Our Impressions of Medora
Geographically Medora (population, 121) is a tiny town located in southwestern North Dakota. This is a quaint tourist town focused on the history of Theodore Roosevelt in the area and the Theodore Roosevelt National Park. It hard to separate the town from Roosevelt.
It is a pleasant, quiet place to relax.
Some context about Roosevelt’s connection to Medora: In 1884 Roosevelt was working in the New York state legislature. On February 14, 1884, Roosevelt’s mother and wife died within hours of each other: his mother of typhoid fever, his wife of kidney failure two days after giving birth to a daughter. In his grief, Roosevelt quit politics and headed west to North Dakota. There are placards all over town that quote Roosevelt saying in 1918, “I have always said I never would have been President if it had not been for my experiences in North Dakota.”
Side Note: The veterinarian services in such a small population area is more than amazing. Lucky, our then 14.5-year-old cat, was not feeling well, so we called The West Dakota Vet Clinic in Dickinson and they were able to get him in the next day. Dr. Schumacher was very friendly and professional. After an overnight stay, Lucky was doing great. Thank you, Dr. Schumacher!
Attractions
The Marquis de Mores arrived in Medora in 1883. His innovative idea was to build a beef packing plant on the range and ship the carcasses by railcar. This was in sharp contrast to the existing practice of moving live beef by long distance cattle drives. Within 6 months of arriving, he had built his factory and the railroad had expanded to Medora.
The chimney and a few other remnants are all that exist of the factory. They are down near the river and the entrance to the national park.
The Chateau De Mores State Historic Site and Museum, De Mores’ home while he was in Medora, is open for viewing and touring.
The Maltese Cross Cabin is located at the Visitor’s Center near the entrance to Theodore Roosevelt National Park. It is the actual cabin that Theodore Roosevelt used to stay in during his visits to North Dakota. When the Visitor’s Center opened operations, the cabin was moved from its original location about 7 miles away.
The Medora Musical and Pitchfork Steak Fondue: The Medora Musical offered its first show in the summer of 1965 and is the longest-running outdoor musical in the country. It is worth every moment. If you enjoy Americana, music of all genres, and a good old-fashioned foot stomping good time, you will love the Medora Musical. The outdoors amphitheater seats 2,863 people! As of 2023, more than 4 million people had seen the Medora Musical!
Before or after the musical, you must eat at the venue! There are three options. The first is the Pitchfork Steak Fondue, 12 oz. steaks fondued in 400-degree oil and all the fixings. Or for those who don’t want steak you can just have the fixings (baked beans, baked potato, etc.) or the children’s hot dog option. There is live music during the meal, and extraordinary views of the Badlands.
North Dakota Cowboy Hall of Fame had so much to see and read that it was almost mind-numbing! The first floor had a small theater and exhibits of ranching and rodeoing. There were exhibits including different types of barbed wire, saddles, belt buckles from rodeo champions and metal and bronze sculptures of cowboys and Indians, including some by Remington. The second floor also had sculptures, but included pictures of people who contributed to the expansion of the West. Each picture had a lengthy description of their contribution. Interesting place.
Theodore Roosevelt National Park: There are two entrances to the park, the north and the south. Because we were in Medora, we entered the park through the south entrance. This is where the Maltese Cross Cabin stands. There is a 36-mile scenic loop drive you can take. Approximately half of this was closed due to major road reconstruction. The view from the loop drive was gorgeous! There are many scenic overlooks and many short and long hiking trails. We saw two groups of wild horses and three huge herds of bison! Sadly, the National Park Service has made the decision in 2024 to round up and slaughter many of the wild horses, all to “preserve the natural habitat of the park”. Nonsense. The NPS should be ashamed of themselves. The muddy Little Missouri River runs through the park. Make sure you don’t miss the “hoodoos”, columns of weathered rock that look like space aliens! There is one place very early in the Scenic Loop Drive that you cross over I-94. The park was not overly crowded. It is a national park not to miss!
There are only fourteen Presidential Libraries in the country. In 2023 Medora broke ground on the Theodore Roosevelt Library and Museum. It will be located at the top of the hill near the Medora Musical. Expected completion will be July 4, 2026. There is a storefront in downtown you can stop by and seen the rendering for the Presidential library.
Downtown Medora
Medora is similar to other western small tourist towns we have visited, for example, Deadwood, SD or Hill City, SD. There are lots of shops to visit and lots of local bars/restaurants. The first question service people will ask you is, “Where are you from?” You can stroll down the sidewalks and walk across the street without worrying about traffic running you over.
There is plenty of parking with no parking meters!
Food and Drink
Cowboy Lyle’s Candy Barn is in downtown Medora. It has a wide variety of Jelly Belly jelly beans and a wide assortment of handmade chocolates. Cowboy Lyle’s has some of the best sea salt caramel chocolates in the country!
Little Missouri Saloon is a popular western themed restaurant on the corner of 3rd Street and Pacific in Medora. There is an outdoor deck on the second floor with views of the mountains. The food was good, the atmosphere was great.
Los Cabos Mexican Restaurant in Dickinson, ND. We went for lunch. Good food, lots of it and at a great price! $10.00 for a huge burrito, $2.00 margaritas until 5:30 p.m.! Who can ask for more?
Home Base: The Campground
For us, a campground is not our destination. Our RV is self-contained. Except for water, electric and sewer rarely do we use campground services or amenities. We are explorers, not campground reviewers!
We stayed on site 612 at Medora Campground. 30 and 50 amp service were available. The campground was clean and well maintained. The staff was friendly. Our full hook up (water-sewer-electric) pull through site was on reasonably level crushed stone.
There was good cell phone coverage (Verizon) and a good open southern sky for our satellite. It is easy off and on I-94.
There are 2 parts of the park. There is a “newer section” with no trees. These sites are long (70 to 80 ft.?), but narrow. We preferred the “older section”, which has trees. These sites are shorter than the new section, but are wider. Our motorhome is 35’ with slides on both sides. If our motorhome was longer, it and the Jeep would not have fit on the site. Overall, the older section worked fine for us, especially in full sun.
Would we stay here again? Probably. It is a nice park and except for the neighbor’s dogs who barked most of the time that the dog owners were gone, it was very quiet. The campground has no policy against barking dogs, so the park management can’t enforce one. Yes, people in site 611, we are talking about you! Your dogs DO bark when you are not in your RV.
Fun Facts
The town of Medora was named for the wife of one of Medora’s most famous residents, the Marquis De Mores!
Cowboy Lyle’s Candy barn was named after a Medora Musical legend, Lyle Glass. He performed at the Musical for over 45 years!
In 1947 Congress established the Theodore Roosevelt National Park. It is the only national park named after a person.
Summary
Medora was one of the more relaxing stops we have had. We were as active as we wanted to be. It was pleasurable to walk down the old-style streets in downtown. And catching a show so close to the campground was an added bonus!
Your partners in travel,
Kathryn, Dave and Lucky
RVing Nomads
It’s a lifestyle
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