Hero Sites

Nine anchors from Medora to the Bay.

Each profile carries the dual story — TR / conservation alongside Indigenous / 1864 — and lists the partners co-authoring it. Long-form Site profiles arrive after Phase 1 consultation and capture (May–June 2027 paddling window).

PUT-IN

Cottonwood Campground / Medora

TRNP South Unit · USGS gauge 06336000

The river's headline put-in. TR Presidential Library opens 1.5 mi west of town in 2026. Same river bottom Sully's 1864 column camped on the night before the Battle of the Badlands.

1864 BATTLEFIELD

Battle of the Badlands ground

TRNP South Unit · August 7–9, 1864

Three-day running engagement along the Little Missouri between Medora and Sentinel Butte — through what would become TRNP South Unit. Sitting Bull among the Lakota defenders.

TRNP · HERITAGE

Elkhorn Ranch Unit

TRNP middle unit · 35 mi N of Medora

TR's true Badlands home — foundation stones still visible. BCA's signature viewshed campaign. The profile carries both the TR conservation story and the older history of the ground.

OVERLOOK

Achenbach · North Unit rims

TRNP North Unit · drone capture

River bends below the Achenbach Trail. The cinematic aerial reach of the corridor. Drone + photogrammetry hero site.

TAKEOUT

Long X Bridge / Juniper Campground

TRNP North Unit · US-85 crossing

Standard 5-day takeout from Medora. Cleanest Phase 1 endpoint for the documented paddle reach — ~107.5 mi total from the Medora put-in.

1864 BATTLEFIELD

Killdeer Mountain Battlefield

Dunn County · State Historic Site · July 28–29, 1864

Sully's column attacked an encampment of ~6,000 Hunkpapa, Sihasapa, Miniconjou, Sans Arc, Yanktonai, and Santee. The day after the battle, 700 troops burned the camp — tipis, winter food, thousands of dogs. Children left behind were killed.

STATE PARK

Little Missouri State Park

Killdeer · ND Parks & Recreation

Highest concentration of trails on the state-designated scenic reach. State Parks partnership anchor for the lower river.

MHA NATION

Little Missouri Bay

Fort Berthold · Lake Sakakawea · river terminus

River terminus — a 30-mi arm of Lake Sakakawea on MHA Nation lands. The cultural anchor of the corridor. Lake Sakakawea is named for a Hidatsa-adopted woman whose homeland Garrison Dam destroyed.

SUBMERGED

The drowned confluence

Under Lake Sakakawea since 1953

Where the Little Missouri historically met the Missouri — now submerged. Photogrammetry, historical photographs, and MHA Nation oral history reconstruct what's beneath the reservoir.

Preview · sites index