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Saturday, September 23, 2017

Ridgeline Trail - Theodore Roosevelt National Park


On an overcast day in August 2017, we hiked the Ridgeline Trail in the South Unit of Theodore Roosevelt National Park. To reach the trailhead from the visitor center, drive 6.4 miles on East River Road and continue straight an additional 4.1 miles on Scenic Loop Drive. Parallel parking is available on the right side of the road.

The easy to moderate 0.6 mile loop hike climbs 100 feet in elevation from the trailhead to the high point on the ridge. Note that there are numerous timber stairs along the route. The trail begins with timber stairs and switchbacks to a ridgetop meadow. After crossing the meadow, the ridge narrows and the trail climbs again via timber steps before reaching the summit of the ridge. Just beyond the summit, the loop trail turns right and descends into a hillside of juniper trees before climbing back up to meet itself at the meadow. Another path continues out to the end of the ridge. I assume it must be part of the trail system since there is a bench at the end.

A few drops of rain fell just after we started the hike, but it didn't amount to enough to put on a rain jacket. I did notice after we had hiked a bit that there was a drop of water on my camera lens. Most of my pictures of the climb and the meadow we crossed have a blurry spot near the center and aren't suitable for posting. 

We chose to hike back along the ridgeline instead of following the loop down into the juniper trees in order to get some additional images to replace those that didn't turn out.

Parallel parking area

Trailhead

Timber stairs

Prickly pear cactus

Square Butte (3322' 11.7 miles)

Badlands

Ridgeline Trail

View from the end of the spur trail

View southeast from the spur trail

View southwest from the spur trail

Bench at the end of the ridge with Square Butte and Sentinel Butte on the horizon

Light and shadows

Looking east across the badlands

Returning to the main loop trail

Stairs down to the junipers

View west from the summit

Scenic Loop Drive in the valley

View to the northwest

Returning back along the ridgeline

View south to Interstate 94

View north over the juniper "forest" to Scenic Loop Drive

View east from the meadow

An entrance fee of $25 admits all the passengers of a single vehicle for seven days to Theodore Roosevelt National Park. Other entrance fee options include a Theodore Roosevelt National Park Annual Park Pass for $50, an Every Kid in a Park 4th Grade Pass for free and a variety of America the Beautiful - National Parks and Federal Recreational Lands Passes providing access to most national park, national forest, and BLM fee areas
  • Annual Pass for $80
  • Military Pass for free
  • Lifetime Senior Pass for $80 or $20 annually for those age 62 and older
  • Access Pass for free for visitors with a permanent disability
An entrance fee is not collected at the Painted Canyon Visitor Center.

The park website is https://www.nps.gov/thro.

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