This Might Just Be The Most Breathtaking Hike In All Of North Dakota
By Leah|Published October 25, 2017
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Leah
Author
Leah moved to North Dakota when she was 12 years old and has traveled from the Red River Valley to the badlands and many places in between. She loves small-town life and currently enjoys living on a small farm in the ND prairie. She's always had a passion for writing and has participated in novel writing challenges such as NaNoWriMo multiple times. Her favorite part about this job is recognizing small businesses that deserve a boost and seeing the positive affect her articles can have on their traffic, especially in rural areas that might have otherwise gone overlooked.
Experienced hikers and more casual trail walkers can both agree that this trail in North Dakota is absolutely breathtaking. It doesn’t matter what time of the year you go, the sweeping vistas, fascinating rock formations, and wildlife aplenty make it an unforgettable experience. Bring your camera if you’re going to take on this trail, because you’ll want to capture every sight you see. Keep reading for more information!
The Achenbach trail is located near Watford City, North Dakota in the North Unit of the Theodore Roosevelt National Park.
A few trails can make up the Achenbach trail. The actual Achenbach trail, the North Achenbach trail. It can be extended even further by adding on parts such as the Sperati Point trail or the Bison Loop that connect to it. All together, it's about 18 miles of trail. However you can take it on in sections as short as 4 miles.
You begin at one of North Dakota's most spectacular views - the Oxbow Overlook.
The Achenbach will take you through simply breathtaking areas that are the essence of the North Dakota badlands. You'll be able to see what makes the "painted" canyons painted and the other unique aspects of this area.
Along the way you may encounter some unusual formations.
This area is full of unique and sometimes bizarre geological formations like you can see above. Formations such as the perfectly round cannonball concretions, or the mushroom-shaped cap rocks, or even combinations of both.
The canyon views aren't the only thing you'll encounter on this trail. Huge swaths of prairies and meadows are also abundant.
Explore the grassy terrain on the Achenbach trail. Here, you will likely spot quite a few different types of wildlife. Prairie dogs, bison, deer, hawks, eagles, and wild horses are just a few of them.
The Achenbach trail is seriously something special, and you can only find it here in North Dakota.
Check out the full trail information for the Achenbach as well as the rest of the park by clicking here.
While this hike is absolutely worth every step, there are plenty of short and sweet hikes in the Peace Garden State for all to enjoy. We made a list of them for you to discover right here.
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