The ground: one grassland, one park, and a lot of land that is not yours
North Dakota’s 1,736,495 federal acres are split among five agencies: the Forest Service with 1,103,162, the Fish and Wildlife Service with 492,461, the National Park Service with 71,359, the BLM with 58,674 and the Department of Defense with 10,839. At 3.9 percent, the federal share is small, and the practical consequence is that the public ground comes in defined blocks with private and state land pressed up against them. In the badlands the Game and Fish Department says cattle grazing is the most prevalent land use.
The Dakota Prairie Grasslands administer four national grasslands across North and South Dakota, more than 1.2 million acres in total, from a supervisor’s office at 2000 Miriam Circle in Bismarck. The Little Missouri is the big one, and it is run by two districts: the McKenzie Ranger District takes the grassland north of the Ice Caves and the Medora Ranger District takes everything south. In the southeast the Sheyenne National Grassland holds 70,180 acres of public land alongside 64,769 acres of private land, on sandy soils laid down as the delta of an ancient river, with terrain that runs from flat deltaic plains to choppy sand dunes.
Theodore Roosevelt National Park is three units, not one: the South Unit at Medora, the North Unit 14 miles south of Watford City, and the 218-acre Elkhorn Ranch Unit reached only by gravel. The Park Service keeps the park open 24 hours a day, year-round, and runs the North Unit on Central time and the South Unit on Mountain time, which is worth knowing when you plan a day around both. Two smaller National Park Service units stand in the Missouri valley: Knife River Indian Villages National Historic Site at Stanton and Fort Union Trading Post National Historic Site on Highway 1804 west of Williston.
State land is where visitors get caught out. The Department of Trust Lands allows hiking, bird watching, berry picking for personal consumption, hunting and fishing on School Trust Lands, and says absolutely no trucks, dirt bikes, ATVs, UTVs or specialty off-road vehicles may be driven there by the public without written permission. Camping and campfires are prohibited. The Game and Fish Department runs 200-plus wildlife management areas where motor vehicles are limited to constructed roads, established trails and parking areas used by passenger cars, and camping for more than 10 consecutive days is prohibited.
Source 1
Clay, snow and the two seasons that shut a road
The badlands run along the Little Missouri River, which the Geological Survey says began carving them about 600,000 years ago after a glacier turned it from its northward course. The rock that matters to a driver is bentonite, a clay the survey says can absorb up to several times its weight in water and is extremely slick and mobile when wet. Game and Fish describes the region as badly eroded clay-scoria slopes, buttes and steep canyons. The red rock you will see in the cuts is clinker, which the survey defines as rock produced by the burning of coal beds.
The agencies say the same thing three ways. The Forest Service tells visitors to avoid driving on soft or wet ground, to check road conditions before heading out and especially during or after rain, and to turn around before the terrain becomes rutted, muddy or unsafe. If you are stuck, it says, do not spin the tires, because that is how deep ruts get made. The Park Service warns that slippery clays and soft sediments can yield underfoot on the steep slopes, and that weather in the North Dakota badlands is harsh, with extremes in temperature and sudden, violent storms.
Winter is the other closer. NOAA puts average January temperatures between about 4 degrees in the northeast and 18 in the southwest, annual snowfall at 30 to 55 inches, and the odds of a blizzard in any given year above 50 percent, one of the highest in the nation. The Park Service says portions of the South Unit Scenic Loop Drive and the North Unit Scenic Road may be closed in winter for snow and ice. No agency publishes opening and closing dates for them, so treat the season as a matter of what the weather has done lately rather than a calendar.
Summer has its own limits. NOAA says temperatures of 100 degrees or higher occur nearly every year and are most common in the drier southwest and south-central parts of the state, and that severe thunderstorms can bring straight-line winds above 75 miles per hour. The Park Service tells summer visitors to plan on about a liter of water per person per hour and points out there is very little shade in the park. Annual precipitation ranges from under 16 inches in the northwest to about 24 in the southeast, so water is something you carry, not something you find.
Source 49
What North Dakota asks of a vehicle
Range and self-sufficiency come first. NDDOT maintains nearly 7,500 roadway miles of highway for a population of 779,094, and once you leave those highways for the grassland the Forest Service says to carry a map, GPS or downloaded offline navigation because cell service may be unreliable. The Park Service is blunter about its most remote unit: there is no cell phone signal at the Elkhorn Ranch or along much of the route to it. Carry water, a first-aid kit, a tire repair kit and basic tools, which is the emergency kit the Forest Service asks grassland visitors to bring.
The surface is mostly graded gravel and dirt, and what defeats it is water rather than rock. The Park Service says the last three miles of the route to the Elkhorn Ranch Unit sometimes require four-wheel drive or a high-clearance vehicle, especially in winter or during and after rain showers, and the approach to it from the North Unit includes 12.2 miles of gravel on Black Tail Road and Forest Highway 2, while the approach from the South Unit starts with 8.8 gravel miles on County Road 11. The Forest Service asks drivers to go slowly on gravel.
Watch for working traffic. The Forest Service says industrial oil and gas sites are common on the Dakota Prairie Grasslands and tells visitors not to enter them, and those sites are served by the same county and grassland roads you are using. Where you park matters too: the Forest Service tells visitors never to park or drive on tall, dry grass, because hot vehicle parts can ignite a fire, and warns against blocking roads, gates, trails or other travelers, which can bring a citation.
In winter the vehicle becomes shelter. NDDOT publishes a winter survival kit, tells drivers to leave with a full tank and to double the normal following distance behind a snowplow whose blade can extend up to 10 feet, and says the Highway Patrol may temporarily close a highway that is no longer safe. Its road reports run daily from 5 a.m. to 10 p.m. Central, and a snow route takes its crews two to three hours to complete, so a road that was clear when you checked may not be when you get there.
Source 14
Passes and routes
-
Scenic Loop Drive, Theodore Roosevelt National Park South UnitPaved
36 miles
A loop from Medora, at exits 24 and 27 on I-94
The Park Service describes a 36-mile two-way paved loop through the South Unit, open to motor vehicles and cyclists, in a unit of 46,158.57 acres. A separate page on the same park’s site calls it a 48-mile scenic drive beginning and ending in Medora and allows two hours of driving alone; the loop figure is the one used here. Speed limits are posted and enforced, and the park warns that winding roads and abundant wildlife produce surprises, so take it slowly and use extra caution at night. 22
- Vehicle
- Open to motor vehicles and cyclists
- Season
- Open all year. Portions may close in winter for snow and ice
-
North Unit Scenic Drive, Theodore Roosevelt National ParkPaved
28 miles round trip
US 85, 14 miles south of Watford City, east to Oxbow Overlook
An out-and-back drive of 28 miles round trip through the 24,070.32-acre North Unit, past River Bend Overlook to Oxbow Overlook at the road’s end. The Park Service says the road is almost entirely paved with only one stretch of gravel, and to allow at least an hour and a quarter without stops. The North Unit runs on Central time while the South Unit runs on Mountain, which costs an hour if you plan both in a day. 23
- Season
- Open all year. Portions may close in winter for snow and ice
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Elkhorn Ranch Unit approach roads
Black Tail Road and Forest Highway 2 from ND 16 in the north; County Road 11, Westerheim Road and Bell Lake Road from Medora in the south
The gravel run to the park’s most remote unit, 218 acres on the Little Missouri. The Park Service says the last three miles of the route sometimes require four-wheel drive or a high-clearance vehicle, especially in winter or during and after rain showers, and to ask about road conditions at a visitor center first. From the north the route includes 12.2 gravel miles on Black Tail Road and Forest Highway 2 then 3 miles on Bell Lake Road; from the south it starts with 8.8 gravel miles on County Road 11. There is no cell phone signal at the ranch or along much of the way in, and a 0.7-mile mowed path leads from the parking area to the cabin site. 24
- Vehicle
- Four-wheel drive or high clearance may be needed for the last three miles
- Season
- Hardest in winter and during or after rain
-
Little Missouri National Grassland road network
More than 1,000 miles of country road
McKenzie, Billings, Slope and Golden Valley counties, around and between the park units
This is the drive in North Dakota: a million-acre grassland laced with county and Forest Service roads that the state puts at more than 1,000 miles. The Forest Service publishes a Motor Vehicle Use Map and an off-highway vehicle brochure for the grassland and asks you to carry and follow the current one, because wheeled cross-country travel is prohibited and only the roads shown on the map are open. The same map governs where a vehicle may leave a route to reach a dispersed campsite. The Forest Service also says industrial oil and gas sites are common across the grasslands, and those sites use the same county roads you do. 17
- Vehicle
- Only the roads shown on the Motor Vehicle Use Map, and not when they are wet or soft
-
Maah Daah Hey Trail corridor
144 miles
Burning Coal Vein Campground, 49 miles south of Medora, to CCC Campground, 16 miles south of Watford City
The Forest Service gives the trail a cumulative 144 miles through the badlands and prohibits all motorized vehicles on it, including e-bikes, motorcycles, ATVs, UTVs and snowmobiles. A separate Forest Service page puts it at 96 miles, winding 97 miles to a southern end at Sully Creek. For a driver the value is the corridor: the campgrounds at either end and along the way are reached by grassland roads, and Rough Rider State Park near Medora opens onto the trail, which crosses the Little Missouri River a short way north of the park. Treat the trail as scenery and the roads beside it as the route. 18
- Vehicle
- No motor vehicles on the trail itself
-
Sheyenne River Valley Scenic Byway
63 miles
The Sheyenne River valley in southeastern North Dakota
One of only two North Dakota routes in the federal byway system, and a National Scenic Byway at 63 miles. The Federal Highway Administration describes a dip into a tree-speckled valley with a snaking river and a winding roadway, and 27 interpretive sites along it covering historic sites, trails, bridges, antiques, birds and starry nights. It runs through the same corner of the state as the Sheyenne National Grassland, which makes the two a natural pair for a weekend. 52
-
Native American Scenic Byway
350 miles across two states
North Dakota and South Dakota along the Missouri River
The other National Scenic Byway on the Federal Highway Administration’s North Dakota list, 350 miles in total, running through the reservations of four tribes of Lakota Sioux: Crow Creek, Lower Brule, Cheyenne River and Standing Rock. Its North Dakota contact is Sitting Bull College. The route runs through tribal land, where the rules are the tribe’s own, so ask locally before you leave the highway for anything. 53
-
Roughrider OHV Trail
22 miles
Fort Abraham Lincoln State Park to Fort Rice Campground, along Highway 1806 south of Mandan
A 22-mile state off-highway vehicle trail running south from Fort Abraham Lincoln State Park along the Missouri. North Dakota Parks and Recreation says it can accommodate most current side-by-sides and gives access to fishing, camping and other recreation along the way. Every machine on it needs the state registration, or the non-resident permit if it is plated elsewhere. 36
- Vehicle
- Registered off-highway vehicles
-
Pembina Gorge trail system
More than 16 miles
Pembina Gorge State Park, near Walhalla in the far northeast
North Dakota Parks and Recreation describes steep valley cliffs, quiet prairies and pocketed wetlands, surrounded by what it calls the largest continuous undisturbed forest in the state. The park page counts more than 16 miles of trails; the department’s 2022 off-highway vehicle brochure says over 15. The trails are open to registered class 1, 2 and 3 machines 60 inches wide or less, the trailhead parks large trucks and trailers, and this is the only off-highway vehicle campground in the state park system. 37
- Vehicle
- Registered class 1, 2 and 3 off-highway vehicles 60 inches wide or less
-
Turtle Mountain State Recreation Area
Over 12 miles of motorized trail
About six miles northeast of Bottineau, near the Manitoba border
Hilly, heavily wooded country that looks nothing like the rest of the state; the Geological Survey says the Turtle Mountains rise about 600 to 800 feet above their surroundings. The recreation area page counts over 12 miles of motorized trails open to off-highway vehicles, while the department’s trails page calls it a 10-mile trail. There are play areas as well, and the trailhead has parking for large trailers. The same ground carries hiking, biking and horse use. 38
- Vehicle
- Registered off-highway vehicles
-
Kimball Bottoms Recreation Area
Off Desert Road, eight miles south of Bismarck
Known locally as The Desert, this is a 400-acre motorized recreation area managed by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and listed among North Dakota’s off-highway vehicle riding areas. The state describes it as a play area rather than a trail system, which makes it the closest thing in North Dakota to ground set aside for practice. State registration, or the non-resident permit, applies here as it does anywhere else on public land. 35
- Vehicle
- Registered off-highway vehicles
-
Sheyenne National Grassland roads
Eastern Ransom and western Richland counties, about 12 miles east of Lisbon
The other end of the state and the other kind of grassland: sandy soils laid down as the delta of an ancient river, running from flat deltaic plains to choppy sand dunes, with 64,769 acres of private land mixed into the 70,180 public acres. A 30-mile section of the North Country National Scenic Trail crosses it, part of a 4,800-mile footpath that begins here and ends in Vermont. Camping is at Hankinson Hills and Jorgen’s Hollow. Carry the 2018 Motor Vehicle Use Map: the public and private ground is interleaved and the map is how you tell. 10
- Vehicle
- Roads shown on the Motor Vehicle Use Map only
Rules worth knowing
- Four grasslands in two states, run as one
- The Dakota Prairie Grasslands take in four national grasslands across North and South Dakota, administered together. The Little Missouri is in western North Dakota and covers 1,033,271 acres in parts of McKenzie, Billings, Slope and Golden Valley counties, in that order of area, which makes it the largest national grassland in the country. The McKenzie Ranger District manages the part north of the Ice Caves and the Medora Ranger District the part south of them. 8
- One office runs a million acres
- The Dakota Prairie Grasslands supervisor’s office is the single point of contact for four grasslands spread over two states. Alerts, motor vehicle use maps and orders are published there rather than per unit, which is worth knowing when a search for a specific grassland turns up nothing. 9
- Camping on the grassland is general, with conditions
- The grasslands publish their camping guidance as one page covering developed sites and dispersed camping together. The dispersed permission is real and it is what makes western North Dakota worth the drive, but it comes with the conditions on the same page rather than as a free-for-all: stay on existing roads to reach a site, and leave the ground as you found it. 12
- Do not drive on wet ground, and stay out of the oil sites
- The grasslands ask visitors to avoid driving on soft or wet ground because it causes rutting and soil damage, and are explicit about the other hazard on this landscape: industrial oil and gas sites are common, and visitors are told not to enter them. Both are about the same thing, which is that this is working ground with other traffic on it. 15
- Where to park, and what not to block
- The Forest Service’s parking guidance for the grasslands is short: stay on existing roads and trails unless dispersed camping, and do not block roads, gates or cattle guards. On a landscape where the road is the only firm ground for a mile in any direction, a badly parked vehicle is a real obstruction rather than an inconvenience. 16
- The Maah Daah Hey carries no motors at all
- The Maah Daah Hey Trail winds through the badlands for a cumulative 144 miles, from the Burning Coal Vein Campground about 49 miles south of Medora to the CCC Campground roughly 16 miles south of Watford City. All motorised vehicles are prohibited on it, including e-bikes, motorcycles, all-terrain vehicles, utility vehicles and snowmobiles. The Forest Service’s national destination page gives 96 miles for the same trail; the grassland’s own figure of 144 is the one used here. 19
- Bentonite is why a dry road turns to grease
- The grasslands explain the geology behind their own warnings: bentonite is a clay made largely of montmorillonite, which absorbs water and swells. That is the mechanism behind every piece of advice in this guide about not driving badlands roads when wet. It is not mud in the ordinary sense, and four-wheel drive does not solve it. 20
- Theodore Roosevelt is open around the clock, in two time zones
- The park is open 24 hours a day, year round, and the North Unit runs on Central time while the South Unit runs on Mountain, which is an hour’s difference between two halves of the same park about 70 miles apart. Plan the day on the clock the unit uses, not the one on the dashboard. 26
- The park publishes its own directions for a reason
- The units are far apart and reached from different interstate exits, and the Elkhorn Ranch Unit is reached on gravel from either one. Use the park’s own directions rather than a routing app, which is a piece of advice the Park Service gives in badlands country generally and which holds here. 25
- Wet badlands slopes are a safety warning, not a texture
- The park warns that climbing on the steep slopes in the badlands can be dangerous, especially when wet, because of slippery clays. The same clay under a tire behaves the same way, which is why the road advice and the hiking advice in this state are effectively one rule. 27
- Every campground in the park is primitive
- All campgrounds at Theodore Roosevelt are primitive: no hookups and no showers. Backcountry camping is by a free permit. If the trip needs power or water, the state parks and the Corps campgrounds are the answer, not the national park. 28
- The South Unit loop is 36 miles of paved two-way road
- The park describes its South Unit scenic drive as a 36-mile two-way paved loop open to motor vehicles and cyclists. It is the single best introduction to the badlands from a vehicle, and it is worth driving in both directions because the light does entirely different things to the same buttes. 29
- Knife River is a village site, not a drive
- Knife River Indian Villages National Historic Site preserves the ground where earthlodge people hunted bison and farmed the river bottoms. It is a walking visit off a highway rather than a driving destination, and it is the best context anywhere in the state for the country the rest of this guide crosses. 30
- Fort Union was the fur trade’s centre for forty years
- Between 1828 and 1867 Fort Union Trading Post was the most important fur trade post on the upper Missouri. It sits near the Montana line at the far west end of the state, which makes it a natural stop on a route between the Little Missouri country and eastern Montana. 31
- The BLM here is minerals, not surface
- The North Dakota Field Office manages over 4.1 million acres of federal and Indian trust mineral estate across the western third of the state, and only about 58,000 acres of public land surface. Its recreation is the Schnell Recreation Area near Richardton, with three miles of hiking trail and six primitive campsites. Do not plan a BLM trip here the way you would in Wyoming. 32
- Des Lacs is 10,500 acres of river and wetland
- Des Lacs National Wildlife Refuge covers 10,500 acres along the Des Lacs River, a mix of natural lakes and managed wetland in the north of the state. Refuge ground in North Dakota is mostly water and prairie managed for birds, with day-use roads rather than camping. 33
- Little Missouri State Park is built around horses
- The park carries over 40 miles of trail open to horseback riding and hiking, with 81 corrals for visiting horses. It is the most rugged state park in the badlands and its trails are not motorised, so for a vehicle it is a place to camp and look rather than a place to drive. 39
- Rough Rider State Park is in the heart of the badlands
- The state’s newest badlands park sits minutes from the country the Little Missouri grassland covers, which makes it a useful base with facilities in a part of the state that otherwise offers dispersed camping or nothing. 40
- Sakakawea is the third largest man-made reservoir in the country
- Lake Sakakawea State Park sits on a 368,000-acre lake that the state calls the third-largest man-made reservoir in the nation. Lewis and Clark State Park sits on one of its upper bays among the buttes. Between them they are the developed camping for the middle of the state. 41
- Two hundred wildlife management areas, ten days each
- North Dakota has more than 200 wildlife management areas, and camping on any one of them is limited to 10 consecutive days. They are scattered through the farmed east of the state where public land is otherwise scarce, and the short limit is the price of that access. 43
- What the badlands are, in the state’s own words
- The state describes the region as badly eroded clay-scoria slopes, buttes and steep canyons. Scoria is the baked red clay that surfaces most of the good roads out here, and it is the reason a grassland road can be excellent in dry weather and impossible an hour after rain. 44
- Driving past a road closure device is a crime
- The Department of Transportation states that it is against the law to drive past a road closure device, punishable by a fine. In a state that closes interstates in winter, the gate is not advisory. Treat a closure device the way you would a locked gate on private land. 46
- No Travel Advised means what it says
- When the department issues a No Travel Advised statement, it means conditions have reached the point where travel is not recommended at all. It is published on 511 alongside road conditions, and in a plains winter it can appear on a clear day because of wind and old snow rather than a storm. 47
- Snow and ice control is the department’s winter
- The state publishes how it runs snow and ice control, which is the context for the closure and advisory system: a small department covering very long distances, prioritising what it can keep open. Read the priorities rather than assuming a numbered highway will be plowed at the hour you need it. 48
- North Dakota has two federally designated byways
- The Federal Highway Administration lists only two byways for the state. Everything else worth driving here is a grassland road, a park road or a state-designated route, which is a fair summary of how public driving in North Dakota is organised: by land manager rather than by tourism designation. 54
- Dispersed camping: 14 days in 30, and 300 feet off the road
- The Dakota Prairie Grasslands allow dispersed camping for up to 14 days within any 30-day period, free and outside the developed campgrounds, with no toilets, water, tables or trash service. Motorized vehicles may leave a designated Forest Service road by up to 300 feet to reach a campsite, and beyond that you walk. Set up within 150 to 300 feet of a designated road, camp at least 100 to 200 feet from lakes and streams, use the same track in and out, and do not drive on wet or soft ground to get there. In Theodore Roosevelt National Park the equivalent is a free backcountry permit from the North or South Unit visitor center; there are no developed backcountry sites and the park’s two campgrounds are primitive, with no hookups and no showers. 11
- Cross-country travel is prohibited, and the trails are not for machines
- On the Dakota Prairie Grasslands wheeled cross-country travel is prohibited and off-highway vehicles must stay on the designated roads shown on the Motor Vehicle Use Map. Every trail on the grasslands is intended for non-motorized use, so ATVs, UTVs and motorbikes are barred from all of them, and e-bikes count as motorized for that purpose. Inside developed campgrounds, off-highway vehicle use is limited to entering and leaving by the designated roads and parking areas. The Maah Daah Hey Trail is closed to all motorized vehicles including snowmobiles. Always carry the current map for the grassland you are on, because the published maps differ in date: Sheyenne is 2018, Cedar River and Grand River are 2025. 13
- Register the machine, even if you are only visiting
- Registration is required to operate any off-highway vehicle on public land in North Dakota. Resident registration costs $20 and covers a two-year period, paid through the Department of Transportation, and some vehicles are exempt under Century Code chapter 39-29. Owners of out-of-state registered machines must buy a non-resident public trails and lands access permit, $10 a year, valid January 1 to December 31, sold at any state park, by phone or online. Drivers must be at least 12 and hold an off-highway vehicle safety certificate to ride on public land, helmets are required for everyone under 18, and the operator must be able to show proof of liability insurance. A plated truck is not an off-highway vehicle and needs none of this. 34
- School trust land is walking access only
- The Department of Trust Lands opens School Trust Lands to hiking, bird watching, berry picking for personal consumption, hunting and fishing, and states that absolutely no trucks, dirt bikes, ATVs, UTVs or specialty off-road vehicles may be driven there by the public without proper written permission. Camping and campfires are prohibited. Lessees may post three department signs at no charge: Closed to Public Access, which shuts the parcel; Notify the Lessee Before Entering; and Walking Access Only. Only signs furnished by the department may be posted, so a homemade sign on a trust parcel is not the rule. Wildlife management areas are separate ground again: vehicles stay on constructed roads, established trails and passenger-car parking areas, and camping is capped at 10 consecutive days. 42
- No Travel Advised is not the same as closed, and both matter
- NDDOT publishes three road condition categories. A Travel Alert means motorists can still travel but may meet areas of challenging winter weather driving conditions. No Travel Advised means motorists should not travel because conditions may make it unsafe; the roads are not closed, but anyone who goes anyway travels at their own risk and may become stranded. Roads Closed or Blocked means the roadway is not open to traffic. Motorists are not allowed to travel on a closed road and may be fined: driving past a road closure device is against the law and carries a fine of up to $250. The Highway Patrol makes the closures, road reports run daily from 5 a.m. to 10 p.m. Central, and a snow route takes crews two to three hours to clear. 45
- Fire restrictions are posted county by county
- North Dakota publishes a single Fire Declarations and Burn Restrictions map where you can check burn restrictions, fire danger ratings, red flag warnings and local declarations before you light anything. The state warns that the map may not be all-inclusive, that incorporated cities may have their own permanent restrictions under local ordinances, and that the current word comes from the local fire department or emergency management office. On the grasslands, the Forest Service asks you to check for restrictions or burn bans before any campfire, to use existing fire rings, to keep fires small and to drown, stir and feel them out. It also tells drivers never to park or drive on tall, dry grass, because hot vehicle parts can start a fire. 51