Keeping the Maah Daah Hey Trail Alive
While western North Dakota has always bred ice fishermen, rodeo talent, hunters and 4-H participators, the area is starting to churn out a new type of person - mountain bikers.
The Maah Daah Hey Trail, starting just south of the Long X Bridge in the CCC campground, has been drawing out-of-state visitors for some time. The difficult trail is one that mountain bikers from all over the U.S. and Canada have traveled to ride on, yet, has been quite underutilized by locals.
The trail was designed and built by the Forest Service and was ready for use in 2000.
An 18-year-old student in Bismarck at the time, Nick Ybarra caught a ride with a youth group out to the trail soon after its opening to see it for himself. On a cheap mountain bike, he started the ride across a part of the trail with the rest of the group.