeists can float the 110-mile stretch between the two larger park units in about three days. May and June are usually the best months for river travel. A foot trail, the 90-mile Maad-Daah-Hey (Mandan for "grandfather"), will soon traverse the grassland.

NUTS & BOLTS

HOW TO PREPARE

You'll find the best weather conditions for Badlands hiking in late spring and early fall. Be prepared for high temperatures in the summer, and be aware that thunderstorms can appear suddenly. The national park is open in the winter, but some roads may be closed. Each park unit has a campground, and backcountry permits are available from the visitor centers in each unit. Backcountry water must be boiled or filtered.

FOR MORE INFORMATION

For national park maps and brochures, contact Theodore Roosevelt National Park, Medora, ND 58645; (701) 623-4466. Also contact the Little Missouri National Grassland: South Unit, Medora Ranger District, 161 21st St., W, Dickinson, ND 58601; (701) 225-5151; North Unit, McKenzie Ranger District, HCO2, Box 8, Watford City, ND 58854; (701) 842-2393. Nearly 6,000 acres near Roosevelt National Park are in Little Missouri State Park, c/o Cross Ranch State Park, HC2, Box 152, Sanger, ND 58567; (701) 794-3731. Officials there can also provide information on the 80-acre Sully Creek State Recreation Area along the Little Missouri River. For current canoeing information call the North Dakota Tourism Department at (800) HELLO-ND.

FOR DEEPER READING

Exploring the Black Hills and Badlands, by Hiram Rogers (Johnson Books, 1993). Largely devoted to the badlands of South Dakota, home to Badlands National Park, this guidebook also describes several trails in North Dakota; Theodore Roosevelt National Park: The Story Behind the Scenery by Henry A. Schoch and Bruce M. Kaye (KC Publications, Las Vegas; 1993), is a well-photographed primer on the Badlands.

THE POLITICS OF PLACE

The Sierra Club and 15 other groups have proposed designating 191,000 roadless acres in North Dakota as 13 wilderness areas, the bulk of them in the Little Missouri National Grassland. (The remaining acreage is in the Sheyenne Grasslands in the state's southeastern corner and the J. Clark Salyer National Wildlife Refuge near the Canadian border.) These areas would allow hunting, hiking, camping, and livestock grazing, but would ban further oil-and-gas development, which has destroyed three-quarters of the region's roadless areas.

In addition, the Club and its partners have proposed that the Little Missouri River, which runs 350 miles from the South Dakota border through the Badlands to Lake Sakakawea, be declared a national wild-and-scenic river, along with the shorter Pembina River in the northeastern part of the state. For more information, contact the Sierra Club Northern Plains Office, 23 N. Scott, Room 27, Sheridan, WY 82801; (307) 672-0425.