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Side Trips on the Trail
No matter how closely you’re following the Lewis & Clark Trail, you’ll want to take a few side trips to enjoy scenery, wildlife and activities they wouldn’t have dreamed of. For more details and other ideas about what to do in North Dakota, get a free Travel Guide, or call 1-800-435-5663.
From the southeast:
- Drop a line in the water at the Beaver Creek Bay recreation area.
- Take in the lavish architecture of local churches in Linton and Strasburg.
- Dance a polka and see what pioneer farm life was like at Lawrence Welk’s home west of Strasburg.
- Go hunting (with camera or gun) for an amazing variety of waterfowl at Long Lake National Wildlife Refuge.
From the river’s bend:
- Go fishing or hunting (with camera or gun) on Lake Audubon and the Lake Audubon National Wildlife Refuge.
- Journey north to Minot for the State Fair (late July), the Scandinavian Heritage Park, Roosevelt Park Zoo, shopping, dining and Hostfest, the continent’s largest Scandinavian festival (October).
- Red Mike Golf Course stretches out along the northern bend of Lake Sakakawea. If it had been there 200 years ago, Lewis and Clark undoubtedly would have carved some clubs from the cottonwoods and shot 18 holes, then written about it. This authentic lay-of-the-land links course has been praised and highly ranked in several national golfing magazines.
From the west:
- Lewis and Clark heard of North Dakota’s most dramatic, rugged landscapes, but never explored the “Mako Shika” (bad spirit lands). The North Dakota badlands stretch from the northwestern part of Lake Sakakawea to Williston and over 100 miles to the south, almost into South Dakota.
- Killdeer Battlefield Historic Site tells a fascinating and mystical story from the Indian War era amid stunning buttes and badlands.
- Theodore Roosevelt National Park-North Unit, southwest of Watford City, also boasts breathtaking badlands scenery. Several area horse trail guides lead day-long and shorter trail rides, but the 14-mile paved loop will get you through a little faster if you’re short on time.
- Theodore Roosevelt National Park-South Unit is served by the tourist-oriented old west cowtown of Medora. Here, you can choose rugged, solitary outdoor adventure on foot, horse or bike or just drive the 36-mile paved loop through red-striped canyons, and past buffalo herds and wild horses. And when you’re plum tuckered out, Medora offers shopping, entertainment, hotels and many more modern ways to enjoy the old west.
- The Maah Daah Hey Trail connects the two national park units, if you’re up to the 96-mile trek. The trail is multi-use, single track, so you’ll encounter hikers, bikers and horseback riders on the way. Maah Daah Hey was selected as an IMBA Epic Ride in 2001 and is fast gaining a national reputation as a premiere single-track mountain bike trail.
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