North Dakotans open 120-mile singletrack

IMBA Trail News
Volume 12, Number 3
August 1999

IMBA leaders joined club activists and land managers for the June opening of one of the nation's longest singletracks open to bicycling, the Maah Daah Hey Trail in North Dakota. The 120-mile route runs through the north and south units of Theodore Roosevelt National Park, as well as the Dakota Prairie Grasslands, Sully Creek State Park, several state land parcels, and private properties. Jan and Mike Riter, Subaru/IMBA Trail Care Crew No. 1, participated in opening ceremonies at the north end, while IMBA's Advocacy Director Jen Lamb simultaneously joined a counterpart event at the south trailhead.

The trail name "Maah Daah Hey" comes from the Mandan Indians and means "an area that has been or will be around for a long time." The non-motorized pathway traverses an area of highly dissected badlands surrounded by large expanses of gently rolling prairie, providing prime habitat for mammals and birds including golden eagles, prairie falcon, bighorn sheep, elk and bison. The trail is open all year, although weather conditions will occasionally cause closures. Travel on the trail can be harsh due to extremes of sun, wind, and lack of water.

The USDA Forest Service, manager of the Dakota Prairie Grasslands, took the lead and began planning Maah Daah Hey six years ago. The Forest Service arranged permanent easements across the private and state parcels, and worked with National Park Service for access into the national park.

In the South Unit of Theodore Roosevelt National Park the trail passes through designated Wilderness, where bicycles are not allowed. The Forest Service plans to complete by 2001 a 15-mile reroute in the Grasslands just to the west of the park.

For more information and a $4 trail map, contact the U.S. Forest Service at 161 21st St. W., Dickinson, ND 58601; (701) 225-5151. Contact the Theodore Roosevelt National Park at P.O. Box 7, Medora, ND 58645; (701) 623-4466.

Jen Lamb, IMBA advocacy director, joined the opening ceremony

The turtle was chosen as a trail marker for Maah Daah Hey because of its determination, steadfastness, patience, long life and fortitude.

Riding the trail through prairie grasses - photo by Jan and Mike Riter.