North Dakota Just Made National Geographics Best of the World List for 2026

Wild Horses and Painted Canyons Await

Most people drive right past North Dakota on their way somewhere else. That’s about to change.

National Geographic just named the Badlands one of the 25 best places in the world to visit in 2026, and the timing couldn’t be better.

A new presidential library opens on July 4th, a tribal nation just reclaimed 2,100 acres of ancestral land, and the wild horses are still running free across 70,000 acres of striped buttes and winding canyons.

The crowds haven’t arrived yet, but they will.

One of Only Four U.S. Picks

National Geographic released its Best of the World list in October 2025, and the Badlands joined Maui, Pittsburgh and Route 66 as domestic sites.

That puts this remote stretch of western North Dakota alongside some of the most famous destinations on the planet.

The list highlights immersive travel experiences that connect visitors with nature, culture, and community. For a state that rarely makes national travel headlines, this is a big deal.

Tourism officials expect the recognition to bring visitors from around the world to a region most Americans have never even considered.

Rock Layers Tell Million-Year Stories

The Badlands are known for steep slopes, deeply carved canyons, and rock formations in shades of red, tan, brown, and black.

These colorful bands earned parts of the landscape the nickname “painted canyons.” Each stripe represents a different era when sediment settled, then washed away over millions of years.

Evening rains make the clinker beds take on intense shades of red and orange, and the fresh smells of wet sage and cedar make you savor every breath.

The landscape looks different every hour as the light shifts across the buttes.

Wild Horses Run Free Here

Theodore Roosevelt National Park is home to 100-200 free-roaming horses, which can be seen grazing and galloping across the Dakota badlands.

The herds include grays, roans, pintos, and bays in colors and patterns you won’t find in a stable. The best time to see them is during summer, when young horses are still part of their familial herds.

The park recommends finding a high point, such as Painted Canyon Overlook or Buck Hill, to better observe the horses.

This is one of the few places in America where you can still watch wild horses against a backdrop that hasn’t changed in centuries.

Bison Wander Through Campgrounds

Campers in the Cottonwood Campground are often surprised by bison meandering through. They come to graze and enjoy a good rub against the cottonwood trees’ thick trunks.

The park is also home to elk, bighorn sheep, white-tailed deer, mule deer, pronghorn, prairie dogs, and at least 186 species of birds.

Longhorn steers, a throwback to the 19th century trail drives, are kept as a demonstration herd in the North Unit.

If you drive the 36-mile Scenic Loop in the South Unit, you will see bison. Sometimes they block the road and you just wait.

Americas Longest Singletrack Trail

The 144-mile Maah Daah Hey Trail is the longest continuous singletrack mountain biking trail in America.

The International Mountain Biking Association has designated it as an EPIC trail, meaning it’s one of the top mountain biking trails in the United States.

The trail is open to hikers and horseback riders too.

The name comes from the Mandan language and means “an area that will be around for a long time.” Nine fenced campgrounds are accessible along the route, with potable water, picnic tables, and fire rings.

A Tribal Nation Reclaims Its Land

The Mandan, Hidatsa and Arikara Nation established Three Affiliated Tribes National Park with the purchase of 2,100 acres of a former ranch.

The area was in the tribe’s original treaty lands but a government allotment act later reduced the reservation’s size.

The park opened in late 2024 and offers hiking through rugged Badlands terrain that few outsiders have ever seen.

Park officials are working to restore native prairies and establish a visitor center and campground. You need a free permit to visit, and the trails are open to foot traffic only.

60 Years of Western Music

The Medora Musical has been running since 1965 in an outdoor amphitheater carved into the side of the Badlands. More than 4 million people have seen the show.

The cast includes 20 singers and dancers, six horseback riders, and six musicians, with about 100 people bringing the magic each night.

The show runs from June through September and features country music, fireworks, and live horses on stage. The Burning Hills Amphitheatre has more than 2,800 seats with the Badlands as a backdrop.

A Tiny Town With Big Charm

Medora is a frontier town with a population of just 155.

It sits at the entrance to the South Unit of Theodore Roosevelt National Park and comes alive between June and September.

The Rough Riders Hotel has Western-themed artwork and historic rooms. A new 100-room Presidential Lodge is scheduled to open in 2026 across from the city pool.

You can grab a steak at the Pitchfork Fondue, where beef is cooked on actual pitchforks over an open fire.

Fossils From 66 Million Years Ago

The Hell Creek Formation, exposed in the southern portion of the Badlands, contains remains of the last dinosaurs that existed on Earth.

Geologists have identified fossils of 14 species of dinosaurs here, including Triceratops, duck-billed dinosaurs, and Tyrannosaurus rex.

A petrified forest hidden within the canyons contains ancient trees turned to stone. You can find evidence of prehistoric crocodiles in the rocks, proof that this dry land was once a swamp.

A New Library Opens July 4th

The Theodore Roosevelt Presidential Library opens on July 4, 2026, the 250th anniversary of the United States. The $450 million, nearly 100,000-square-foot project sits on a bluff overlooking the Little Missouri River.

Designed by the Norwegian firm Snøhetta, it will generate its own energy, treat its own water, and operate in harmony with nature.

It will be the only carbon-neutral presidential library and one of only about 35 buildings worldwide to meet the Living Building Challenge.

The Window Is Still Open

The Badlands have been here for millions of years, but this moment won’t last.

The global spotlight, new attractions, and still-empty trails make 2026 the year to go before everyone else figures it out.

Dickinson Theodore Roosevelt Regional Airport offers daily flights to Denver, and Bismarck Airport is 136 miles east with more options.

Once you land, you’ll need a car.

The reward is a landscape that looks like another planet, where wild horses run against striped buttes and bison block the road because they can.

Visiting North Dakotas Badlands

Theodore Roosevelt National Park spans three units across western North Dakota, with the South Unit accessible from Medora and the North Unit near Watford City.

Park entrance fees are $30 per vehicle and valid for seven days.

The Painted Canyon Visitor Center is right off Interstate 94 and offers your first look at the landscape from a scenic overlook.

The best times to visit are late spring through early fall, when trails are clear and the Medora Musical is running. Summer brings green hills and wildflowers; fall offers golden grass and cooler temperatures for hiking.

This article was created with AI assistance and human editing.

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