A town of 100 people in the North Dakota Badlands just became one of the world’s best trips for 2026

It’s National Geographic’s pick for 2026

You probably haven’t thought much about western North Dakota. Most people haven’t.

But Medora sits right in the Badlands, a town of barely 100 year-round residents that somehow pulls hundreds of thousands of visitors every summer.

It’s the state’s number one tourist destination, and National Geographic just named the North Dakota Badlands one of its Best of the World picks for 2026, one of only four U.S. spots on the list.

The timing couldn’t be better, because what’s coming to this little town on July 4 changes everything.

A French nobleman built this town for his wife

A man named Marquis de Mores founded Medora in 1883 and named it after his wife, Medora von Hoffman. He put up a meat-packing plant and a 26-room house on a hill above town, now called the Chateau de Mores.

That same year, a young Theodore Roosevelt showed up to hunt bison and never got the place out of his head. A brutal winter in 1886-87 killed the cattle industry and nearly turned Medora into a ghost town.

In the 1960s, North Dakota businessman Harold Schafer poured his fortune into bringing it back.

Bison and feral horses roam 70,000 acres of Badlands

Theodore Roosevelt National Park covers about 70,000 acres, split across three units: the South Unit, the North Unit, and the Elkhorn Ranch Unit.

From Medora, you drive straight into the South Unit on a 36-mile scenic loop that winds through layered rock formations in every shade of red and brown.

About 300 bison live here, along with a herd of feral horses descended from old open-range ranch stock. Elk, prairie dogs, mule deer, and coyotes share the land.

More than 100 miles of trails are spread across the park.

Painted Canyon drops 300 feet from the rim

Pull off Interstate 94 at exit 32 east of Medora, and the Badlands open up in front of you without warning. Layers of red, brown, and gray rock stretch to the horizon at the Painted Canyon Overlook.

A free visitor center sits right there with ranger information.

If you want more than the view from the top, the Painted Canyon Nature Trail is a one-mile loop that drops about 300 feet from the rim to the canyon floor.

For a lot of travelers driving I-94, this is the first look they get at the Badlands, and it stops most of them cold.

The amphitheatre was carved into a hillside by volunteers

Every summer since 1965, the Medora Musical has filled the Burning Hills Amphitheatre with live music, dancing, horses on stage, and a fireworks finale.

Local volunteers carved the amphitheatre into a Badlands hillside back in 1958. It now seats about 2,853 people, and an outdoor escalator carries you up to the higher rows.

The show is a full Western variety performance, and more than 4 million people have watched it over the decades. You sit outside, the Badlands behind the stage, and the sun drops as the music plays.

A new presidential library opens on America’s 250th birthday

The Theodore Roosevelt Presidential Library opens on July 4, 2026, on America’s 250th birthday. It sits on 93 acres on a butte near Medora, looking out over the Little Missouri River.

Snohetta, the Norwegian firm behind the Oslo Opera House, designed the building.

The whole structure is being built to meet the Living Building Challenge, which means it will generate its own energy and treat its own water.

Inside, interactive exhibits will walk you through Roosevelt’s life, focused on conservation, leadership, and citizenship.

Tee shots launch from one butte to another

Bully Pulpit Golf Course opened in 2005, and USA Today’s 10Best Readers’ Choice Awards named it the number one public golf course in America in 2025.

The front nine winds through meadows and along the Little Missouri River.

Then the back nine climbs into the Badlands, where you’re launching tee shots from one butte to another with nothing but open canyon between you and the green. Dr. Michael Hurdzan designed the 18-hole, par-72 layout.

Kids 17 and under play free with a paying adult.

Ride 144 miles of singletrack through the grasslands

The Maah Daah Hey Trail runs 144 miles through the Badlands and Little Missouri National Grasslands. The name comes from the Mandan people and roughly translates to “an area that will be around for a long time.”

It holds an IMBA Epic trail designation, putting it among the top mountain biking routes in the country. Hikers, mountain bikers, and horseback riders all share the non-motorized path.

Nine campgrounds sit about every 20 miles along the way, each with water, fire rings, and toilets.

Three cultures of horse heritage under one roof

The North Dakota Cowboy Hall of Fame opened in 2005, right at the entrance to Theodore Roosevelt National Park.

Inside, galleries cover three branches of Great Plains horse culture: Native American traditions, ranching and homesteading, and rodeo.

You’ll find artifacts, memorabilia, and interactive exhibits about the people who shaped the northern plains. The Hall of Honorees celebrates men, women, events, and livestock tied to North Dakota’s western heritage.

Head upstairs, and the second-floor windows give you a clear line of sight to historic Medora, the Chateau de Mores, and the park entrance.

Walk through a 26-room house with the original furnishings

The Chateau de Mores still stands on its hilltop above town, a 26-room, two-story house built in 1883 as the summer home of the Marquis de Mores and his family.

Many of the original furnishings and personal belongings are still inside.

The Civilian Conservation Corps restored the house and grounds in the 1930s and 1940s, and the State Historical Society of North Dakota runs it now as a state historic site.

On summer weekends, free “History Alive” dramatizations play out right on the Chateau porch.

Steaks cooked on pitchforks above the town

The Pitchfork Steak Fondue is a Medora tradition. Steaks go onto actual pitchforks and cook in large fondue pots on the bluffs overlooking town, just steps from the Burning Hills Amphitheatre, before the evening show.

Nearby, Roosevelt’s Maltese Cross Cabin sits behind the South Unit Visitor Center and you can walk through it year-round.

Point to Point Park has a zipline, mini golf, and a lazy river pool shaped after the Little Missouri. Downtown shops and the Old Town Hall Theatre keep things going with off-season concerts and performances.

National Geographic ranked the Badlands number 7 in the world

The presidential library grand opening on July 4, 2026, puts Medora on a bigger stage than it’s ever had.

National Geographic ranked the North Dakota Badlands number 7 on its global list of 25 best places to visit in 2026.

The Medora Musical keeps running as one of the longest-standing outdoor variety shows in the country, and Bully Pulpit Golf Course enters 2026 fresh off its number one national ranking.

You get dramatic scenery, American history, and a small Western town with far fewer crowds than most national park gateways.

Explore the Badlands gateway town of Medora, North Dakota

You’ll find Medora in western North Dakota, right along Interstate 94.

The town sits at the entrance to the South Unit of Theodore Roosevelt National Park, where bison and feral horses roam some of the most striking Badlands terrain in the country.

From the Medora Musical to the Chateau de Mores to long stretches of the Maah Daah Hey Trail, you can fill days here without running out of ground to cover.

Bully Pulpit Golf Course is right outside town if you want to squeeze in a round at one of America’s top-rated public courses.

This article was created with AI assistance and human editing.

Read more from this brand:

• The most photogenic road trip in North Dakota finally reopens after 6 years
• North Dakota Just Made National Geographics Best of the World List for 2026
• 2026 is the year to finally visit the North Dakota Badlands — National Geographic agrees