ND- August 16, 2005 ND-SE:
the Sheyenne National Grasslands, the trail is
all surfaced from one end to the other, and the new self closing gates are being installed this week, so the trail should be complete from one trailhead to the other
Posted by Curt Glasoe, Sheyenne Natioanl Grassland.
ND- Feb 3, 2003 portions of this hike on ND-SE:
This past summer two of us hiked from the MN/ND line to Valley City. Although a lot of this is currently roadwalk, it was not unpleasant. Generally Wes Boyd's guide to the trail was accurate.
From the state line to the Sheyenne National Grasslands (SNG) was the least interesting. This section is the pancake flat (Glacial Lake Agissez bed) prairie, with straight-as-a-cornrow roads. Good food at Colfax (breakfast thru lunch).
The Sheyenne is very interesting. There are small hills covered with patches of trees. You are hiking right there with the cattle, but they are people-shy, and won't bother you at all. Share water with them from the windmill-driven stock tanks, but be sure you treat it before drinking. The eastern section of the SNG is less well marked. You will need to be on your toes in a few places, and be prepared to hunt for the next marker post. Binoculars are handy for this purpose. Beware of lots of POISON IVY. The western section of the SNG is much more flat, and has had a gravel path installed. I found it a little soft for continual walking, but others did not. You'd have to be really stupid to get lost here: just follow the path! The paper map which you can get by writing to the SNG shows windmill locations, but these are no longer accurate. Get water when you see a windmill if you are at all low. The artesian wells are high in mineral content, the pumped wells are not.
From the west edge of the SNG you will walk a few more straight roads to Lisbon, but just north of this town (with plenty of services- motel, restaurants, laundry, etc) you join the Scenic Backway along the Sheyenne River. Except for the difficulty of walking miles on rather large loose gravel, this was delightful. The Sheyenne Valley is beautiful- about a mile wide with "western" hills on both sides. We kept expecting Roy Rogers and Dale Evans to ride right over the top!
There is a section of off-road trail through Fort Ransom State Park. You can access it on a through hike by leaving the Backway and entering the village of Fort Ransom (general store, good restaurant, PO). Cross the bridge and turn right on Mill Road. Follow it past the ski hill (yes!) to the gated end, and continue past the gate. You'll soon see NCT markers to guide you through the park. Follow the trail completely through the park and you will come to what appears to be a dead end at a fence. But Wes' guide says you can continue along the edge of a farmer's field and re-cross the river on a private suspension bridge in about a mile. We did just that. Supposedly this has not been maintained since a flood ruined the path, but we just followed field edges and tractor paths and found our way.
After this you rejoin the Backway, which becomes the paved Byway about 10 miles south of Valley City. Good food at Kathryn- a small grain elevator town.
Within Valley City the new Sheyenne Valley Chapter has certified trail on an attractive route through town.
One side trip would be to hike the mile of certified trail in the Sheyenne State Forest just east of Fort Ransom. If you walk to it from the Backway you can cross a closed bridge. If you want to drive to it you must take a long detour around to approach from the south. It's not yet connected to any other section of trail, but it's worth the walk, climbing to the top of quite a high hill for good views of the area.
Be sure to take the NCTA North Dakota Special Edition map with you for good info on the sections which are off road. Posted by Joan Young.
"I'll mark reports of problems you may encounter. So sad... hope they will be fixed soon."