The original gateway to Theodore Roosevelt National Park, the Old East Entrance Station was built as part of a 1938 relief project during the Great Depression. When Interstate 94 was built in 1968 and replaced US Highway 10, the park entrance was moved to Medora.

The Old East Entrance, situated in one of the park's many active prairie dog towns, is a beautiful example of hand-hewn stone masonry. It harkens back to an earlier time in national parks, and is worth the 0.4 mile hike.