If you’re looking for rugged wilderness and a bit of a challenge, look no further than Theodore Roosevelt National Park.

Where: Theodore Roosevelt National Park, ND (North and South units.)

Terrain: Badlands, buttes, grasslands, river valleys, floodplains with Cottonwood groves.

Wildlife: A whole lot of Bison, Coyotes, Prairie Dogs, Moose, Elk, Mule Deer, Rattlesnakes.

Difficulty: Elevation gain is moderate, the terrain is rough with heavy brush and varied with poorly marked trails. Expect numerous encounters with Bison requiring frequent detours and challenging navigation.

Our Trip: Achenbach Loop, 2 days, 20.2 miles, average moving pace: 2.7 mph.





Two days off.

That’s all we needed to get in one more adventure of the season. Teddy Roosevelt National Park had been on our minds for quite awhile. We’d both road tripped past it without stopping in, and because it’s within a day’s drive from the Twin Cities, we didn’t have to take much time off of work to get there. Our sights were set on the Achenbach Loop, which was perfect for a two-day trip. Wednesday night we threw our packs together and Thursday morning we were on the road (fighting rush hour traffic for the first hour). The drive west took us through the wooded landscape of Minnesota out into the flat plains and farmland of North Dakota.

After a couple dive bars and a hotel in “oil town” Dickenson, ND, it was Friday morning and we’d arrived. Every national park has its own personality and is run with somewhat differing priorities. Teddy Roosevelt National Park is wild and minimally developed—there’s no ornate entrance and the visitor center is a single-wide trailer staffed by one ranger. You won’t find the vast gift shops and lodges of Yellowstone here. Looking to fill up on water? Head to the single bathroom sink. Teddy Roosevelt gets very little traffic and is relatively unknown. Compared to our Yosemite experience a few months earlier, it felt like a forgotten landscape in the middle of nowhere. The ranger casually mentioned we might see some bison and to keep an eye on the trail since sparse markers and wildlife paths make it hard to follow. These turned out to be quite the understatements.

We drove to the trailhead, parked the car, and shouldered our packs just north of the Little Missouri River. Yes—another adventure ahead! Fresh air, blue skies, and beautiful scenery. We were back on the trail.

It quickly became clear this trip would have plenty of excitement.

At first, it was relaxed with calm weather and open terrain. Then we approached a small gulch in the grasslands where the trail dipped down and crossed through. A few feet out, just before the bottom was in sight, we had our first encounter with wildlife. A large, energetic bison charged out, running up the other side, hoofs beating and churning up dust. We jumped a bit and backed down the trail to create some distance. We watched from thirty yards back, marveling at how amazing the scene was. We were only about ten minutes into the trip and already we were having an experience like no other. After some time it was clear the bison was content to stay in our path. Best to give him his space—we left the trail and went around.

Bison are huge animals. For perspective, a black bear might weigh over 500lb. A bison can weigh over 2,000lb. They’re not predators and they’re not aggressive, so as long as you respect them you’ve got nothing to worry about. We generally felt comfortable at a minimum of about 150ft and always kept our distance. This might seem like common sense, but the ranger later told us a story that revealed it’s not. While alone at night, a hiker approached a bison with his smartphone, shoving the camera and flash in the animal’s face numerous times. The threatened bison charged and gored the him. The man managed to crawl to the edge of a butte and shout for help, and luckily rangers found him, ultimately saving his life. These stories are rare, but they’re extremely important to teach us humility and respect when interacting with wildlife. Regardless of this story, it was clear to us that Teddy Roosevelt National Park is the land of the bison and humans are guests.

The trail meandered through the grasslands, and as the afternoon approached we reached the second and final trailhead crossing of our route. The Caprock Coulee trailhead meets the main road, and on the other side, the trail continues through some trees where it immediately ramps up. We crossed the road, and just like that we switched gears and were climbing. Looking back at the trailhead, we saw some kids getting out of a van.

These were the last people we would see for two days.

Keeping our pace in usual fashion, we found ourselves several hundred feet higher in no time. Nearing the top, we stopped for a breath. We looked below, drank some water, and looked up. Almost there…

There… another hike, another breathtaking view. We stared. This is why we backpack.

After relaxing a bit up top and watching some bison through Peter’s binoculars (a very solid gear addition that proved invaluable on this trip) we packed up and started the descent to the river flat. We made our way down with Joey in the lead. The trail was tough with dried mud and each step crunched in the dirt. Then, a different sound: rattle. Joey looked down, and at his feet was a perfectly camouflaged, ready to strike rattlesnake. The adrenaline rushed and Joey leaped back. After a couple of expletives and getting to a safe distance, we whipped out the camera.

The wildlife encounters were exhilarating.

Seeing wildlife always is. But make no mistake, a bite from one of these is no joke. A rattlesnake’s venom can cause severe symptoms, and in extreme case, your life could be threatened. Above all, if you do get bit, get yourself to an emergency room as soon as possible. Treatment within two hours means a greater than a 99 percent survival rate. In general, it’s always important to research before you hike. No matter how experienced you are, a review of the wildlife, how to handle encounters, and weather patterns is an absolute must. Always have first aid gear, a whistle at a minimum, and contingency plans.

So far, close encounters with a bison and a rattlesnake. We packed up and pressed on. The snake was behind us and we made it down to the river flat. The next few miles we kept the buttes on our right and the Little Missouri River on our left. As we descended into the river valley we discovered the next defining characteristic of Teddy Roosevelt National Park: sparsely marked, often non-existent trails. The trails get so little human traffic (the park ranger hadn’t even hiked all of them) that looking for footprints isn’t an option. There were occasional trail markers with small reflectors, but it turned out they’re really just scratching posts for bison. The giant animals knock them down and rub off the reflectors from the rest, leaving hikers with useful markers about once per mile. The park was also laced with bison trails—in fact, the hiking trails followed paths the bison made. It was extremely easy to follow the wrong trail and get a bit lost. At times, the brush was very thick. All these factors combined to cut our usual pace in half.

Terrain is everything.

As we pushed on, the bison encounters continued, and where we didn’t see them, their traces were still prevalent: Dung, paths, beds, etc. Because we were hiking on their trails, we kept running into them. Luckily, we could usually spot them from a distance, but it required us to take some long detours. Eighteen miles didn’t sound all that challenging for a two-day trip, but Teddy Roosevelt National Park was a perfect reminder: Terrain is everything. Still, the scenery was beautiful and we even came across a lone coyote. (See if you can spot it!)

Our map, compass, and the binoculars got a lot of use down in the river valley and throughout the rest of the trip. We normally bring our GPS with topographic maps loaded onto it, but computer issues leading up to the trip left it just about useless. We made do without, but in this kind of backcountry, we strongly recommend having one. Learn from us and plan your navigation well ahead of time.

Several miles later the sun was low and our thoughts turned to camp. We’d rounded a wide river bend and set our sights on a wooded river bank about half a mile ahead. Once we got there, it was obvious camping in the woods wasn’t going to happen—the brush was too thick. We like hammocks, but they’re not allowed in Teddy Roosevelt. We pressed on through the woods and came to a large clearing. The brush thinned out and the ground flattened making for a good tent campsite. Other than lots of mule deer roaming around and constantly getting spooked by us, things were calm. We set up camp and made some dinner.

What a day.

In the morning, we woke up to find another bison a couple hundred feet from camp, slowly grazing its way towards us. We kept an eye on the lumbering beast as we boiled up some coffee and made breakfast. By the time we were packed up and ready to set out, the bison was about as close as we were comfortable with. We gave it a wide berth and began our hike. We reached the banks of the Little Missouri River and paused to figure out how to cross. The region had seen rain recently, so the banks were thick and muddy. The Little Missouri was opaque and filled with sediment, marking it virtually useless as a source for drinking water. We knew it would clog our water filters, and the ranger had advised against trying to drink the water at all. The only designated usable water source on the Achenbach Loop Trail is Achenbach Spring—more on that later.

The ranger had advised us to choose our crossing wisely, warning that three feet of mud could be hidden under one foot of water. We chose a section that was shallow and appeared to have rockier terrain. Our best bet for crossing was to move slowly. A trekking pole is always good to stabilize if the current’s strong. Neither of us had poles this trip, but there were plenty of sticks to choose from. Aside from the freezing cold water, we crossed easily and avoided sinking into the mud.

On the other side, the trail climbed away from the river and up into the buttes, where we’d spend most of the remainder of the trip. The grass was shorter here and the brush thinned, then disappeared, as we ascended the buttes. The climb was gradual but consistent, and just enough trees kept the river from full view. Once again, the terrain was transitioning into something new. As we finally made it to the top of the buttes, the wind was blowing.

The vastness around us was stunning.

We found ourselves in one of the beautiful grasslands of the American West. It was wide open and the grass flowed in the breeze, reminding us of waves rippling on a northern lake. The prairie stretched to the horizon, broken by buttes. A sense of peace filled us as we listened to the air and looked down on the river valley.

After a couple miles meandering through the grasslands, our minds turned to necessity. We were low on water, and soon we’d be coming up on Achenbach Spring. The previous day’s hike proved a navigational challenge—this day’s hike would redefine that. We had a rough idea of where we were, and where the spring should be on the map. We followed the compass as no markers were in sight. We regrouped and adjusted course several times. Finally, we found the spring and our morale soared. We hiked down a steep path that had been pummeled by hoofs into some woods and there it was. Packs off, filters out, we filled up and relaxed. Then, were heard loud thumps and a low grunt. We turned. Not more than twenty feet away, a massive bison was approaching the spring. It was quite obvious it wanted us to leave. More adrenaline as we threw our gear back together and bolted up the trail. Once clear, we looked back and admired the iconic symbol of the west.

We’d seen enough bison at this point to know that once they find a spot, they don’t exactly leave it with haste. We rallied up top and assessed our situation. We managed to restock our water supply just enough for the rest of the day. With no other option for water, the only choice was to move on.

This is where the trail all but disappeared.

And markers were essentially non-existent. The rest of the day was a juxtaposition of the calm of our surroundings with the stress of being constantly lost. The grasslands were vast and crisscrossed with bison trails that looked exactly like the main trail, which was itself, a bison trail. At some point, we followed the wrong trail and became lost. For a few hours, we traversed grasslands, crossed brush filled valleys, and climbed ridges in an attempt to find the main trail. Gradually we built up confidence that we were zeroing back in on the trail. Finally, panning across a valley, we spotted a trail marker. There! But as soon as we spotted it, another bison appeared and ran down a ridge, straight into our path. We circled around this bison, like all the rest, and finally, we were back on the trail.

After an adventurous day in the buttes and grasslands, we started descending. Aside from another close encounter with a bison (seriously they are everywhere), the river flat was in view and the excitement was winding down. Back on trail and heading downhill, we reached the river in no time.

It was wider and deeper than at the first crossing, but the bottom was solid enough to make things easy. We crossed, reached the road, and walked back to the car where it all began. We took our packs off for the last time and relaxed.

For a two day trip, the Achenbach Loop was more adventurous than we’d imagined.

It was rugged, challenging, and full of wildlife. It was also unique, varied, and beautiful. Teddy Roosevelt National Park is an unassuming place. Tucked away in North Dakota, it’s relatively unknown and overlooked. Don’t be fooled. This national park is a gem, and our journey revealed just a small part of what it has to offer—in fact, we only explored the north section of the park. If you are looking for a wild park—filled with more bison than people—this is it.

Learn more about Theodore Roosevelt National Park.