The national grasslands are not typically known for their trail systems. Most grasslands have no designated trails, but allow hiking anywhere on the grassland. This policy serves locals well. They know where they want to go, and don’t need established trails to get them there. But for new visitors the lack of trails presents a dilemma of where to go, and how to get there.
But
the grasslands have been moving slowly toward providing more designated
recreation areas. Perhaps the success of
the 140-mile long Maah Daah Hey Trail in North Dakota’s Little Missouri
National Grassland and the 30 mile section of North Country National Scenic
Trail in ND’s Sheyenne National Grassland have provided a model for other
grasslands to use.
In
the early 2000’s the Wall Ranger District of the Buffalo
Gap National Grassland developed plans for a hiking trail just south of
Wall, SD off Interstate 90. Buffalo Gap is the grassland that surrounds the
north unit of Badlands National Park and borders the north and west sides of
the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation. The Wall Ranger District and the Buffalo Gap
National Grassland are managed through the Nebraska National Forest and
Grasslands, so the management of the trail is be attributed to different
offices. A spur of the Badlands Wall lies just east of SD 240 between Wall and
the entry to Badlands NP, the Prairie Trail lies in the lower basin to the east
of the spur.
In
the fall of 2004 I made a long trip to South Dakota to work on an update of my
trail guide for the Black Hills and Badlands. After spending the night in Wall,
I was ready for a new place to ride. The trail could not have been more
convenient to get to, only six miles down the interstate and a half mile from
Exit 116. A single post marked the trailhead.
BGNG Prairie Mountain Bike Trail, North Loop.
The
trail began following a grassy two track to the west. There were also posts to
mark the trail and I saw a few cattle-flattened carsonite posts. Shortly, there
was a split and I chose to go right to follow the shorter upper loop
counterclockwise. The ground was damp, so I was prepared that there would be
mud ahead. About a mile and a half in, I hit mud and gumbo, and had to push the
bike on occasions through the rest of the ride.
The
area had a grazing allotment and as I got further west cows were more common.
The two track I was following got gradually fainter, but as it did the posts
marking the trail came more frequently. At 2.9 miles I reached the junction
with the 2.3 mile dead end spur trail to the northwest. I took a photo, but
with the muddy trail, declined to add the extra mileage.
BGNG Prairie MB Trail, junction with northwest spur.
Heading
south now the trail passed an old water well. At the 3.7 mile junction by a
fence gate, I stayed left to complete the upper loop, where the lower loop
continued south. The trail then cut through a small section of badlands, and remained
ridable the rest of the way back to the trailhead. There was a small prairie dog
town in private land just north of the trail. I closed the loop at 5.5 miles,
and was back at the trailhead in 5.8 miles, ready to come back to ride on a
drier day.
Riding
around the lower loop would be 8.4 miles around. Riding the outer portion of
both loops is a 10.0 mile ride. Adding the northwest spur, out and back, would
add 4.6 miles to the ride.
