A Hike to Repeat
Some hikes are good exercise and enjoyable just to be in nature. Then there are those hikes you would love to do again and reverse your travel direction to get a different appreciation. Yesterday’s 4.1 mile final hike at Theodore Roosevelt National Park (North) is one I would like to do again from the other direction.
This was the best hike I have taken at the park, both during this trip and the one I made in July. Long enough to be a workout but not so long as to feel like a march. With varied geography, scenic views mixed with forest walking, stretches of sun and shade, some of it flat, other parts requiring ascent/descent, lots of wildlife too…all combining to make it an enjoyable experience. The only thing it did not offer that I enjoy is some rock scrambling when necessary to forge ahead on the trail.
If you get a chance to go to the north unit of the park (in my opinion a better, more intimate experience that the south unit where most people visit), then drive to the River Bend Overlock, park, and hike this trail known as the Caprock Coulee Trail. I think you would enjoy it immensely.