Maah Daah Hey Trail

[ikelikebike]

Is there a bypass that goes around the north unit of
roosevelt nat. park? i've heard some mention of a
trail that cuts across private land that one can take  
for $10? Is that true? any help would be appreciated.

[ride29]

I rode parts of the Maah Daah Hey a few years ago. I have a map of the entire trail at home - I'll check it out and see what it says about the northern section. I do recall riding a 20 mile section near the north unit of TRNP, but I can't remember many details (it was just a part of a very long, multi-state mountain biking road trip).

[Indianacharlie]

Nine of us from Indiana rode the entire Maah Daah Hey last September
and were concerned about this. We found a local rancher who escorted
us around the North TRNP through his land. He did charge us however
was very cooperative and even gave us water and followed up with us
that evening. We heard that others just ride through the NP
which to us sounded risky.

This message was edited by Indianacharlie on 2-25-07 @ 6:25 PM

[ikelikebike]

Thanks Indianacharlie---
how was the camping out there? i heard they have some
fenced in areas about twenty miles apart. any advice
on trail conditions? I would sure appreciate hearing a
little of your experience. I'm starting out in
northern minnesota so i'm thinking of using marathon
xr 26/1.75's which (i think) is an ok compromise for
both road & off road riding...any thoughts?

[Indianacharlie]

Camping! Well we prefer not to camp so we shuttled to and from the
trail each day.  We stayed at the Cowboy motel in Belfield ND. It was a
small locally owned place that was reasonable and clean. Nearby was
restaurants and groceries. We had nine people on our ride so we took
turns runing the shuttle so in the end each rider rode 90% of the trail.
The campsites are 20-25 milkes apart and a short distance off the trail.
Due this we didn't visit any of them. We found the trail conditions for
the most part medium level but somewhat physically aggressive. From
the North end the first day was the toughest with each day (four in all)
being a little easier. If we decide to do it again we'd do a five day trip.
Our trip took place in September due to our wanting the driest
conditions. I'm told you don't want ride the trail in wet conditions!
Regarding tires all of our group used 2.0 or larger size. Most of the
trail is on hardpack however there are sandy areas that narrow tires
would cause some issues. You might want to use slime tubes. All of
our group did after reading other recommendations. We had no flats o
the ride which we thought was great.
The rancher who helped us around North TRNP was Bennie Lane. I can't
find his number! sorry!
Regarding the ride, we were all totally  amazed at the beauty and
diversity of the trail. The only issue I have is that it's a 1100 mile drive
to do it again! I'm pretty sure I'll be back!