Explore North Dakota's majestic Badlands for free
Aug. 1—DICKINSON — Western North Dakota's beautiful Badlands in the Theodore Roosevelt National Park (TRNP) is visited every year by an estimated 800,000 visitors. Whether they come to witness the park's famous carved clay hilltops and stunning wildlife in the golden hour, or to settle into the campgrounds for a night of stargazing, there is so much that they can discover.
On Friday, Aug. 4, any and all visitors will be welcome into TRNP and all national parks, with entrance fees waived in celebration of Great American Outdoors Day.
"We are excited to welcome the public on Aug. 4th, Entrance Fee Free Day in celebration of the Great American Outdoors Act," said Deputy Superintendent of Theodore Roosevelt National Park Maureen McGee-Ballinger.
The occasion marks the third anniversary of the Great American Outdoors Act, which provides significant financial aid to complete maintenance and reconstruction of the national parks and other public lands.
As many local outdoor recreationists are aware, the TRNP South Unit's six mile stretch of the former scenic loop between the Old East Entrance Station and mile marker 28 has been under construction for major road repair. It is big projects like this that will benefit greatly from the Great American Outdoors Act.
"The roads here are built in an area people will refer to as the badlands and is a lot of clay and sand that can erode easily with water. So if you have a hill on one side of the road and a downslope on the other side of the road, that claylike material gets saturated in water and it can actually push the road off, which is what happens in this particular area that we are fixing," McGee-Ballinger said. "In the past, a piece of road would be patched and be reopened, but what we decided is instead of patching, we are going to put a permanent fix so that doesn't happen again."
The free entrance includes both units of TRNP, where people can check out the visitors center, drive the park while spectating wildlife or walk on their many trails.
For those bringing dogs and other pets, they are allowed in public areas, such as roadways and campgrounds, but are not prohibited on trails for their own protection and the protection of the wildlife.
For those who absolutely fall in love with the beauty of TRNP or want to discover what other parks have to offer, McGee-Ballinger said there are a lot of options for seasonal passes. Some of which are free or discounted lifetime passes, with details found on the Theodore Roosevelt National Park website.
