The One Hike In North Dakota That's Sure To Leave You Feeling Accomplished
By Leah|Published March 07, 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.
Hiking can be a very rewarding experience. A trail may have a few difficult spots or a long trek, but it might all lead up to a fantastic view at the end or give you an experience you won’t forget. North Dakota has quite the list of hiking trails, ranging from easy walking trails to tough uphill climbs. Quite a few of these trails lie in the Theodore Roosevelt National Park, and this one in particular will definitely leave you feeling accomplished once completed.
This trail is known as the Buckhorn Trail and is located in the North Unit of Theodore Roosevelt National Park.
The trail is a total of 11.4 miles in length that form into a loop, many people opt to take a portion of the trail to see one of the parks most well known features. This is a good trail to set aside an entire day for to be able to experience it to its fullest.
The trail explores deep within the canyons and above them on the prairies.
The beautiful and scenic views of the park are easily seen on the Buckhorn Trail. The iconic multi-colored "painted" canyons can be seen up close and personal or from a distance.This is definitely a trail where you'll want to take a camera with you!
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Walking through here is the perfect way to see the unique natural formations the park is known for.
The trailhead for Buckhorn Trail starts at the Cannonball Concretions pullout in the park, already kicking it off with some of the unusual yet fascinating geological formations that can be found here.
The other great thing about this trail is the amount of wildlife that can be seen.
Be on the lookout for these "towns," as they are called. Spotting an area with many mounds of dirt is a good indicator that one of the most popular residents of the park is there - prairie dogs!
You could observe the prairie dog towns for hours, watching them scamper across the ground, pop up out of their homes, and interact with each other.
There are multiple prairie dog towns along the Buckhorn Trail. Many people take this trail part way to see these specifically. These little characters are wildly entertaining to see popping up, taking watch, or running around.
You may even be lucky enough to see both the prairie dogs and other animals at the same time.
The Buckhorn Trail is definitely a hike where unforgettable memories will be made. The trail is located about 20 miles south of Watford City, ND, on Scenic Drive, the main road through the North Unit that is off of US-85.
If you’d like more information about this trail and others in the Theodore Roosevelt National Park, click here.
