Maah Daah Hey Trail — South Unit

This is a point-to-point walk on the Maah Daah Hey through the South Unit’s Big Plateau Wilderness, from the Medora access to the unit’s north boundary. The mapped line is 8.4 miles one way, including about 0.3 mile before it enters the park; allow about four to five hours for the walk. The published South Unit figure is 7.1 miles and 3–4 hours, but it does not name the endpoints, so the figure and mapped line do not agree. Use the longer mapped distance when planning.

This is not a loop. The Medora trail access has no parking; a paved path reaches it from town. The line leaves the South Unit at its north boundary, where the regional trail continues, but a pickup or parking arrangement there was not verified. Confirm both ends and your return plan before setting out. The National Park Service warns that its brochure map is not for trail navigation, so get a detailed trail map or track.

The unpaved trail runs north through the largely designated Big Plateau Wilderness, west of the Little Missouri River. From south to north it connects with Ekblom, Lone Tree Loop, Big Plateau, South Petrified Forest, Mike Auney, and North Petrified Forest trails. That network offers other ways to shape a hike, but those junctions do not turn this route into a loop. Detailed grade, stream-crossing, shade, and water information for this section was not found.

The park’s 11.4-mile Petrified Forest Loop combines the North and South Petrified Forest trails with the northern stretch of the Maah Daah Hey. It is a longer day, but it gives you a defined loop instead of this one-way crossing.

Mandan-Hidatsa park ranger Gerard Baker has described the name through the role of a grandfather as a source of support and teaching. That is his personal account of the name, not a universal translation.

Pets and bicycles are prohibited on park trails and in the backcountry. A free permit is required for overnight backcountry camping.