Theodore Roosevelt once said that, had it not been for his experiences in North Dakota, he never would have become US president. Such is the power of this park's untamed beauty. The 290km2 park is set against a backdrop of badlands (razor-sharp ridges, scoria-red hillsides and rugged buttes), run through with streams lined by poplars, brush and prairie. It is inhabited by wild horses and prairie dogs. Divided into two zones (south and north), the park can be explored via trails and lookouts.