Escape Adventures is offering a five-day guided camping and mountain biking tour of the 144-mile-long Maah Daah Hey Trail System (MDH) in North Dakota. Located adjacent to Theodore Roosevelt National Park, the MDH is one of the lengthiest stretches of continuous trail in America. Hailed as an International Mountain Bicycling Association (IMBA) epic, the MDH unfolds on 95 percent singletrack.
From rolling prairie to red-baked buttes, the MDH crisscrosses the least commercial unit in the National Park Service. A day on the trail might bring riders face-to-face with bison, elk, bighorn sheep, wild horses, pronghorn antelope, coyote and wild turkey. The MDH comprises nine trail units of varying size and difficulty. From north to south, they are the Wolf (8.8 miles), Long X (5.8 miles), Summit (3.8 miles), Overlook (0.3 miles), Maah Daah Hey (144 miles), Bennett (3.2 miles), Cottonwood (6.9 miles), Ice Cave (1.5 miles) and Buffalo Gap (18.9 miles).
Visitors will meet in Medora and take a shuttle to trail just outside Theodore Roosevelt National Park. An introductory ride will take guests on a sampling of the Badlands. They will ride Bennett Trail through high prairie grasses and wooded draws and spend the evening under a blanket of stars, taking in the coyote calls.
Guests will then explore Devil’s Pass, as views across the Little Missouri River Valley eventually give way to the river itself. They will camp near Teddy Roosevelt’s own Elkhorn Ranch and later continue on to Buffalo Gap and Wannagan Creek, where they enjoy quick descents on buff singletrack mixed with petrified cypress trees. They will then camp near Wannagan Creek.
On the last day, riders will explore Buffalo Gap along the outskirts of the South Unit of Theodore Roosevelt National Park before finishing the trip in Medora.
Prices are inclusive of all internal land expenses and services, besides all transportation, food preparation, meals, snacks, non-alcoholic beverages, group supplies and community gear. Also include are backcountry permits, licenses, park fees, reservations and accommodations, along with at least two trained trip leaders, a mobile first aid and mechanic station, spare bikes and support vehicles.
For more details, visit escapeadventures.com.
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