With my Brothers visit our family headed out to the park once again. Wanting to take in as much as possible in the limited time frame, we selected several short activities to give us a full sample.
Starting at the western visitor center we did a dramatic drop into the canyon and back out all in under 1 mile. This is the most traversed path I have seen in the park and would present quite a challenge to young children or those who have not spent time hiking.
Leaving the eastern edge we passed through a very sleepy Medora into the main park. We drove the South Unit loop heading on the eastern side till we reached the Jones Creek Trail.
The Jones Creek trail runs through the middle of the south unit, and if you have a driver you can hike across the center of the loop, a nice 3.7 miles, mostly flat, a few small creek crossings, gorgeous outcroppings and mostly flanked by the Jones Creek.
Getting picked up on the east end of the trail we continued on the loop till we reached the ridge-line trail. A short 0.6 miles can be self guided with a brochure found at the trail head. It starts out on a very steep incline to put you on top of the world, giving you fantastic views of the park (by far the best I have seen so far). A short while after reaching the top the trail loops and the tour brings you down one side of the ridge where you pass along a burn area and can see the regrowth following the destruction, steep steps back up the side of the ridge you connect with the original trail, having a second opportunity to take in the vast complexities of the park you head back down to the road.
Our family finished the loop and headed to the visitor center at the main entrance to the south unite. Inside we watched the movie on TR's history with the park and explored the visitor center.
A great day, saw Bison, Deer, Prairie Dogs and several Hawks
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