Cowboy Cafe

The Cowboy Cafe sits on 4th Street in the northeast corner of Medora, putting it right at the edge of town where riders tend to arrive and depart when running the Theodore Roosevelt National Park South Unit loop. It opens at 7 a.m. and closes at 2 p.m., Monday through Saturday — early enough for a proper breakfast before the park gates, late enough to fuel up at the end of a morning ride through the Badlands.

The place has been operating under the same ownership since 1981, when Beth and Kevin Clyde took it over and renamed it — before that it was known as the Badlands Café, and before that as Bob's Café. The walls are covered with photos of local ranchers, railroad workers, sheriffs, and other people who lived in Medora, which gives the interior a sense of actual local history rather than manufactured Western decor. The cafe runs on handwritten tickets and a cash-only policy — cards are not accepted, so plan accordingly. The menu is straightforward American diner food: eggs, pancakes, burgers, hot beef sandwiches, and similar standards.