Elkhorn Ranch State Historic Site, Presidential ranch site in Billings County, North Dakota.
Elkhorn Ranch is a historic site spread across 218 acres of prairie land along the Little Missouri River, shaded by cottonwood trees. Today visitors find foundation remnants of the original buildings set into the grassland.
Roosevelt founded the ranch in 1884 as his Dakota residence, bringing skilled workers from Maine to construct the buildings. This move marked his embrace of western life and the beginning of his years as a working rancher.
The name reflects Roosevelt's formative years here, when his thinking about nature and conservation took shape before he became president. Walking the grounds today, you can sense how this remote landscape helped shape his later environmental policies.
The site is reached by a maintained gravel road from Medora and has interpretive signs explaining the ranch layout. Sturdy shoes are recommended since the ground is uneven and can become slippery after rain.
Roosevelt personally pursued a group of boat thieves and forced them to walk 45 miles to Dickinson for justice. This episode reveals his hands-on approach to law and order in a wild frontier region.
The community of curious travelers
AroundUs brings together thousands of curated places, local tips, and hidden gems, enriched daily by 60,000 contributors worldwide.
