Hike To This Ancient Forest In North Dakota That's Home To 55-Million-Year-Old Trees
By Leah|Published November 16, 2018
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Leah
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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.
North Dakota has many beautiful hikes through the trees all across the state. They definitely prove the stereotype that this state is treeless wrong! In fact, not only does North Dakota have plenty of trees and forests, it also has one of the largest petrified forests in the entire country. Luckily for us there is a hiking trail right through it that will take you on a journey to see these prehistoric trees from millions of years ago. It is one of the most unique trails in the entire state, and you’ll want to experience it.
The unusual rocky landscape in the Theodore Roosevelt National Park near Medora, North Dakota might just draw your eye with the caprocks and buttes, but it's the rugged rocks strewn across the ground that you really want to pay attention to.
Those formations are actually petrified wood, and this trail will take you right through one of the largest petrified forests in all of America. It is a 1- mile loop leading through this prehistoric forest out in the beautiful badlands.
Most of the ancient trees are stumps that were mineralized over millions of years after being covered in sediment. Over time, erosion has revealed their rocky forms to where we can see them today.
The trees aren't the only great part of the Petrified Forest Trail. The loop will take you to gorgeous views of the badlands, from meadows to valleys filled with the trees of today.
The Petrified Forest Loop is located in the South Unit of the Theodore Roosevelt National Park near Medora, North Dakota. For more information on the trail and other trails in the park, click here.
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