America’s largest national grassland is in North Dakota and it looks nothing like North Dakota

It’s the largest national grassland in America

Most people drive through western North Dakota without stopping. They see flat land and keep going.

What they miss is more than a million acres of mixed-grass prairie and colorful badlands, carved over centuries by wind and water into something that looks nothing like the flat state they think they know.

The Little Missouri National Grassland wraps around Theodore Roosevelt National Park and stretches far beyond it. The trail alone runs 144 miles.

And that’s just the start.

Rolling prairie meets dramatic badlands colors

The Little Missouri National Grassland covers 1,033,271 acres in western North Dakota, making it the largest national grassland in the country.

It’s a mixed-grass prairie, which means you’ll walk through both tall and short grasses depending on where you stand.

The landscape shifts between open rolling hills and deeply eroded badlands cut by centuries of wind and water.

The USDA Forest Service manages it as part of the Dakota Prairie Grasslands, and it wraps entirely around all three units of Theodore Roosevelt National Park.

From two-dollar land to a protected prairie

Long before the Dust Bowl hit, the Mandan, Hidatsa, and Sioux lived and hunted across these prairies for centuries. Lewis and Clark passed through in 1805.

Then came the homesteaders in the late 1800s, and the land suffered for it. Harsh conditions and the Dust Bowl of the 1930s drove most of them out.

The federal government bought much of it back for as little as two dollars an acre and started restoring the soil. The grassland was officially established in 1960.

Hike, bike or ride 144 miles of badlands trail

The Maah Daah Hey Trail runs 144 miles of non-motorized single track through the grassland’s badlands, connecting Burning Coal Vein Campground south of Medora to CCC Campground south of Watford City.

Hikers, mountain bikers, and horseback riders all share the path.

The International Mountain Biking Association named it an IMBA Epic ride, and it earned a 2022 Bicycling Travel Award. Nine fenced campgrounds with potable water, picnic tables, and fire rings sit spaced along the route.

The trail’s name and turtle symbol have deep roots

“Maah Daah Hey” comes from the Mandan language and means an area that has been, or will be, around for a long time.

The trail’s symbol is a turtle, which represents steadfastness, patience, long life, and fortitude in Lakota Sioux culture.

The route connects both the North and South Units of Theodore Roosevelt National Park, though bikes can’t go inside the park boundaries.

Alternate bike routes were built to get riders around those sections without breaking stride.

Climb to the highest point in North Dakota

White Butte sits at 3,506 feet, making it the highest point in the state. You’ll find it in the far southeast corner of the grassland, near the town of Amidon.

The hike to the top is about 1.7 miles round trip with roughly 334 feet of elevation gain. The trail crosses private land, but the landowners allow public access through a free-will donation system.

At the summit, you’ll find a USGS survey marker and a summit register tucked inside an ammo canister.

Ice that survives into July hides in the badlands

Between the northern and southern sections of the grassland, natural ice caves stay frozen well past winter. In a year with normal snowfall, ice clings to the cave walls until mid-July.

You access the Ice Cave Trail from the Maah Daah Hey between mile markers 108 and 109. A century ago, travelers would stop here and use the cave ice to make ice cream on the open prairie.

Step inside today and the temperature drops fast. Flashlights catch thousands of tiny ice droplets sparkling across the walls.

Spot bighorn sheep, elk, and prairie dog towns

The grassland holds a wide spread of wildlife across its million-plus acres. Elk, pronghorn, mule deer, whitetail deer, coyotes, and jackrabbits move through the terrain.

Bighorn sheep live here too, and this is the only place in all of North Dakota where you’ll find them. Prairie dog towns dot the landscape throughout.

Bald eagles and prairie falcons circle above.

Inside the adjacent Theodore Roosevelt National Park, wild horses and bison roam the land just beyond the grassland’s edge.

Rare birds fill the open sky above the prairie

The wide-open terrain and near-total lack of development make this one of the best birding spots on the northern Great Plains.

Long-billed Curlews, Burrowing Owls, and Short-eared Owls are the species serious birders come looking for.

Walk the grassland long enough and you’ll also cross paths with Grasshopper Sparrows, Lark Sparrows, Vesper Sparrows, and Spotted Towhees.

Sharptail grouse, pheasants, and wild turkeys round out what lives here year-round beneath a very big sky.

Ancient trees turned to stone still stand upright

Inside the South Unit of Theodore Roosevelt National Park, petrified tree stumps up to 12 feet in diameter stand in the exact spots where they grew roughly 55 million years ago.

They’re related to modern Sequoia trees and rooted in what was once a coastal floodplain.

The broader badlands terrain holds fossils of aquatic creatures, cannonball-shaped sandstone formations, and scattered petrified wood.

At the southern edge of the grassland near Marmarth, the Hell Creek Formation ranks among the richest dinosaur fossil sites in the world, with Tyrannosaurus rex and Triceratops remains found there.

Fish the prairie river or paddle its quiet bends

The Little Missouri River threads through the grassland and gives you options beyond the trails. You can canoe, boat, and fish it for channel catfish and sauger, both native to the river.

Sather Lake Recreation Area lets you fish year-round from an accessible floating pier, with bass, crappie, and trout in the water. A boat dock and ice fishing access round out the lake’s appeal.

The campground there has 18 first-come, first-served sites with picnic tables and fire rings.

Camp under a sky with no light pollution for miles

Campgrounds spread across the grassland’s million-plus acres, all first-come, first-served with no reservations. CCC Campground near Watford City has 38 sites and serves as the northern trailhead for the Maah Daah Hey.

Buffalo Gap Campground west of Medora has 35 paved sites and connects to the Buffalo Gap Trail. Bennett Campground has 13 sites near the China Wall section of the trail.

Interagency Senior and Access Pass holders get 50 percent off campsite fees at all locations.

Explore the Little Missouri National Grassland in North Dakota

To get out into the Little Missouri National Grassland, head to Medora off Interstate 94 for the southern sections, or come in from Watford City via U.S. Highway 85 for the northern end.

The USDA Forest Service’s Dakota Prairie Grasslands office in Bismarck oversees the land, with ranger district offices in both Dickinson and Watford City where you can pick up maps and get current trail conditions before heading out.

Check the official website for seasonal access details, campground status, and permit information before your trip.

This article was created with AI assistance and human editing.

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