Scenic loop at Theodore Roosevelt National Park reopens

The scenic loop drive at Theodore Roosevelt National Park’s South Unit reopened to the public on Tuesday amid North Dakota’s first major snow of the winter.

The scenic loop was under construction for more than two years. About $51 million in federal funding was dedicated to the project through the Restore Our Parks Act, which became part of the Great American Outdoors Act that was signed into law by President Donald Trump in August 2020.

In 2019, sections of a 4-mile stretch of the scenic loop slid down the steep embankment causing the road to close. Upon further inspection, an additional 2 miles of the scenic loop were also deemed unsafe and forced drivers to turn around on the loop, limiting the scenic viewing along the roadway.

Sen. John Hoeven, R-N.D., a co-sponsor of the Restore Our Parks Act, said the park sees about 700,000 people each year and people want to drive through it, not just for the beauty of the Badlands, but the wildlife.

“You got the prairie dog towns that come right up to the road and you see all those little guys popping their heads out, and of course, the kids go crazy for that,” Hoeven said in an interview Tuesday.

He said the completed scenic loop has improved and expanded places for people to stop their vehicles and get out to look around. The reconstruction also improved the drainage and grading along the roadway.

Hoeven called the project an accomplishment for modern engineering because of the difficult terrain in the park.

“It’s almost like building a bridge,” he said. “You see the cost at $51 million for 6 miles and you realize you are building this stuff on the side of a butte, very steep, and it’s on sandstone, so the structural engineering that went into this is pretty remarkable.”

Hoeven said he was pleased the loop was completed ahead of the opening of the Theodore Roosevelt Presidential Library.

A grand opening of the Theodore Roosevelt Presidential Library is planned for July in Medora.

“I think it’s just going to be great for our visitors to circle all the way through that park again,” said Matt Briney, chief communications and marketing officer for the presidential library.

Briney also praised Hoeven’s efforts to preserve the wild horse herds at Theodore Roosevelt National Park.

Proposals to remove the horses or reduce the herd have been controversial.

Some of the 200 horses in the South Unit of the park have been fitted with GPS collars to better monitor the herd’s range and use of the park’s environment.

In April, Hoeven introduced Theodore Roosevelt National Park Wild Horses Protection Act that would mandate the park to keep at least 150 wild horses and require the National Park Service to craft a management plan for the herd. Hoeven said he was optimistic the bill will protect the herd for future generations.

“The park is just going to keep getting better and it’s going to keep drawing more,” he said.