Maah Daah Hey Trail
A 144-mile nonmotorized route threads badlands, grassland, river crossings, and working ranch country.
Artwork inspired by Walter Piehl Jr.
The Maah Daah Hey is not one trail experience but a linked backcountry system. Mountain bikers, hikers, and equestrians encounter clay that becomes impassable when wet, exposed ridges, scarce water, and long distances between developed access points.
First-time visitors should select a signed day segment based on surface conditions and shuttle logistics rather than chasing mileage. The CCC, Bennett, or Buffalo Gap connections offer different difficulty, and several crossings can change after storms.
Carry more water than the map seems to require, cache only where permitted, close gates, and yield according to trail rules. Do not ride wet bentonite: the damage lasts and the mud can immobilize a bicycle.
- Length
- About 144 miles in the core route
- Setting
- Medora, North Dakota, United States
- Admission
- $12 adult; $10 ages 5–14
Quick guide
- Interpretive pair
- About 144 miles in the core route ↔ Do not use wet clay
- Closing move
- Segment, shuttle, and water strategy
Quick guide
- Segment
- Select one trailhead and turnaround within the long linked backcountry system.
- Surface
- Stay off wet bentonite clay; riding or walking it causes damage and can become impossible.
- Water
- Cache or carry enough because reliable sources and developed stops are widely separated.
- Users
- Yield correctly among hikers, cyclists, horses, and livestock and close every gate.
Good to know
Wet bentonite can immobilize a bicycle and deeply scar the trail, so postponing a ride after rain protects both the traveler and a surface slow to recover.
Notice these
- About 144 miles in the core route
- Do not use wet clay
- Segment, shuttle, and water strategy