Best Bird Watching Trails in North Dakota

Pretty rough trail with all the melt off. A lot of awesome sights but for sure being a hiking pole for the slippery mud covered ascents and descents.

One of the Best hikes in Eastern North Dakota, close too Fargo and extremely well maintained trail. Will see cows, lots of birds, deer, squirrel, chipmunks. Iron Spring Creek also has a bridge and is very easy to cross. The North Country Trail association has done a lot of great work to keep this trial updated.

Great place to be guaranteed the site of buffalo! Views of rivers and trees are amazing

This is North Dakota. FACTS: I flew into Bismarck, ND. I then proceeded on a 909-mile road trip through the badlands to bag the highpoints in ND and SD. Here is ND, highpoint number 26/51 for me and ranked 30/51. TRAILHEAD / HIKE: The route to get to the trailhead from the North (Amidon, ND) is totally washed out and gone and closed until further notice. You must get to the trailhead from the South (Bowman, ND). I have taken the trouble of providing detailed instructions here. From Bowman, ND, go North on 85 There is a sign on the left for 74th Street, there is NO sign on the right Make a right here onto a dirt road (all roads from now on are hard pack dirt) Go exactly 4 miles (reset odometer) Make a Left on 140th Ave SW (it is now labelled and contrary to other reports is not 137th ave) Go exactly 5 miles (reset odometer) Make a Left on 69 Go exactly 1 mile (reset odometer) Look for Red Iron Ranger, that is the parking for the new trailhead The hike is in one direction (due south) and is straightforward and easy. Surprisingly, I did meet two groups who were coming down as I was going up and one gentlemen going up as I was returning. It took me 90 minutes out and back... DINING: Humpback Sally’s: This place is downtown. I parked in the garage around the corner. This is Bismarck’s version of a pretentious “small plates, tapas” kind of place. I had a bourbon cocktail which was well made. The service was good but not especially warm or friendly. The food was good but the portion sizes are ridiculously small. I just can not see how this type of restaurant can survive in Bismarck. MacKenzie River Pizza Grill & Pub: This place is north of downtown. Plenty of free parking outside a stand alone building. The bar and restaurant were packed. I waited 15 minutes for a seat at the bar. I sat next to 3 fellows, one of whom immediately asked me if I wanted an entire order of nachos, since they had messed up the order (nachos had beans and they did not want beans, lol). Nice gesture. We got to talking and I asked him how his pizza was. He immediately reached over and handed me a slice and said try it. Again, wonderful generosity on his part. The pizza was good. I was planning on eating and drinking here as it was close to where I was going to spend the night. But, these 3 gents were soon gone and replaced by 3 other gents. The 3 new gents immediately started drinking and using foul language very loudly (got to the point that many at the bar area were uncomfortable). I had one beer and left. Laughing Sun Brewing Company: This place is in downtown Bismarck. It is in an industrial area, but I was told it is safe. There is plenty of free parking. They serve good craft beers only. The food is BBQ and it is very good as well. The service is warm and genuine and friendly. At about 900pm, a hip hop band started playing (ridiculously loud). Loud to the point that people in the restaurant and bar could not talk to each other. Many people sitting next to me were so annoyed at the loudness that quite a few paid their tab and left, including me. Little Cottage Cafe: This place is in downtown Bismarck. There is plenty of free parking. The place opens at 600am and is filled by 630am. This is a quintessential hometown feel good breakfast place. I sat at the 4 seat counter. The only waitress has been there for 30+ years. The food is great. The service is great. All around, my best meal in Bismarck. IMPRESSIONS: Apparently, when the settlers came, if they were able to build and live on a structure for 5 consecutive years, they were given 160 acres of land. Land is broken up into sections. Each section is 640 acres. Farms and ranches in ND are huge. Unlike the east coast, nobody discusses square feet, they say how many sections do you own? I marvel at the settlers who travelled west and saw the never ending prairie grasses and decided to stay.

This was a beautiful hike. Lots of prairie dogs. We didn't see any bison but plenty of signs of them around. Don't do this hike after a rain. Seriously muddy and messy and the mud is impossible to get off your shoes and is very slippery and can be deep mud. You cross the Little Missouri River twice. We did it in Sept and it was about 2.5 - 3 feet deep and totally worth it. There is a small stream you pass as well on the hike but I think only because we had just had plenty of rain and it was full. It was a muddy mess. It was completely serene, beautiful and worth it all. I love this area.

This was a beautiful hike. Lots of prairie dogs. We didn't see any bison but plenty of signs of them around. Don't do this hike after a rain. Seriously muddy and messy and the mud is impossible to get off your shoes and is very slippery and can be deep mud. You cross the Little Missouri River twice. We did it in Sept and it was about 2.5 - 3 feet deep and totally worth it. There is a small stream you pass as well on the hike but I think only because we had just had plenty of rain and it was full. It was a muddy mess. It was completely serene, beautiful and worth it all. I love this area.

Great little hike. The trail is in good shape and well marked. Nice scenery and great views at the end

Nice peaceful walk by the river just inside the city.

Nice city trail that winds along the red river. Trail is wide and paved. Park is quiet and path is traversed by runners and bikers primarily.

Read and follow Jason’s directions on finding the trailhead. Do NOT approach it from the north. The road (137th) from the north is completely demolished and after rain today (9/10/19) a total mess. Follow Jason’s directions from the south. Nice hike once you get there.

the part south of the road isn't worth doing. trail is barely marked and the views aren't worth anything. the north half is a good hike. be advised that probably 10% of the trail is through swamp. also, don't do what I did and hike it the day after rain. I was on all 4s getting up one incline, it was a slip and slide. also, 30$ entrance fee to park. saw three bison though

Ranger Kevin was there, gave us some great tips. Make sure to stop in and ask for the " unique trail experience" offered. wink twice....he knows

Started in Linwood, but crossed the bridge into Gooseberry and followed a mountain bike trail (just off the bridge) about a mile, with good views of the river. Came back along a road and the paved bike path into park proper. Had to play in the playscape for a bit before crossing back into Fargo, ND and Linwood.

Scenery: stunning. Trail: avoid. The first third of the trail is amazing. Then the trail becomes difficult to follow because most people don’t like beyond the first 2-3 miles. After the halfway point, there are no trail markers or a discernible trail. The last third of the hike takes you through sinkholes and crevasses. Unless you enjoy clawing your way out of boggy ravines, skip this trail or turn around at mile 3.