The Ancient Forest In North Dakota That’s Right Out Of A Storybook
If trees could talk, these would have quite a story to tell. For a state that was known as mostly treeless and still is today, people may not expect there to be large amounts of pine trees out on the plains that have been there for centuries. In fact, those pine forests were at one point named a national forest by Theodore Roosevelt himself. Though sparse, you won’t believe how beautiful these trees can be out in North Dakota.
North Dakota is home to one of the easternmost ponderosa pine forests. At one point, these forests were called the Dakota National Forest - as designated and protected by Theodore Roosevelt in 1908.
Today, the forest is no longer considered a national forest, but sections of it are still within the Little Missouri National Grassland in Slope County and can be seen there today.
The ponderosa pines fill the valleys and canyons among the badlands. These trees are quite old and have been here since before the first settlers came across the land. They used the trees to construct log buildings and railroad ties back in the early days of North Dakota's statehood.
You can visit North Dakota’s ponderosa pines in places like the South Unit of the Theodore Roosevelt National Park, located near Medora, North Dakota, and in other parts of Slope County.
The Peace Garden State certainly isn’t as treeless as most people would think. There are more stunning forests you can hike through and experience right here.
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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.
