Alt Text Map of the South Unit of Theodore Roosevelt National Park in North Dakota. The park is roughly oval shaped with angular, stepped sides except where it lies along the rippling Interstate 94, also labeled US Route 10, to the south. Park boundaries are shown in green, major roads are shown in red, and the surrounding terrain is in beige. Extended Description The Little Missouri River curls down through the park about a quarter of the way across its length, and Jones Creek and Paddock Creek cross much of the park’s width. The park is accessed from a road traveling north from the town of Medora, which is just south of Interstate 94/US Route 10 and on the river. Medora has a picnic area and a private campground, and Chateau de Mores State Historic Site and a second private campground are nearby. Across the park border, the South Unit Visitor Center and Roosevelt’s Maltese Cross Cabin have a ranger station and are on Mountain Time. The park road passes the Medora Overlook and then Interstate 94 to wind past a Prairie dog town, the wheelchair-accessible Skyline Vista, and Cottonwood, which has wheelchair access, an amphitheater, telephone, and campground as well as a picnic area close by. From here the park road becomes the Scenic Loop Drive, which is labeled 36 miles (58 kilometers) roundtrip. From here, this description will move clockwise around the scenic loop and then describe sites and amenities to the west and then east of the loop before ending with the surrounding areas and a full transcription of the legend. Along Scenic Loop Drive The western edge of the loop parallels the Little Missouri River, and passes spurs for Peaceful Valley Ranch, a site with restrooms in a prairie dog town, Beef Corral Bottom, which curves along another prairie dog town; and the Wind Canyon Trail. A point near the river is marked “Road beyond this point may be closed in winter.” Now headed southeast are Boicourt Overlook; Boicourt Trail, which is wheelchair accessible; two unnamed overlooks and pullouts; a spur leading to Buck Hill; a site with restrooms, and an unpaved spur leading to Coal Vein Trail, which has a self-guiding trail. Now traveling along the southern side of the loop are two more unlabeled overlooks; access to Old East Entrance Station via a trail; an unlabeled pullout; Badlands Overlook; the self-guiding Ridgeline Nature Trail; another unlabeled pullout; and Scoria Point Overlook. One more unnamed pullout follows, before finally reaching another prairie dog town near where the loop closes. A point between the last pullout and the end of the loop is also labeled “Road beyond this point may be closed in winter.” Inside the loop, the Jones Creek Trail and Lower Paddock Creek Trail both follow the paths of those respective creeks. Roundup Trail branches north from Jones Creek Trail and the Lower Talkington trail connects the two creek trails in the eastern half of the loop. Badlands Spur trail ends at a pullout just north of Lower Paddock Creek Trail. West of Scenic Loop Drive Most of the area to the west of Scenic Loop Drive and the Little Missouri River is marked as a wilderness area across Big Plateau. Two Petrified Forest areas are labeled in the northwest lobe of the park. The Maah Daah Hey Trail angles from the northern border of the park down and across the wilderness area, where it then skirts the Little Missouri River before continuing south out of the park. The North Petrified Forest Trail and South Petrified Forest Trail branch westward off the Maah Daah Hey Trail to the and converge near the western tip of the park. More prairie dog towns are in the southeast corner of the wilderness area closer to the river. Also in the southern half of the wilderness area, from top to bottom, are the Mike Auney Trail, Big Plateau Trail, Lone Tree Loop Trail, and Ekblom Trail. North of the wilderness area and still in the South Unit is Roundup Horse Camp, which connects to Mike Auney Trail but has restricted access. East of Scenic Loop Drive A short park road branches off Interstate 94/US Route 10 near the southeast corner of the park at Exit 32. It leads north to Painted Canyon Visitor Center, which is on Mountain Time and has a picnic area, telephone, ranger station, and wheelchair access, but is only open in the summer. The Painted Canyon Nature Trail creates a loop in this area, and Painted Canyon Trail connects with the Upper Paddock Creek Trail to the north. The Rim Trail near the eastern border of the park connects Upper Paddock Creek Trail and Upper Talkington Trail near a prairie dog town. Around the Park The South Unit is surrounded by Little Missouri National Grassland. The Buffalo Gap Trail winds in from the upper left corner of the map and terminates at Maah Daah Hey Trail just north of the park boundary. In the bottom left quadrant, Interstate 94/US Route 10 continues off the map “To Beach, North Dakota, 25 miles (40 kilometers)” and “To Glendive, Montana, 63 miles (101 kilometers).” The interstate continues off the right edge of the map “To Belfield, 10 miles (16 kilometers).” A road leads south from Medora to reach Rough Rider State Park, which has a campground where the Maah Daah Hey Trail crosses the Little Missouri River near the bottom left corner of the map. Legend A scale in the lower left corner of the map measures distances of 1 and 2 kilometers and 1 and 2 miles. A legend in the upper right corner reads as follows: Gray line for Unpaved road, Red line with black semicircle for Overlook or pullout, Thin green dashed line for Trail, Thick green dashed line for Maah Daah Hey Trail, Thin black triangle for Distance indicator, Green shading for Wilderness area, and Tan shading for Prairie dog town. Bold text below reads, “Off-road driving is prohibited in all park units.” and “This map is not suitable for trail navigation. Obtain a trail map at a park visitor center.” A column of symbols to the right represents Ranger station, Picnic area, Campground, Private campground, Self-guiding trail, Wheelchair accessible, Telephone, Amphitheater, and Restrooms.