Attractions

There are a variety of historic attractions, both in the national park and nearby.

A museum housed in the Medora Visitor Center features personal items that once belonged to Theodore Roosevelt, ranching artifacts, and natural history displays. Tours are conducted (free, about 20 min.) through the Maltese Cross Cabin from mid-June through Labor Day; you can take a self-guided tour during the rest of the year. Roosevelt used this cabin, which was relocated to its new home behind the visitor center after a detailed restoration program.

At the Elkhorn Ranch site, where Theodore Roosevelt started his second cattle ranch in the area, no buildings remain (save the foundation stones from the main ranch house). To get there, you must take the dirt road that goes north out of the South Unit (its turnoff is at the top of the Scenic Loop Dr.) and drive another 20 miles, but you must cross the river to get to the actual ranch site. Inquire at the Medora Visitor Center about river conditions before attempting this trip. An alternate route accesses the site from the west.

Château De Mores State Historic Site (tel. 701/623-4355; www.state.nd.us/hist), near the town of Medora, is a 128-acre site that contains the Chateau de Mores, Chimney Park, and De Mores Memorial Park. The town of Medora was built by the marquis de Mores, an entrepreneurial French nobleman, on the Northern Pacific Line and named for his American wife. The Chateau de Mores, a 26-room rustic summer home built in 1883, contains many of its original furnishings. The ruins of the marquis's meat packing plant, found in Chimney Park, recall his ambitious plans to revolutionize the meat packing industry. A young Theodore Roosevelt was a business acquaintance of the marquis. Admission costs $5 adults, $2.50 kids 6 to 15; group tour rates are available. Guided tours of the château are offered from mid-May to mid-September, and other times by appointment.

Knife River Indian Villages National Historic Site, consisting of three villages along the Knife River in North Dakota, was inhabited by the Mandan, Hidatsa, and later the Arikara from the early 1500s to 1860. Located a half mile north of Stanton, North Dakota (via County Rd. 37), it offers insights into the life of the North Plains Indians. The site is open from 8am to 6pm (mountain time) daily from Memorial Day through Labor Day, to 4:30pm daily the rest of the year. Admission is free. The exhibits and 15-minute orientation program depict life in the villages before and after Euro-American contact. Earthlodge tours are conducted daily, June through August. The annual Northern Plains Indian Culture Fest is held the last full weekend in July.

Trails, from 0.5 mile to 2 miles in length, lead to three village sites. Other trails meander through prairie and woodland ecosystems. All trails are open during visitor center hours and some are wheelchair accessible. For information, contact the Superintendent, Knife River Indian Villages NHS, P.O. Box 9, Stanton, ND 58571 (tel. 701/745-3300; www.nps.gov/knri).

Fort Union Trading Post National Historic Site preserves the restored Fort Union, which was, for nearly 4 decades in the 19th century, a bastion of John Jacob Astor's American Fur Company, which dominated the fur trade in the region of modern-day North Dakota, Montana, and Saskatchewan. Now, as then, the focal point of the historic site is Fort Union's Indian Trade House. Here, goods were traded between the fur company and Assiniboines, Crows, Crees, and Lakotas. Also called the Bourgeois House (or Manager's House), this facility is now the visitor center and bookstore. In this, the farthest reaches of the Missouri River country, the National Park Service and the Fort Union Association have meticulously restored and refurnished the Trade House to its appearance in 1851. The site is located about 2 hours north of Theodore Roosevelt National Park via U.S. 85 at Belfield, North Dakota; N. Dak. 16 at Beach, North Dakota; or Mont. 16 at Glendive, Montana. The Bourgeois House Visitor Center is open from 8am to 8pm Memorial Day through Labor Day, from 9am to 5:30pm the remainder of the year. The Indian Trade House is open from 9:45am to 5:45pm daily during the summer only. Ranger tours are offered from noon to 3:30pm daily during the summer, with self-guided tours the remainder of the year.

For scheduled dates of special programs, or for more information, contact the Superintendent, Fort Union Trading Post NHS, 15550 Hwy. 1804, Williston, ND 58801 (tel. 701/572-9083; www.nps.gov/fous).