Welcome to this very special section of Theodore Roosevelt National Park in western North Dakota! Painted Canyon is the easiest to access and one of the most colorful badlands areas in the Park. Let’s go friend!!
Wait, how do you even say Makoshika?! Thought you’d never ask my friend. We are here at Makoshika State Park, Montana’s largest state park with 11,538 acres of amazing badlands to explore.
Makoshika, pronounced Ma-KO-shi-ka, is a variant of the Lakota Native American word “mako sica”, meaning “bad land”. Across much of eastern Montana, western North and South Dakota, are badlands, all abundant with fossils from the end of the Age of Dinosaurs. So come along and let’s explore!
I have not spent time exploring prairies, but occasionally drove through them in WY and MT. With nonexistent experience and naiveté, I believed prairies were flat and boring. I have a lot to learn! Living on the Front Range of the Rockies offers many opportunities for a short drive East to explore Colorado’s contribution to the Great Plains. Today we will explore Paint Mines Interpretive Park, a unique walk through history exploring both prairie and badlands. Amazingly vibrant geological wonders await, so let’s go!
