Some Medora businesses and facilities have closed for the winter, but many remain open to take advantage of a busy year.
"There's definitely lodging, there's definitely places to eat and there's definitely some boutiques open," said Leona Odermann of the Medora Area Convention and Visitor's Bureau. "Yes, there are things to do here."
Many businesses as well as historic sites, including the Chateau des Mores Interpretive Center, are also open year round, she added.
"A lot of the small businesses that are privately owned stay open for sure until Medora's Old Fashioned Cowboy Christmas," Odermann said. "People think that the (Theodore Roosevelt National) Park is even closed at different times and the national park is open 365 days a year."
She estimates about two-thirds of the businesses in the city close for the winter.
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"It's kind of a staggered closing throughout the fall," said Medora Mayor Doug Ellison.
He also operates Western Edge Books in Medora.
"As we get further into the fall, more and more will close," Ellison said. "There are at least eight of us that are open all year."
Carman and Derwin Zuroff plan to keep their business, The Hitching Post, open into November.
"We'll close for probably three months and be back at it in February," Carmen Zuroff said. "I think most places are going to stay open until business kind of winds down and it hasn't yet. We've stayed busy."
Like some other businesses that stay open into the fall, the Zuroffs now open later and close earlier than they do in the summer.
Business is up, which might be why some are staying open later, Carmen Zuroff said.
"I'm sure that there have been better years and stuff, but this rates with some of the better years," she said. "It was a very good year."
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The seasonal business is nothing new to Carmen Zuroff since she's been a part of it for most of her life and resides above the store.
"I grew up in the shop," Carmen Zuroff said. "My parents had it before me and my grandparents actually lived in the building that was here before this building."
Odermann said not as many people visit Medora during colder months.
"I think it's the economics of it," she said. "A lot of different entities would like to remain open but to have staff there and not have revenue generated, you have to be able to balance things."
Most of the businesses and activities are back at it in mid-May, she added.
For information on activities, businesses and other Medora-related inquiries, contact Odermann at 701-623-4829.
