Last updated: February 26, 2021
Place
Wind Canyon
NPS Photo
Quick Facts
Location:
Wind Canyon, South Unit of Theodore Roosevelt National Park
Significance:
This wind-carved canyon is a great example of the ongoing erosion at Theodore Roosevelt National Park.
Amenities
4 listed
Parking - Auto, Parking - Bus/RV, Scenic View/Photo Spot, Trash/Litter Receptacles
When Theodore Roosevelt described the badlands of North Dakota he said they "...grade all the way from those that are almost rolling in character to those that are so fantastically broken in form and so bizarre in color as to seem hardly properly to belong to this earth." Wind Canyon, with its soft smooth contours and spire-like hoodoos, definitely fits the bill.
An excellent example of how erosion formed the badlands landscape, Wind Canyon has been a popular destination for as long as the park has existed. It channels the wind, which rushes through before escaping across the Little Missouri River. The canyon walls contain hollows, carved by years of exposure, which now act as nest sites for Great Horned Owls and other birds.
Hiking up the trail that borders the canyon edge, visitors can experience one of the best views in the South Unit of Theodore Roosevelt National Park, an unbroken expanse of river, badlands, and sky.
It is illegal to remove any resource from a national park. Leave any flower, stone, or other object where you find it so that other visitors can enjoy it as well.
It is illegal to carve, paint, or otherwise alter anything in a national park.
An excellent example of how erosion formed the badlands landscape, Wind Canyon has been a popular destination for as long as the park has existed. It channels the wind, which rushes through before escaping across the Little Missouri River. The canyon walls contain hollows, carved by years of exposure, which now act as nest sites for Great Horned Owls and other birds.
Hiking up the trail that borders the canyon edge, visitors can experience one of the best views in the South Unit of Theodore Roosevelt National Park, an unbroken expanse of river, badlands, and sky.
It is illegal to remove any resource from a national park. Leave any flower, stone, or other object where you find it so that other visitors can enjoy it as well.
It is illegal to carve, paint, or otherwise alter anything in a national park.